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The funding associated with the Health and Social Care Levy is estimated to be around £1 billion per annum on average across the UK Spending Review period; however HM Treasury has not specifically quantified this funding within our overall settlement. All frontline Health and Social Care consequentials are being passed on.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with dystonia are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

While the Scottish Government’s role is to set the strategic policy for the NHS in Scotland, NHS Boards and healthcare professionals locally have responsibility for both service delivery and people’s care. NHS Boards are expected to ensure that patients, including those who require care and support for dystonia, have access to a range of professionals to provide the appropriate management of their condition.

Dystonia UK, a leading charity that provides supports for people living with dystonia, is a member of the Neurological Alliance of Scotland (NAoS). The NAoS are key members of our National Advisory Committee for Neurological Conditions which is working to drive improvement in outcomes for people with a range of neurological conditions, including dystonia.

In 2019, we published a Neurological Care and Support – National Framework for Action, with a vision to ensure everyone with a neurological condition, including dystonia, can access the care and support they need to live well, on their own terms.

We are investing £4.5 million of funding to implement the 17 commitments in the framework, supporting innovative practice in neurological care for people with conditions such as dystonia. No applications have been received to date for projects in relation to the direct support and care of people affected by dystonia and we would welcome future applications.

Through Commitment 13 of the Framework, the Scottish Government will support neurological research by promoting the work of the Chief Scientist Office, third sector organisations’ research and Scottish neurological research networks; encouraging opportunities for people with neurological conditions to become involved in research trials; and highlighting the need for further qualitative research on the impact of living with a neurological condition.

The Chief Scientist Office research funding committees are open and applications on the underlying causes, diagnosis, treatment and management of dystonia are welcomed - Response Mode Funding Schemes – Chief Scientist Office (scot.nhs.uk)

The Scottish government does not include its long COVID estimates in the COVID-19 in Scotland dashboard, because they are instead published in the weekly Scottish Government Coronavirus (COVID-19): modelling the epidemic series of publications ( Coronavirus (COVID-19): modelling the epidemic - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ). The estimates reported in the weekly Coronavirus (COVID-19): modelling the epidemic series are based on data and simulation, so are inherently uncertain and therefore this weekly modelling report is the most appropriate location to publish them.

Estimates of the number of long COVID cases in Scotland are also generated by the Office for National Statistics ( Prevalence of ongoing symptoms following coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in the UK - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) ). These estimates are caveated in a similar manner; “this is analysis of new, recently collected data, and our understanding of it and its quality will improve over time. Long COVID is an emerging phenomenon that is not yet fully understood. The estimates presented in this release are experimental statistics, which are a series of statistics that are in the testing phase and not yet fully developed.”

The 2022-23 Scottish Budget provides investment of £18 billion for the Health and Social Care Portfolio, delivering on the commitment to pass on frontline health and care Barnett consequentials in full.

The majority of Lateral Flow Tests are distributed through the UK 4 nations National Testing Programme and a detailed breakdown is not available. Information on the number of Lateral Flow Tests used and reported in Scotland is published weekly by Public Health Scotland.

The Scottish Government recognises the negative impact that long COVID can have on the health and wellbeing of those affected. We are already taking action to ensure that people are supported in the most appropriate way possible, and are committed to do more.

We have published our approach paper which sets out 16 commitments to improve care and support for people with long COVID in Scotland.

Our approach outlines the work we are doing, with partners, to strengthen the key elements of care for people with long COVID - accessed through; supported self-management, assessment provided within primary and community care, rehabilitation support and; secondary care investigation and support where required.

Our commitments are backed by a £10 million ‘Long COVID Support Fund’, which will provide additional resource to strengthen services for people with long COVID across Scotland, by bolstering the capacity of existing NHS services, enabling improved care co-ordination and supporting staff education and training needs.

We are continuing to support clinicians to access evidence based information and advice on long COVID, to inform assessments, investigations and referrals for patients.

We are also funding nine Scottish-led research projects with a total funding commitment of £2.5m to improve understanding of the long-term effects of COVID-19 on physical and mental health, and help with developing effective clinical interventions to support recovery and rehabilitation.

Our review process has been informed by the latest evidence from public opinion as well as the clinical and scientific literature, and from international experience. We published an updated evidence paper on the COVID-19 status certification scheme on Friday 19 November 2021.

Understanding the effects of the scheme, and how it is being implemented, requires data about the use of the technology, vaccinations, and the impact on society and the economy. However, it is challenging to isolate the effects of any one element of the Covid response.

Vaccine uptake has slightly increased since the scheme was announced, although it is not possible to directly attribute rises to the introduction of certification. The proportion of those aged 12+ with a first dose rose from 86.0% to 90.5% and a second dose rose from 77.6% to 82.2%.

Limited information is published in the Stage of Treatment publication on cancellation by service rates. You will find this information at: Stage of treatment waiting times - Inpatients, day cases and new outpatients 30 November 2021 - NHS waiting times - stage of treatment - Publications - Public Health Scotland

Information covering October 2021 to December 2021 will be published by PHS in February 2022.

There have been no meetings between the myself and BDA Scotland since 1 September.

Meetings between officials and BDA Scotland take place routinely and the Cabinet Secretary is fully briefed on these discussions.