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On 8 December 2022, the BMA Scottish Junior Doctor Committee (SJDC) officially announced their intention to ballot for industrial action. Since this date, the Scottish Government has exchanged correspondence with the BMA on the following dates:

• 12 and 15 December 2022

• 26 January 2023

• 9, 21 and 24 February 2023

• 16 and 17 March 2023

• 5 April 2023

Prior to the BMA SJDC officially confirming their intention to ballot for industrial action, the Scottish Government corresponded with the BMA SJDC on the subject of Junior Doctors pay on:

• 7 October 2022

• 11 and 30 November 2022

• 1 and 7 December 2022

I met with BMA on 11 April 2023 to discuss their concerns around pay and then again on 20 April when we entered into negotiations with Junior Doctors to secure a pay award for 2023-24.

Portfolio responsibility for COVID-19 Inquiries rests with the Deputy First Minister. There have been no meetings between other Ministers, including the former Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, and the Chair of the Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry, the Hon Lord Brailsford, since his appointment.

Scottish Government allocates commensurate funding to Health boards for 17J, 17C and 2C practices as part of the wider Primary Medical Services allocation. It is anticipated that Boards will fund 2C practices from this funding.

The Scottish Government is co-operating fully with the work of the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry, this will include participating, as required, in public hearings. It is a matter for the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry as to who they call to give evidence and when.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information: Health Boards are responsible for making Golden Hello payments to eligible GPs.

Publication of information about the Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry’s costs is a matter for the Inquiry. The Inquiry has decided to provide quarterly reporting of its costs on its website at https://www.covid19inquiry.scot/inquiry-costs .

Information on the number of dental practices is not held centrally. NHS Boards will hold information on the number of dental practices in their areas.

Information on the number of dentists can be found at the National Education Scotland Data Intelligence website : Data tables | Turas Data Intelligence (nhs.scot) .

Pay negotiations are held in a confidential space through the Scottish Terms and Conditions Committee and it would not be appropriate for the Government to publish correspondence between Ministers and individual parties. The full scope of the agreement, containing detail on the wider review of Agenda for Change, has been published on the Scottish Government website ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-agenda-for-change-review-scope/ ).

Information on the level of funding made available to NHS Boards through the long COVID Support Fund for 2022-23 can be found on page 2 of the Scottish Government’s 20 December 2022 letter to the Scottish Parliament’s COVID-19 Recovery Committee. This is accessible on the Scottish Parliament website at: https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/committees/covid19-recovery-committee/correspondence/2022/letter-from-cabinet-secretary-for-health-and-social-care--long-covid.pdf .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15841 on 24 March 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .