This is the response from The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) Scotland as the latest Emergency Department performance data reveals that one in every nine people waited eight hours or more to be seen in A&E last month.
The data also shows long waits have increased significantly since the 2010s.
Since May 2017, for example, the numbers waiting four hours or more has increased by nearly five times, eight hours or more by 21 times, and 12 hours or more by 89 times. Despite attendance only increasing by 0.5% in the same period.
Dr John-Paul Loughrey, RCEM Vice President for Scotland said: “It is right that the First Minister has apologised to people who have been forced to withstand treatment in corridors.
“It is unbearable for the people experiencing this loss of dignity at an already difficult time, and for the medical practitioners caring for them in impossible conditions.
“The data clearly shows that extended A&E waiting times due to overcrowding is not a new issue. It is sadly what A&E staff have come to expect.
“We once again call on the Scottish Government to take action to prevent overcrowding in Emergency Departments and the subsequent need to treat people in corridors by increasing the number of hospital beds and improving social care options so people can leave hospital when they are ready.
“I, personally, am growing weary of the inaction to rectify these longstanding issues and the resulting harms.”
“The government is duty-bound to provide the people of Scotland with safe and dignified emergency care, and now is the time to do so.”
In April 2023 the Scottish Government committed to fairer funding by 2026. Despite the urgent need within the voluntary and charity sector – one year on there has been little progress.
Last month, after a discussion a few weeks ago with the Clerks of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee, SCVO received the very welcome news that the Committee would focus their Pre-budget scrutiny on voluntary sector funding.
The Committee want, “to examine how the Scottish Government’s approach to fair and efficient funding can contribute to the continued effectiveness of the third sector”, having heard about the funding challenges facing the sector.
For almost a decade, the Scottish Government has recognised the need for multi-year funding, committing to longer-term funding for the voluntary sector across multiple government strategies.
In April 2023 the Scottish Government’s policy prospectus New leadership – A fresh start, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP committed to achieving fairer funding by 2026:
“Working with my Cabinet colleagues, I commit that by 2026 I will have… Progressed Fairer Funding arrangements, including exploring options to implement multi-year funding deals, enabling the third sector to secure the resilience and capacity it needs to support the transformation and delivery of person-centred services for Scotland’s people and support our thriving social enterprise economy”.
Despite this renewed focus – and the urgent need within the sector- one year on from the policy prospectus, there has been little progress.
Our sector faces unprecedented challenges. Years of underfunding and poor funding practices, and crises such as the pandemic, and the cost-of-living crisis have put the sector under increasing pressure, exacerbating financial and operational challenges – 76% of organisations now experience financial challenges, while the number of organisations reporting that rising costs are having a negative impact on their ability to deliver services continues to grow.
To support voluntary organisations, our staff and volunteers, and the people and communities our sector works with, the Scottish Government must both take action and develop timelines and goals to monitor progress towards fairer funding.
SCVO defines Fair Funding as a long-term, flexible, sustainable, and accessible approach to funding.
To make meaningful progress towards Fair Funding the Scottish Government should:
Commit to a longer-term funding model for the voluntary sector across all Scottish Government departments.
Define multi-year funding for voluntary organisations as a three-year minimum commitment.
Record progress by collecting and publishing what proportion of grants and contracts are delivered on a multi-year basis and accommodate other essential Fair Funding elements.
To be meaningful and support a sustainable sector, multi-year funding must also recognise and incorporate other essential Fair Funding elements including:
Flexible, unrestricted core funding
Inflation-based uplifts
Timely notification and payments
Full costs recovery, which includes core operating costs.
As local councils fund far more voluntary organisations than Scottish government- between a quarter and a third of voluntary organisations receive funding from local authorities- mulit-year funding should also be provided to local authorities, to allow them to enter into multi-year agreements with voluntary organisations.
Our sector is an employer, a partner, and a vital social and economic actor central to delivering the Scottish Government’s aspirations.
To recognise and support the many contributions of voluntary organisations, their staff, and their volunteers across Scotland urgent progress is needed or the goal of achieving fairer funding by 2026 becomes increasingly unlikely.
As part of the Committee’s Pre-budget scrutiny inquiry the Committee will hold two workshops in Dundee on Wednesday the 21st of August for voluntary organisations who receive funding from statutory funders (such as Scottish Government, health boards, local authorities).
