Chamber and committees

This information is not held by the Scottish Government.

NHS dental services are in the main provided by self-employed independent contractors, across 1,100 dental practices, each with local differences in patterns of service delivery.

In our NHS Recovery Plan we have committed to provide sufficient funding for around 320 additional staff in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) over the next 5 years.

Since May 2021, we have allocated approximately £40m to NHS Boards to support CAMHS and the implementation of the National CAMHS Service Specification. Through this funding, NHS Boards have started to recruit additional staff to implement the Specification and to build professional capacity to support children and young people with neurodevelopmental support needs. NHS Boards will recruit a variety of staff in different roles, based on individual service needs.

The breakdown of CAMHS workforce is published on a quarterly basis through the NHS Education for Scotland (NES) CAMHS Workforce publication. This data can be found on the NES Turas Data Intelligence platform and provides a breakdown of staffing per NHS Board in CAMHS, including breakdown of professional role.

The Scottish Government is not responsible for the recruitment of NHS staff. It is NHS Boards’ responsibility to recruit workforce. The Scottish Government has provided guidance to NHS Boards, through the National CAMHS Service and Neurodevelopmental Specifications, on the appropriate roles and professionals expected to be employed within Boards.

The Scottish Government’s consultation on a National Care Service closed on 2 November, and received around 1,300 written responses. There was also significant digital and face to face engagement with members of the public throughout the consultation period.

Written responses will be published, where permission has been given, along with summary notes of points raised at the engagement events. An independent contractor has been appointed to undertake a detailed analysis of the responses and we expect to publish the analysis report in early 2022.

The Scottish Government currently directly employs the following number of solicitors, set out below by pay band/grade. SCS - Director is the most senior grade with legal trainees being the most junior grade. It should be noted that there are other individuals who may be qualified solicitors employed in non-legal roles in policy/operational directorates across the Scottish Government but that information is not centrally known or held.

Directorate for Legal Services

I am most grateful to my colleague, Mr Burnett, for raising the important matter of overseas recruitment for social care providers. Regarding the recent funding for NHS boards; this funding cannot be routed to social care providers, who sit outwith the NHS. However, I would be happy to explain to Mr Burnett the work which is ongoing to address recruitment within the sector.

The Scottish Government are working hard to attract more people to a career in the social care sector. For the past two years the Scottish Government has funded an Adult Social Care Marketing Campaign. A further national marketing campaign launched on 8 November to attract more people to the sector.

We believe that Scotland’s social care services benefit greatly from the staff in the workforce who come from overseas. The sector is deeply concerned about the impact that the post-EU Exit loss of freedom of movement will have on recruitment to critical frontline social care roles. Scottish Government and key sector partners will continue to engage with UK Ministers to highlight why Scotland’s social care sector must have access to workers from outwith the UK, to help meet shortfall in workforce capacity and avoid the subsequent impact on our most vulnerable citizens. We also highlight that Scotland’s care workers are qualified, registered and regulated.

We will continue to push for a migration system tailored to Scotland’s needs, including a Scottish Visa, and work with partners and employers to develop proposals that suit their requirements.

The total revenue funding provided by the Scottish Government to North Ayrshire Council as part of the annual local government finance settlement, in real terms, is set out in the following table.

It should be noted that the basis of local government funding changed with effect from 1 April 2008. The total revenue funding figures for 2008-09 onwards include previously ring-fenced funding which was outwith the annual local government finance settlement. It should also be noted that the funding for Police and Fire transferred out of the local government finance settlement with effect from 1 April 2013. As a result of these two changes the period between 1999-00 and 2007-08 is not directly comparable with the period between 2008-09 and 2012-13. Similarly the period between 2008-09 and 2012-13 is not directly comparable with the subsequent period from 2013-14 onwards.

The real terms figures were calculated using the October 2021 HM Treasury GDP deflators.

In the following table, the data provided covers the period from when the Scottish Government took control of the shipyard to the present day. The table includes a yearly workforce count, and a count taken when the shipyard entered administration on 16 August 2019. The Agency/Contracted count includes workers employed through agencies and contractors working under FMPG management control, including interims.

The First Minister travels for a range of reasons including ensuring that the people of Scotland are effectively represented and ensuring that Scotland’s voice is heard on important issues.

Before arranging to travel on official business, Scottish Government employees and Ministers are first required to consider if their journey is really necessary. If they conclude that they are unable to conduct their business by other means, such as video or teleconferencing, they are then required to travel in the most cost–effective and time-efficient method available.

Travel is an essential part of official government business we take our responsibility to travel sustainably very seriously and aim to use more sustainable forms of transport wherever possible.

Any business flights taken by Ministers and Scottish Government employees are subject to a carbon levy payment. Pre-Covid the levy collected approximately £40,000 per year, and is used to compensate for carbon emissions generated. For example, in August 2019 the levy was used to partially fund solar panels on the roof of St Andrews House in Edinburgh. The panels have so far saved 15 tonnes of CO2 equivalent to planting 696 trees.

