Seòmar agus comataidhean

For 2021-22 and 2022-23, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08999 on 20 June 2022. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Future year’s planned expenditure will be determined and set out in each year’s Scottish Budget.

The Scottish Government takes the issue of Scotland’s declining populations of wild Atlantic salmon very seriously and is working to ensure the protection and recovery of this iconic species. In January 2022 the Scottish Government published the Wild Salmon Strategy which provides an overarching framework for the actions required to tackle the range of pressures affecting wild salmon. The Strategy can be accessed at Scottish Wild Salmon Strategy - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

A commitment made in the Strategy is to undertake a study to identify the socio-economic benefits arising from healthy wild Atlantic salmon populations and how these can be maximised through partnerships between the public, private and charitable sectors. Furthermore, this study will allow comparisons to be made between the current economic value of the recreational fisheries sector to past values.

The most recent socio-economic study was conducted in 2017 and showed that recreational fisheries in Scotland contributed £79.9m Gross Value Added and 4300 FTE jobs. It is important to note that, although this study was published in 2017, it was based on data from 2014/15 when coastal netting was still in place. It is anticipated that the subsequent prohibition on coastal netting is likely to have had an effect on the economic value.

Each financial year, NHS Boards are typically required to deliver a level of efficiency savings to deliver financial balance. Efficiency savings are how health boards ensure they are making the best possible use of public money and every penny of efficiency savings stays with the health boards.

We are working closely with all NHS Boards to address financial pressures facing the system, whilst ensuring that patient safety and Covid recovery remain the priority.

Since the start of the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme Board we have invested over £18m in improvements to services and support for parents, infants and families across Scotland. This includes £5.5m for development of specialist Community Perinatal Mental Health services.

Funding levels for each Board have been primarily based on the gaps identified in Delivering Effective Services Report – Perinatal Mental Health Network Scotland and further shaped through discussions with each Board to ensure funding meets local need. As the we progress the programme of work, allocations are transitioning to an NRAC share which is the Scottish Resource Allocation formula used to distribute funding to NHS Boards.

Initial development funding was provided to two Health Boards in the North of Scotland in 2019-20. Funding was then rolled out to all mainland Boards in 2020/21 and all Boards received an allocation in 2021-22.

Following conclusion of the current Programme Board in March 2023, £8m per annum has been earmarked as recurring funding to Health Boards to support the sustainability of perinatal and infant mental health services across Scotland. This includes £5m specifically for specialist Community Perinatal Mental Health services.

Please see the following tables for a breakdown of funding allocated per Board for specialist Community Perinatal Mental Health services for the last 3 financial years.

The information requested relating to non-Mother and Baby Unit adult mental health inpatient admissions during the pregnancy or the postnatal period is not held centrally. However, the Scottish Government Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme Board is looking at this question as part of the work following the Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) Inpatient Provision Consultation which closed on 31 May 2022.

A national Perinatal Mental Health Dataset for specialist Community Perinatal Mental Health services (as well as Mother and Baby Units and Maternity/Neonatal Psychological Interventions services) has recently been launched by the Perinatal Mental Health Managed Clinical Network. It is currently being rolled out across Health Boards. The dataset builds upon a previous Clinical Audit System which reported on a limited number of clinical indicators for Mother and Baby Units. The Perinatal Mental Health Dataset will include a range of indicators of clinical activity, recorded by local specialist teams. It will be used to support local service development and quality improvement. The dataset will act as a tool to support Health Boards with local improvement in service planning and delivery, enabling them to understand and respond to local need.

The Transition & Recovery Plan, published in October 2020 and backed by an additional £120m of funding, is transforming services, with a renewed focus on prevention and early intervention. A key commitment in the Transition and Recovery plan is to support the collaborative development, implementation and assessment of quality standards for mental health services. To help ensure that services deliver and measure Psychological Therapies in a more standardised way across Scotland, a new national standard for Psychological Services and Therapies is currently under development with a publication date of Summer 2022.