A Holyrood Committee is seeking views on substantial amendments the Scottish Government is proposing to make to the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill.
The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee backed the Bill at Stage 1 (by a majority) but made clear they would seek to carry out detailed further scrutiny of the proposals at Stage 2. This followed the conclusion of a consensus agreement between COSLA and the Scottish Government on shared legal accountability for governance of the proposed National Care Service, which the Scottish Government had indicated would require the Bill to be substantially amended.
Maree Todd, Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport, has now provided the Committee with draft Scottish Government amendments to the Bill and the Committee is keen to find out views on these proposed amendments, ahead of formal Stage 2 proceedings.
One of the key proposed changes to the Bill which the Committee is seeking views on is the creation of a National Care Service Board which would be responsible for national oversight and improvement of social care and social work services.
The Committee is also seeking views on a newly proposed ‘National Care Service strategy’ and substantial reform of integration authorities via amendment of the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014.
In a letter to the Committee, the Minister outlines four areas where she says, ‘further work is needed to confirm which legislative approach would best deliver the intended changes.’ These include direct funding, the inclusion of children’s services, the inclusion of justice social work and Anne’s Law, and the Committee is asking for views on each of these areas.
Clare Haughey MSP, Convener of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, said:“When a majority of our Committee backed the general principles of this Bill, we made clear we would need to carry out detailed further scrutiny at Stage 2.
“Now the Government has provided a package of proposed draft amendments, we are determined to make sure stakeholder organisations and the public are given an opportunity to comment on these proposed changes.
“Since this Bill was first introduced as a ‘framework Bill’, many of the original proposals have changed. These amendments represent some quite fundamental changes, including the introduction of a National Care Service Board and far-reaching reforms to integration authorities through amendment of the 2014 Public Bodies Act.
“That’s why it’s essential our Committee takes the time to scrutinise these proposals effectively. After we have considered the views received, we intend to take further oral evidence before formal Stage 2 proceedings.
“The evidence we gather will be vital to aid our Committee’s scrutiny of these proposals, and to inform individual Members as they prepare their own Stage 2 amendments to the Bill. We look forward to hearing your views.”
The call for views is open until Friday 30 August 2024.
People across Scotland are being invited to have a say on how crofting is reformed. A programme of meetings will take place from 3 July to 15 August, stretching from Oban to Shetland.
The consultation, which runs until 2 September 2024, seeks views on a range of proposals for crofting reform. These will help to create opportunities for new entrants, encourage the active management and use of crofts and common grazings, and support rural population.
The crofting system must support effective and sustainable land use.
The consultation seeks the public’s views on proposals on:
entry to crofting
crofting communities
use of common grazings
strengthening residency and land use
enhanced Crofting Commission powers
simplifying crofting
Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie said: “Crofting has a special place in the cultural heritage of Scotland, and we want it to play its part in our future too.
“We want to ensure that legislation enables and supports the sustainability of crofting, crofters and crofting communities, while allowing for modernisation, innovation, diversification and adaptation to help meet today’s and tomorrow’s climate and environmental challenges.
“Crofting’s place in agriculture and food production will remain at the heart of the system, but alongside these we now see crofting playing an increasing role in tourism, renewable energy generation, forestry, peatland restoration, beekeeping and small-scale horticulture production.
“The consultation proposals range from relatively small technical changes to significant innovations and I would encourage everyone with an interest to respond to the consultation or come to one of the meetings if they are able.”
MSPs have backed a range of technical updates to the short-term lets licensing scheme in response to engagement with accommodation operators.
Licensing was introduced in 2022 to provide assurance to guests on safety and quality, such as gas and electrical safety compliance and the suitability of hosts.
The regulations passed by the Scottish Parliament enable:
Licences to be transferred to a new host, such as when accommodation is sold
Prospective hosts building a new short-term let to apply for a provisional licence before construction is complete
Hosts to apply for a maximum of three licence exemptions totalling six weeks in a calendar year
Minister for Housing Paul McLennan said: “Short-term let accommodation is vital to Scotland’s tourism sector and wider economy.
