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Data published by Public Health Scotland covering the period 01 January 2020 to 30 September 2021 shows that in NHS Grampian 83.7 % eligible referrals started treatment within the 62 day standard in 2020 and 78.2% in 2021. Representing 1081 of 1,291 referrals in 2020 and 815 of 1,042 referrals in 2021.

Further breakdown of this data can be accessed at Cancer waiting times - 1 July to 30 September 2021 - Cancer waiting times - Publications - Public Health Scotland .

Boards are continuing to prioritise new cancer patients being referred with a suspicion of cancer - this is closely monitored through weekly performance meetings with officials and reflected in Boards’ Remobilisation Plans.

A refresh of the Framework for Effective Cancer Management is underway and will support clinicians and NHS managers to drive improvements in cancer pathways, providing Health Boards with the tools to effectively manage cancer patients and ultimately recover waiting times.

£10 million of funding has been directed to support cancer waiting times improvements in NHS Scotland across 2021-22, including up-skilling nurses and investing in diagnostic tests to extended working days and weekend working, to increase capacity and see/treat cancer patients as timely as possible. NHS Grampian received £974,000 as a share of the funding.

Prioritisation within the Scottish Government’s COVID-19 vaccination programme is based upon the clinical risk of developing severe disease with COVID-19. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises on clinical prioritisation for vaccination. Priority groups 1-9 incorporate the highest clinical risk groups and each group cohort is invited to receive vaccination accordingly.

As per guidance outlined within the Green Book, Chapter 14a, children and young people aged 12-15 years with poorly controlled asthma that requires continuous or repeated use of systemic steroids or with previous exacerbations requiring hospital admission, are included as a high risk group within chronic respiratory disease.

For full details please see p19-23: COVID-19: the green book, chapter 14a - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) .

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

A key component to freeing up bed capacity in our hospitals this winter is to reduce the level of delayed discharge and strengthen community services to help avoid acute admissions and maximise capacity. To support this, we are providing £300 million to bolster the workforce and help get people the care they need as quickly as possible this winter. Controlling Covid admissions will also be vital to freeing up hospital beds and helping those who are working so hard in the NHS and social care to keep us safe

We continue to work with NHS Boards and their partners to implement their winter plans which includes increasing the number of staffed beds available. Recruitment for this is underway across acute and community services to ensure best use of available resource.

In November I announced additional winter funding of £10 million for Health Boards to ensure resilience over winter. This funding will be targeted towards enhancing local teams. For example, the deployment of expert physio and occupational therapy staff at A&E units to help triage people best treated elsewhere.

Additionally, as part of our winter plan we’re providing boards with £10 million for two new specialist programmes which will speed up the hospital discharge process or provide an alternative to hospital care altogether.

Claims of bullying behaviour by civil servants are untrue. All members of the National Advisory Committee for Chronic Pain (NACCP) are free to make whatever contribution they wish to discussions.

All committee members are required to abide by the behaviours set out in the Terms of Reference, including the values of respect and mutual collaboration to agree recommendations to help improve care for people with chronic pain. If these behaviours and values were not met, this would be taken very seriously and addressed.

As at December 2021 four representatives of the Chronic Pain Patient Reference Group attending the NACCP had written to officials to resign their positions. Two resignations took place in June 2021, with one in each of October and November 2021. It would not be appropriate to divulge the specific reasons cited by each individual, however I am clear that officials acted on the relevant feedback provided.

For example, as a result we are currently reviewing existing stakeholder engagement processes and structures around our work on chronic pain, including the role of the NACCP. The outcome of this work is intended to ensure meaningful engagement to support the future delivery and implementation of the Framework for Pain Management Service Delivery following completion of the current public consultation.

The Open Market Shared Equity scheme is targeted at first time buyers on low to moderate incomes regardless of the source of their income. This includes those in employment and in receipt of benefits. In 2020-21, the average gross household income of beneficiaries was £27,000 and 43% of households had at least one child.

10,195 hectares of new woodland has be planted in Scotland since 21 st January 2021. The area that was planted as (a) coniferous, (b) broadleaved, (c) native and (d) non-native is shown in Table 1. This balance of planting is in line with SG targets.

The Scottish Government continues to closely monitor all emerging evidence on the effectiveness of COVID-19 treatments and their clinical effectiveness. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is now assessing Paxlovid’s safety and effectiveness, and I cautiously welcome analysis of the final clinical trial results from Pfizer (which are yet to be published or verified) which show that Paxlovid cuts the risk of hospitalisation or death by approximately 89% in high risk, non-hospitalised adult patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19. If approved by the MHRA, this will represent another significant pharmaceutical option in our response to COVID-19.

On 20th October, the UK Government announced that 250,000 treatment courses of Paxlovid had been ordered, pending regulatory approval. On 22nd December, the UK Government announced that a further 2.5 million treatment courses had been ordered as part of efforts to reduce the impact of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant across the UK. If authorised by the MHRA, the intention is to initially deploy antivirals such as Paxlovid to individuals through a UK-wide national study, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The University of Oxford has been selected to lead the study . This will enable collection of additional data to address limitations in the company-sponsored trials, for example the effectiveness of the treatments in vaccinated patients, as participants in the company trials were unvaccinated.

Funding provided by the Scottish Government (Chief Scientist Office) for research falls into three broad areas of activity, i.e. research studies, capacity building and supporting infrastructure.

The specific amounts provided by condition are set out below although it should be noted that research studies (funded by non-commercial and third sector organisations) would also have benefited from the provision of service support costs and other generic resources which are not routinely recorded by condition.

Research Grants

The Chief Scientist Office supports response mode grant committees and a small catalytic grants scheme (2016-19). The committees which comprise independent experts as well as public representatives consider applications across broad research remits to address health and care challenges in Scotland. Applications are subject to independent expert peer-review with funding recommendations made by the committees. It should be noted that (1) funding rounds were significantly impacted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic which saw a significant research response and (2) for 2021 to date only one of the two funding rounds has been completed.