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‘The Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER) has been awarded the contract to develop anti-racist training resources for NHS staff, by end of 2024. These resources will have a specific focus on

• Understanding and identifying systemic and structural racism both in general and within health and social care settings in particular;
• The impact of racism on mental and physical health of both the victims and the witnesses;
• Racialised health inequalities;
• Intersectional racism, including islamophobia, and prejudice affecting specific groups such as minority ethnic women, asylum seekers and refugees;
• Reporting of incidents; and
• Support structures and resources across NHS Health Boards in Scotland.

CRER will work in collaboration with the NHS National Ethnic Minority Forum, NHS employers and other key partners to ensure that the resources developed are relevant to the experiences of staff and patients in Scotland.’

The Scottish Government funded places offered since 2007 can be seen in the following table.

In 2021 we increased the Scottish Veterans Fund to £500,000 per annum to provide greater support to veterans and their families. This year, 25 projects are supported by the Fund. This includes projects helping to combat social isolation, for example a programme of away days for veterans in and around the Huntly area from Networks of Wellbeing; and the establishment of a Cafe hub in Falkirk which offers support to veterans and their families by FirstLight Trust.

Our strategy ‘A Connected Scotland’ recognises that those in transitional phases, like veterans leaving the armed forces, can be more at risk of social isolation and loneliness. Our forthcoming social isolation and loneliness plan will set out our intent to engage with veterans organisations and use data and outcomes to understand how we can better support the armed forces community to strengthen social connections.

The most recent iteration of the Scottish Household Survey included the 2022 Census question on former service in the Armed Forces which, when combined with the Scottish Household Survey’s questions on loneliness and isolation, will improve considerably our understanding of social isolation across the veterans community. This will, in turn, help inform future policy and services.

The safe treatment, health, and wellbeing of all those in custody is a key priority for this Government and it is vital that people who live in our prisons are supported. It is imperative that when problems do occur, individuals receive the necessary treatment, care and respect, in a timely manner.

When anyone arrives in custody, they will have a healthcare consultation with an NHS healthcare professional within 24 hours of arrival, to identify healthcare conditions, other vulnerabilities and medication requirements. Early assessment of health needs is vital and a range of related work is being progressed with partners to improve healthcare in custody and in relation to deaths in custody.

Preventing suicide and supporting people who self-harm are key areas of focus for the Scottish Prison Service in developing its Health and Wellbeing Strategy. We continue to work closely with NHS Boards, SPS and the National Prison Care Network to implement the healthcare recommendations from the Independent Review of Deaths in Custody, as well as the Suicide Prevention Strategy and Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) is a neurological condition as classified by the World Health Organisation’s International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10). The ICD code for ME/CFS is G93.32, categorising it within disorders of the nervous system. As such this condition is covered by the Scottish Government’s Neurological care and support - framework for action 2020-2025 .

The Scottish Government engaged with a range of industry stakeholders as part of the development of the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, including through the Scottish Energy Advisory Board and its Strategic Leadership Groups, as well as engagement with research organisations and independent experts. Officials regularly draw on the expertise of organisations, such Wood Mackenzie. We will continue to engage with industry experts and wider stakeholders, and encourage the broadest possible range of responses to the consultation on the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan.

Information on the number of public access defibrillators in Scotland is available here: Scotland’s Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Report 2019-2022

Early intervention in psychosis (EIP) and improving services and support for people experiencing a first instance of psychosis in Scotland, are key priority areas for the Scottish Government, as set out in the Early Intervention In Psychosis Action Plan 2019, Mental Health Strategy 2017 to 2027 and the Coronavirus (COVID-19): Mental Health - Transition and Recovery Plan 2020.

To deliver this improvement we commissioned Healthcare Improvement Scotland to undertake a national needs assessment for EIP services across all 14 health boards which was published in March 2021. This assessment outlines the specific needs of communities across Scotland when considering the delivery of improved EIP services. The assessment report and recommendations from this work can be accessed here: https://ihub.scot/media/8111/20210316-eip-report-v21.pdf

In April 2021 we began work with Healthcare Improvement Scotland to deliver a second phase of EIP improvement, which is ongoing. This work builds on the national needs assessment and is focused on piloting models of service delivery which take account of the needs of different communities across Scotland.

The Scottish Government engaged with a range of industry stakeholders as part of the development of the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, including through the Scottish Energy Advisory Board and its Strategic Leadership Groups, as well as engagement with research organisations and independent experts. Officials regularly engage with stakeholders including OEUK, Scottish Renewables, Energy UK and Solar Energy Scotland, and that engagement has informed the development of the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan. We will continue to engage with industry experts and wider stakeholders, and encourage the broadest possible range of responses to the consultation on the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan.

Skills Development Scotland(SDS), the Scottish Government’s Skills agency, works closely with the Career Transition Partnership who have responsibility for delivering the career and employment support as part of the transition for those leaving military service.

SDS have delivered sessions on My World of Work (MyWOW) and all SDS advisers are aware of the wide range of training and education options available at all levels across Scotland. A dedicated page on the SDS MyWOW website acts as a signpost for a range of advice and support. This has also been included as part of SDS’ presentations to serving military as part of the personal resilience days.

In addition and to assist service leavers and veterans in understanding their transferable skills and to help plan their future learning journey, the Scottish Government has funded the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) to develop a Discovery Tool to help them align their skills and qualifications gained in service with comparable Scottish level qualifications. This is available through the SCQF or SDS MyWOW websites.

Work on developing the tool further to link to the college and universities sectors continues. The MOD's Enhanced Learning Credits (ELCAS) Scheme promotes lifelong learning amongst members of the Armed Forces, the scheme enables higher level learning of a nationally recognised qualification with an approved Learning Provider. We continue to work to improve the ELCAS offering and are making progress in understanding the institutional issues.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) continue to facilitate work with the Armed Forces and Veterans Community Group (AFVCG) and the Ministry of Defence’s Training, Educations, Skills, Resettlement and Recruitment (TESRR) and Careers Transition Partnership (CTP) with a proposal to have dedicated educational opportunities briefing sessions at CTP online workshops being approved. In Academic Year 2021-22 three online sessions were delivered and one face to face session. For Academic Year 2022-23 three CTP online sessions and two face to face sessions have been arranged.

The SFC on behalf of the Scottish Government have a dedicated web page with information and advice for people leaving military service. The web page is regularly reviewed and maintained, with updates when necessary. SFC Communications Teams uses social media channels to promote events linked to and relevant for veterans, service leavers, the armed forces and their families.

The Centre for Military Research, Education and Public Engagement (CMREPE) based at Edinburgh Napier University, has a focus for ‘developing a strong network of significant partnerships to enhance opportunities for military personnel active, transitioning and veterans in education and research activity.