“The short-term lets licensing scheme aims to protect the reputation of responsible operators and ensure the sector is regulated in line with other accommodation such as hotels and caravan parks, giving guests assurance of consistent safety standards. The technical updates to the scheme passed by Parliament were introduced in response to engagement with short-term let operators and the wider tourism industry.
“This will ensure the scheme continues to deliver quality and safety assurance for guests, whilst protecting the needs of local communities.”
CEO of the UK Short Term Accommodation Association Andy Fenner said: “Scotland’s holiday let industry brings in revenue for all kinds of businesses in communities not served by traditional hospitality, and makes the country an attractive destination for the millions of overseas visitors that come every year.
“Improvements, such as the ability to transfer licences and greater flexibility around temporary exemptions should assist in providing more certainty to those who rely on income from tourism.
“We have been working with the Scottish Government on these changes over the past year and appreciate its collaborative and pragmatic approach to addressing feedback.
“We are encouraged by the Government’s commitment to addressing other issues related to the scheme and look forward to working together on identifying further improvements which will boost the competitiveness of our sector in Scotland.”
Legislation giving Ministers and local authorities the tools needed to increase reuse and recycling rates, as well as modernise and improve waste and recycling services, has been passed.
The Circular Economy Bill will give Ministers the powers to:
set local recycling targets, building on the experience of Wales, which has the best recycling rate in the UK
set statutory targets for delivery of a circular economy to measure progress in transforming the economy
restrict the disposal of unsold consumer goods, to prevent good products ending up in landfill
place charges on single-use items like disposable cups to encourage the move to reusable alternatives
give local authorities additional enforcement powers, allowing them to crack down on flytipping and littering from cars.
The measures will be underpinned by support and investment, building on the investments already made through the £70 million Recycling Improvement Fund.
Minister for Climate Action Gillian Martin said: “There are huge opportunities in having an economy which makes reuse and recycling the default choice for Scottish households, businesses and the public sector.
“We have already seen businesses creating jobs by turning what we might otherwise throw away into valuable new products and services.
“The measures in the Circular Economy Bill will give local Councils and the Scottish Government the powers needed to support the sustainable use of resources and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
“For people to do the right thing for the planet, it is crucial that everyone experiences a modern, easy to use waste service.
“We will continue to work with local authorities and householders to co-design how these powers are implemented to take account of different circumstances and needs on our journey towards a truly circular economy.”
A consultation on simplifying funding for universities, colleges and apprenticeships, as well as student support, has opened for views.
Currently, funding is provided by Skills Development Scotland (SDS), the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS), and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).
In December, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Graeme Dey, announced this will be streamlined to help enhance support for young people as part of the ongoing reform programme across the sector.
Yesterday, two options for change were set out:
one would see all student support funding delivered through SAAS, including responsibility for further education student support which is currently with colleges and SFC. Responsibility for national training programmes, including apprenticeships, would move to SFC and away from SDS.
the other option would see the SFC become the single funding body responsible for student support funding, as well as funding for all national training programmes, including apprenticeships – effectively creating a single funding body for post-school education, research and skills
Work will now be taken forward in consultation with the bodies affected and wider stakeholders, with changes expected for the 2026-27 academic year.
Mr Dey said: “More than £3 billion a year is invested across Scotland’s post-school system. This enables around 500,000 people in any given year to pursue opportunities at colleges and universities, with free tuition benefiting 120,000 students.
“Over the past decade the funding system has become increasingly fragmented with multiple bodies involved in different aspects of provision.
“We are facing the most challenging public spending climate since devolution, and it is vital that investment delivers the greatest impact to support learners. To do that, we must reduce complexities and the options being set out today are an important step towards this.”
Carers urged to apply now and get money they’re entitled to
Thousands of unpaid carers in Scotland can apply for a new benefit from today.Carer Support Payment, the replacement for Carer’s Allowance, is now available in Angus and North and South Lanarkshire.
Carers living in these areas are the first to be able to apply for Carer Support Payment since it was introduced in the pilot areas of Perth & Kinross, Dundee City and Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) in November 2023.
New rules that come into effect today also mean the benefit, paid by Social Security Scotland, is available to more student carers.
Since its introduction, the benefit has been available to carers aged 16-19 in full-time “advanced” education, carers over 20 in full-time education at any level, as well as carers in part-time education.
