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As you will know our hospitals, particularly across the central belt, are under significant pressure due to the direct and indirect consequences of the pandemic which is impacting on A&E performance.

We recognise the good work underway in each of our Health Boards to implement performance improvement measures. Although NHS Tayside is of a comparable size to some of the other central belt Health Boards, there are substantial differences between the Boards, particularly in terms of geography and population demographics.

NHS Tayside is regularly one of the higher performing mainland Health Boards, with well-established processes and models of care. Through our new National Urgent and Unscheduled Care Collaborative we are actively encouraging the sharing of learning and good practice between Health Boards. To help facilitate this, we are hosting a learning event on 19 October where representatives from all of Scotland’s Health Boards will participate.

The requested information on how many shifts have been provided by (a) staff bank and (b) agencies in each NHS board area in each of the last 10 years is not held centrally.

Information on the total hours worked by Nursing and Midwifery bank and agency staff by NHS board since March 2012 can be found on the following link: NHSScotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence (Bank and Agency) tab, change measure to 'hours worked'.

It is important that NHS Boards can call on additional staffing when required, in order to deal with the exigencies of the service. It is for NHS Boards to decide when the additional support represented by agency staffing is required but the Scottish Government is clear that Boards should always make use of NHS bank staff as a first choice and the majority of additional staffing needs are met through NHS Scotland’s well established bank system. These act as, de facto, in house agencies. We have over 35,000 nurses registered on NHS Scotland Staff Banks. It would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to establish a commercial agency. Combined spending on all agency staff (medical and nursing) remains less than 1% of the overall NHS Scotland budget.

The requested information on how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time NHS staff work in pulmonary rehabilitation services is not centrally available.

The Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) service is run by a team of specialists which includes but is not limited to:

• Physiotherapists

• Pulmonary Rehabilitation Practitioners

• Assistant Pulmonary Rehabilitation Practitioners

The service is run for people who are having difficulty managing symptoms associated with a diagnosed breathing problem.

Information on how many Physiotherapists currently in post can be found in the following link: NHSScotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence

The requested information on how many staff vacancies there currently are in pulmonary rehabilitation services is not centrally available.

The Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) service is run by a team of specialists which includes but is not limited to:

• Physiotherapists

• Pulmonary Rehabilitation Practitioners

• Assistant Pulmonary Rehabilitation Practitioners

The service is run for people who are having difficulty managing symptoms associated with a diagnosed breathing problem.

Information on how many Physiotherapist vacancies there are can be found in the following link: NHSScotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence

It is important that NHS Boards can call on additional staffing when required, in order to deal with the exigencies of the service. It is for NHS Boards to decide when the additional support represented by agency staffing is required but the Scottish Government is clear that Boards should always make use of NHS bank staff as a first choice and the majority of additional staffing needs are met through NHS Scotland’s well established bank system. These act as, de facto, in house agencies. We have over 35,000 nurses registered on NHS Scotland Staff Banks. It would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to establish a commercial agency. Combined spending on all agency staff (medical and nursing) remains less than 1% of the overall NHS Scotland budget.

All eligible individuals will be offered a safe and effective vaccine that has been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and in line with Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice. JCVI have consistently said that ‘simplicity is the cornerstone of a successful public health vaccination programme’ and allowing a choice of vaccine is not possible for logistical and planning reasons.

For Winter 2022, the JCVI has advised using Moderna and Pfizer bivalent vaccines that target the original and Omicron strains of Covid-19. For those with specific allergies, or conditions which contraindicate these vaccines, an alternative is available in exceptional circumstances. If an individual has concerns about a medical condition or allergy then they should highlight this to the local vaccinator who would be best placed to advise.

We recognise the importance of the Scottish Events Campus as one of the world’s top conference and events venues, as recently exemplified in the successful hosting of COP26. It is clear that the SEC makes a vital contribution not just to Glasgow’s economy, but to Scotland’s economy as a whole.

As Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, I engaged with Peter Duthie, the CEO of the SEC, with regards to the SEC expansion plans and broader matters affecting the events sector. These discussions have necessarily been paused due to emerging budgetary pressures and reassessment of budget priorities as set out in the Resource Spending Review. We are therefore unable to commit to the provision of funding support via a capital finance package for the expansion of the conferencing centre at the current time.

However, we are keen to continue to engage with the SEC and the wider business conference and events sector on how the review of the National Event Strategy Scotland: The Perfect Stage, can enable us to build on its success, and to deliver on the priorities of our National Strategy for Economic Transformation.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government. Pay for directly employed staff would depend on a number of variables like the Banding of the nurse, the length of the shift and whether the shift takes place at night or over the weekend when an unsocial hours premium would apply.

A review of the content of the Scottish Health Survey took place between 18 July and 26 September 2022. The review asked users to explain their use of the current survey content and provided the opportunity for them to suggest any new questions, which could include questions relating to eating disorders. A report will be published in advance of the 2024 survey reporting the findings of the review and decisions on the survey content going forwards.