As part of our investment in Mental Health and Wellbeing in Primary Care Services we will ensure that local planning groups, and in particular local primary care mental health services, are fully aware of the resources and services available for perinatal mental health and are supplied with clear guidance on how to support women and families in accessing these services. This will include support to access wider mental health support hubs, groups and helplines.

COSLA leaders and Ministers have now agreed the funding package to support the development of Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (LHEES) for the 2022-23 financial year. This funding package will be treated as a redetermination of the General Revenue Grant and paid in the last 2 weeks of March 2023. This funding could be used to cover internal resourcing and/or procurement of external technical services. Scottish Government officials have already communicated the agreement of the funding to local authorities and will also provide further guarantees and details via COSLA's official channels in due course .

From the outset, the Scottish Government’s decision-making on the COVID-19 vaccination programme has been guided by the expert advice provided by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and senior clinicians.

Spring 2022 Booster

On 21 February 2022, the JCVI advised that a spring booster dose be offered to the following groups:

adults aged 75 years and over

residents in care homes for older adults

individuals aged 12 years and over who are immunosuppressed

Those who qualify as immunosuppressed as defined in chapter 14a of the Green book COVID-19 Greenbook chapter 14a (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Autumn Booster

On 19 May 2022 the JCVI issued interim advice regarding the autumn 2022 COVID-19 boosters. The JCVI interim advice is to offer the autumn 2022 vaccination to the following groups:

Residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults;

Frontline health and social care workers;

All those 65 years of age and over; and

Adults aged 16 to 65 years in a clinical risk group.

The JCVI will announce its final plans for the autumn programme, including further detail on the definitions of clinical risk groups, in due course and we stand ready to implement any further decisions on eligibility made by the JCVI.

There is a clinical referral route available for clinicians to refer anyone who they identify as requiring additional dose(s) of vaccine or a different dosing schedule for clinical reasons (in keeping with eligibility as recommended by JCVI), on a case by-case-basis.

We are committed to supporting patients to deal with the emotional and physical effects of cancer. We are currently working in partnership with Macmillan to improve the service we offer cancer patients through the Transforming Cancer Care Programme (TCC). This joint partnership with Macmillan is worth £18 million, and is the first of its kind in the UK. The programme looks to ensure that every cancer patient in Scotland has access to specialist key support worker, who can provide emotional, financial and practical support to those who need it most. This partnership is the first of its kind in the UK.

To ensure vital services of support for patients continued throughout the pandemic we established the third sector resilience fund and the wellbeing fund as part of a £350 million support fund announced on 18 March 2020. The £15 million Adult Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund was announced on 15 October 2021. This is the first year of a two year Fund to support mental health and wellbeing in communities across Scotland.

As part of our Cancer Recovery Plan, a new National Framework has been developed to support people affected by cancer. Launching in Spring 2022, the Framework not only sets out general principles for high quality holistic care, but also incorporates a number of tools that will aid implementation across Scotland. The Framework highlights the four levels of psychological care and support which are supported through expert evidence, and presents two models for implementation that are applicable across sectors, including health, care and the third-sector.

Cancer prehabilitation can support patients with the mental and physical challenges of living with cancer. A Cancer Prehabilitation Implementation Steering Group was convened in April 2021 to support and oversee the implementation and evaluation of comprehensive prehabilitation and evaluation whilst three subgroups look to: develop a digital resource that will improve access to education and training, improve access to psychological care and support and develop and implement a nutrition framework for prehabilitation.

Upon arrival of Ukrainian Displaced People at Welcome Hubs, communication needs are assessed to ensure that information is provided in a format that meets their needs. This may include easy to read documents in community languages and interpretation services for those who experience language barriers.

ESOL provision is offered by a range of providers including Community Learning and Development services through local authority partnerships, colleges, schools, voluntary organisations, universities and private language providers. Scottish Government ESOL funding is currently provided through colleges as part of the grant allocated to the Scottish Funding Council. Colleges are instructed to work with Community Planning Partnerships to determine the level of need for provision and agree with partners how this need can be met.