However, from today, some 16-19-year-old carers in full-time “non-advanced” education, such as school, are also eligible for Carer Support Payment.
In addition, some carers – mostly full-time students – can now have their benefit payments backdated to when Carer Support Payment was first introduced.
The benefit will be rolled out to more local authorities in the next few months and will be available in all of Scotland from 4 November.
Carers who live in areas where Carer Support Payment is not yet available are urged to apply for Carer’s Allowance to make sure they don’t miss out on support.
Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said:“I’m delighted that more carers in Scotland can now get Carer Support Payment and I urge every carer who is eligible for the benefit to apply as soon as possible.
“I also encourage anyone who thinks they might be eligible to check if they can apply. This includes students studying full-time who are not eligible for Carer’s Allowance.
“The work unpaid carers do is invaluable and I want every carer to get the money they are entitled to.”
Keira Carruthers, 18, will be one of those applying for Carer Support Payment. The Blantyre woman, who has been looking after her dad since she was 13, is due to start an HNC in August.
She said: “People really underestimate how hard it is to be a young carer. Caring for my dad can be difficult if he’s down with an illness or having a bad day.
“Sometimes it’s full-blown medical issues but other days it’s keeping him company and keeping him occupied. Being a young carer while balancing my studies is a full-time job.
“It’s really important that young people, who look after someone, get support while they’re studying. I’ll definitely be applying for Carer Support Payment.”
Carer Support Payment opens for new applications today, 24 June, in Angus, North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire.
From 19 August, it will be available in Fife, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, and North, East and South Ayrshire.
It will be available in the rest of Scotland from 4 November.
Following last year’s advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), Public Health Scotland has been working with the Scottish Government and NHS boards to develop plans for the roll out of Scotland’s Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccination programme to protect newborns, infants and older adults.
RSV is a common respiratory virus that generally causes mild illness with cold-like symptoms. Most cases recover after 2-3 weeks of illness, but RSV can cause severe illness in some people, including newborns, infants and older adults, leading to complications and hospitalisation.
With the new programme set to commence later in the summer, some information is now available on NHS inform and more detail will follow soon.
New proposals to improve the planning and regulation of public processions and marches are to be introduced to uphold the rights of safe and peaceful assembly.
An Action Group, set up to consider how to better facilitate processions, has set out six recommendations in a newly published report, which have been accepted by the Scottish Government, the local authority group COSLA, and Police Scotland.
The recommendations include:
extending a pilot programme – following successful evaluation in April 2024 – to train stewards and marshalls to build their capacity to plan, prepare and manage processions and other forms of public gathering in a safe way
developing a minimum standard for information provided on the notification process for processions
providing consistent information on local authority websites that ensures transparency and confidentiality
statutory organisations, including local authorities, Police Scotland and the Scottish Government, to work together so information they provide relating to marches is clear and easy to understand
developing or improving training packages for local authority officials and elected members to enable the sharing of good practice to facilitate peaceful public processions and on how to protect human rights
consideration of an annual review mechanism that contributes to the sharing of best practice and learning of the management of processions.
Community Safety Minister Siobhian Brown said: “The Scottish Government established the Action Group to ensure that processions are conducted safely and peacefully across the country.
“I am grateful to the members of the group for these carefully considered recommendations, which represent the culmination of extensive work by partners.
“The freedom of peaceful assembly is a cornerstone of a democratic society and it is vital that the right training, planning and regulations are in place so processions run smoothly, while ensuring those attending and surrounding communities are kept safe.
“In accepting the recommendations of the Action Group’s report in full, what is clear is that achieving success must be a joint endeavour. We will work with Police Scotland, COSLA and members of the Group to implement the recommendations as quickly as possible.”
A COSLA spokesperson said: “COSLA has worked collaboratively with the Scottish Government and Police Scotland through the Action Group on Processions, to work through the conclusions and recommendations of the Report for the Short Life Working Group on Facilitating Peaceful Assembles.
“In April, the COSLA Community Wellbeing Board endorsed the recommendations of the Action Group, and COSLA Officers will continue to work with partners of the group to deliver these actions.”
Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie said: “Police Scotland is a rights based organisation.
“We welcome this report as we continue to work with our communities and partners to continually improve our practices and the awareness and visibility of the rights of those who wish to take part in processions.”