(a) Mental Health Workers

The main Mental Health professional groups that the Scottish Government holds data for are Psychiatrists, Mental Health Nurses and Psychologists, including other psychological clinical staff and therapists. The Scottish Government also holds workforce figures for CAMHS, which are multidisciplinary teams that include, in addition to the professions mentioned above, AHPs, counsellors and social workers.

(a).1 Consultant Psychiatrists

A breakdown of the number of Consultant Psychiatrists recruited in each NHS Board for each of the last five years can be found on the NES Medical and Dental Turas Dashboard at the following link: Medical and Dental | Turas Data Intelligence (nhs.scot)

(a).2 Mental Health Nurses

A breakdown of the number of Mental Health Nurses recruited in each NHS Board for each of the last five years can be found on the NES Nursing and Midwifery Turas Dashboard at the following link: Nursing and Midwifery | Turas Data Intelligence (nhs.scot)

(a).3 Psychology Services Workforce

A breakdown of the staff recruited to the Psychology Services in each NHS Board for each of the last five years can be found on the NES Psychology Turas Dashboard at the following link: Psychology | Turas Data Intelligence (nhs.scot)

(a).4 CAMHS Workforce

A breakdown of the staff recruited to CAMHS in each NHS Board for each of the last five years can be found on the NES CAMHS Turas Dashboard at the following link: CAMHS | Turas Data Intelligence (nhs.scot)

(a).5 Action 15

In addition to the data listed above, the Scottish Government also collects and publishes figures for mental health workers recruited under Action 15 of the Mental Health Strategy, representing our commitment to recruit an additional 800 mental health workers between 2018-19 and 2021-22, to key settings such as A&E departments, GP practices, police station custody suites and prisons.

The latest recruitment figures as at 1 July 2021 can be accessed at Mental health workers: quarterly performance reports - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Since 2018/19, almost £68 million has been allocated to Integration Authorities (IAs) based on the NHSScotland Resource Allocation Committee (NRAC) formula. While the Scottish Government provides funding for recruitment under Action 15, workforce and service planning is conducted by IAs according to the needs of their populations.

Since 2018/19 654.3 WTE posts have been recruited, representing nearly 82% of the overall target of 800 WTE. As at 1 July 2021, the recruitment rate per IA ranges between 54% and 101%, with some IAs having exceeded their allocation in advance of the March 2022 deadline.

(b) Community Link Workers

The Scottish Government only holds data on additional Community Link Workers (CLWs) recruited as part of the 2016 manifesto commitment to recruit at least 250 CLWs by the end of 2021-22. Any data prior to the 2016 manifesto, or of similar held specialist posts employed outwith this programme, would be held by Health and Social Care Partnerships.

Since March 2018, 218 headcount (HC) posts have been recruited, representing nearly 87% of the target of 250 CLWs in post. There has been some scaling back on previous projected workforce numbers due to Covid related reasons of limited opportunities to provide support remotely; staff being redeployed elsewhere; contractual delays, but figures remain on track to recover by March 2022.

The Scottish Government published information on the number of CLWs employed by NHSScotland broken down by region on 12 October 2021 in response to a Freedom of Information Request submitted to the Scottish Government on 1 September 2021 (reference FOI/202100235471). The information can be accessed at: Information regarding community link workers: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Renewable energy is a crucial element of our transition to deliver a net-zero economy and We are determined to maximise the economic opportunity for the Scottish supply chain from both our onshore and offshore wind potential. We remain fully committed to using every lever within our devolved competence to support and grow the wind supply chain here in Scotland.

In offshore wind, the first cycle of ScotWind leasing is currently underway, which will provide a pipeline of new projects from the late 2020s onwards. As part of the ScotWind bidding round, applicants have submitted a Supply Chain Development Statement (SCDS) to Crown Estate Scotland, outlining the supply chain activity they commit to undertaking within Scotland, the UK and overseas.

There is considerable additional and ongoing work to support the growth of our domestic supply chain and capitalise on the economic opportunity resulting from offshore wind including the Strategic Infrastructure Assessment (SIA), which was referenced as a 100 Days’ Commitment of this government. Published on 20 August the SIA is now being taken forward by Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC), with the group developing an action plan to take forward the SIA’s recommendations. This assessment highlights the need for urgent investment in port infrastructure to support the growth of the sector. We look forward to SOWEC taking forward next steps on the recommendations set out in the report.

For onshore wind, our consultation on the draft Onshore Wind Policy Statement was launched on 28 October 2021 and will run until January 2022. This considers and seeks views on a variety of issues related to onshore wind including supply chain issues, and specifically seeks views on minimum local content, similar to the sector deal for offshore wind.