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While the Scottish Government sets strategic policies for the NHS in Scotland, it is for each NHS Board to decide best how to deliver high quality, safe and sustainable services to meet the needs of its population. We fully expect NHS Boards to plan their workforce to ensure that enough professional staff and facilities are available to provide the best possible care for patients in a variety of settings.

Under this Government, the number of consultants with a specialty of clinical radiology in NHSScotland have increased by 41.9 per cent to 317.2 Whole Time Equivalent. We have also increased radiology training places by 20 per cent in the last four years.

Cancer waiting times data for the second quarter of 2017 shows that 94.8% of cancer patients across Scotland received treatment within 31 days of a decision to treat, with the average wait being only 6 days. The Scottish Government are actively engaging NHS Boards where there are challenges to sustained delivery against the 62-day standard.

Our new Ministerial Cancer Performance Delivery Group will focus on driving forward improvements in waiting times for diagnosis and treatment for cancer patients. Backed by an additional £1 million investment to roll-out new technology, this would allow consultants to report on diagnostic scans taken anywhere in the country, helping to address short-falls in capacity in some areas.

We are also taking action to ensure we have enough radiologists for the future, working with NHS Boards and staff side organisations, including the Royal College of Radiologists, to make sure we have the right numbers in the right place conducting the right procedures.

In September 2017 we announced an additional £3 million to increase the number of radiology trainees in Scotland by at least fifty over the next five years. This was in the context of our wider package of measures to improve waiting times for diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients in Scotland.

Furthermore, the National Radiology Implementation Programme will see radiology information systems connected across every NHS Board in Scotland over the next 1-2 years. The programme will rely on NHS Boards working together in a joined-up service approach to maximise available services.

Consultation is underway on a wide set of proposals and will conclude at the end of January 2018. We will consider how best to take forward proposals, including the shape of legislative action, in the light of responses to consultation.

The Scottish Government values the work of SOPA and the important contributions made by older people, and we were pleased to provide funding for the National Assembly and Parliamentary reception in what was a highly competitive process. We were unable to support aspects of SOPA’s application that did not demonstrate a direct impact on older people and that duplicated the work of other funded projects. The Scottish Government remains committed to working with SOPA and will continue to support the sector to build capacity to ensure a positive impact on equality progression for older people.

The number of (a) live births and (b) terminations of pregnancy with Down’s syndrome since 1999 are provided in Table 1a and Table 1b.

For (a) live births, the data has been sourced from the Scottish Perinatal Infant Mortality and Morbidity Reports (SPIMMR), using data collated from the Scottish Stillbirth and Infant Death Survey. The last SPIMMR report published by ISD was in March 2014 for stillbirths and infant deaths registered in 2012. Since all infants were followed up for one year after birth to allow detection from hospital inpatient records and NRS death registrations, the latest available data is for 2011. In January 2013, the Scottish Stillbirth and Infant Death Survey was replaced by a revised UK survey, MBRRACE-UK (Mothers and Babies Reducing Risk through Audit and Confidential Enquiries across the UK).

Table 1a

Down's syndrome1 in live singleton births (ICD10 code: Q90 Down's syndrome)

Notes

i) These data are derived from the congenital anomaly data published in the Scottish Perinatal and Infant Mortality and Morbidity Report (SPIMMR) collected via the Scottish Stillbirth and Infant Death Survey (SSBID).

ii) In order to determine the number of live births, the number of stillbirths with Down's syndrome (reported to SSBID) have been removed form the table above.

iii) The last SPIMMR report published by ISD was in March 2014 for stillbirths and infant deaths registered in 2012.

iv) Since all infants were followed up for one year after birth to allow detection from hospital inpatient records and NRS death registrations, the latest available data is for 2011.

Table 1b

Termination of pregnancy with Down's syndrome (ICD10 code: Q90 Down's syndrome)

Civil legal aid is available without a means test or any requirement to pay a contribution for proceedings in relation to an order under sections 53, 57, 60, 62 or 63 of The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 where the order relates:

· only to the adult’s welfare (“welfare-only orders”); or

· to the adult’s welfare, property and finances (“combined orders”).

There is no specific legislation that covers the carrying of open containers of alcohol in public. However, powers for local authorities to create and amend byelaws are contained in section 201 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. Local authorities can and do use these powers to create byelaws that make it an offence to carry open containers of alcohol in designated public places. Where such byelaws are proposed, they are subject to confirmation by the Scottish Ministers.

Enforcement of the criminal law is an operational matter for Police Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

The Scottish Government issued an updated circular on byelaws concerning the consumption of alcohol in public places on 4 August 2014. The circular, Byelaws Prohibiting the Consumption of Alcohol in Designated Public Places, was sent to the Chief Constable of Police Scotland as well as local authorities and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

The circular provides advice to local authorities on applying to the Scottish Ministers for confirmation of byelaws prohibiting the consumption of alcohol in public places and also contains details of four ‘model’ offences which include an ‘open container’ offence. As part of the application process the local authority must consult Police Scotland to ensure that they are content with the proposed byelaws.

The circular is available for downloading from the Scottish Government's website at http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0045/00457061.pdf.

The consultation document 'A Healthier Future - Action and Ambitions on Diet, Activity and Healthy Weight' was published on 26 October 2017, with consultation running until 31 January 2018.

In addition to our on-line process, we will engage directly with a wide range of stakeholders including through regional workshops with the health and third sector; activities with young people; and a series of meetings with industry bodies and others.

I would welcome a response from the Committee to the consultation and would be happy to discuss our proposals and hear the views of all its members. This follows my attendance at the Committee’s evidence session on 16 December, where I encouraged the Committee to contribution to shaping our new strategy.

We will be considering our spending priorities as part of the forthcoming Scottish budget considerations following the Chancellors Autumn Budget Statement.

We are however concerned about the transparency of the Soft Drinks lndustry Levy. To ensure Scotland gets its fair share, we plan to engage with the UK Government and seek further clarification on how the levy is allocated to the Scottish Government.