Tag: Scottish Government

‘Continued improvement’ in child mental health waiting times

Best performance since national target was set – but charities say targets are still being missed

Almost 90% of children and young people accessing mental health services started treatment within 18 weeks of referral from July to September – the best performance since a national target was introduced a decade ago.

Latest Public Health statistics show 89.1% of those who were assessed as suitable for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) were seen within 18 weeks – the Scottish Government target is 90%.

The figure is up five percentage points on the previous quarter and 13.5 percentage points on the same quarter the previous year.

Mental Wellbeing Minister Maree Todd said: “We are working hard to ensure that everyone gets the support they need, when they need it, so the continued improvement in CAMHS waiting times is very welcome.

“These positive figures are testament to the dedication of the staff who work so hard to help the children and young people they care for. While the national standard applies only to each quarter, it is also encouraging that the highest ever monthly performance – 91.3% was recorded in September.  

“However we know there is still more to do, which is why we have provided local authorities with more than £65 million, since 2020, to develop and deliver community-based mental health support for children, young people and their families. We have also invested £16 million a year to work towards ensuring every secondary school in Scotland has access to school counselling services.”

Children 1st Chief Executive, Mary Glasgow.

Responding to the latest CAMHS quarterly waiting list figures, Children First chief executive Mary Glasgow said: “Today’s figures show thousands of children are still in desperate need of support.

“It’s a decade since the Scottish Government committed to 90 percent of CAMHS referrals being seen within 18 weeks. This target has still not been met. 

“Our teams across Scotland are supporting young people who are frightened, worried, anxious and need help now. The fact remains that children are often not getting support until they are in severe distress. This must stop.  

“Ahead of tomorrow’s budget, the Scottish Government must invest more in early help and support to prevent children reaching crisis point.

“We want to see more funding so that families can quickly get support for their children when they need it.” 

The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), an alliance of leading providers of specialist care and education to vulnerable children and young people, is calling on the Scottish Government to deliver a budget for mental health tomorrow (4th December).

The call comes as the latest waiting time figures from Public Health Scotland published today (3rd December), indicate that 115 children and young people had been waiting over a year for treatment from child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in the quarter ending September 2024.1 

The figures also show that a total of 4,231 children and young people were still stuck on waiting lists to start treatment at the end of that quarter.

This comes against the background of an increasing level of violent incidents in the classroom, a result in part due to the current mental health emergency, exacerbated by the long shadow of the Covid lockdown and cost-of-living crisis.

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, cases of poor mental health in children and young people were at unprecedented levels, with under-resourced services struggling to keep pace with growing demand, leaving an increasing number of vulnerable individuals unable to access support

However, it should be noted that despite this challenging situation, only 0.75 per cent of the total NHS budget was spent on CAMHS in the 2023/23 financial year.2 

Indeed, spend on mental health services generally has declined by 4.5 per cent in real terms over the past three years.

The SCSC is calling the Scottish Government to up its game in the budget and make the treatment of mental health issues a key national priority, prioritising spending and avoiding a potential lost generation of children and young people with mental health problems.

A spokesperson for the SCSC commented: “The latest figures highlighting that more than 4,200 children and young people are still waiting for treatment from mental health services, with 115 waiting over a year, is extremely alarming.

“We are facing a mental health emergency and many of our children and young people are at breaking point, with stress and anxiety reaching alarming levels as they battle with the long shadow of lockdown and the rising cost of living. This is also having a major effect on classroom behaviour, impacting the young people concerned, their fellow pupils and staff.

“Each one of these statistics is an individual, and we would urge the Scottish Government to up its game and make the adequate resourcing of mental health services for our children and young people an absolute priority in the forthcoming budget.”

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in NHSScotland for the quarter ending September 2024.

National charity confirms 17 job losses after losing Scottish Government funding

Young Enterprise Scotland will continue to deliver enterprise and financial education with significantly reduced team 

Young Enterprise Scotland, the national charity that has delivered enterprise education to schools and colleges for over 30 years, has confirmed it has made 17 members of staff redundant after failing to secure Scottish Government funding in October. 

The national charity will now operate on a significantly reduced staff team of no more than a dozen people after being denied funding from the Scottish Government’s new Entrepreneurial Education Fund. 

YE Scotland’s funding has historically come from a combination of a core continuity grant from the Scottish Government, an ongoing pipeline of support from Trusts and Foundations and, to a lesser extent, support from the private sector. 

In July this year, YE Scotland was advised the grant process would now cease with immediate effect, replaced with a competitive process which subsequently opened in August. The new fund awarded seven organisations with a share of £829,346, with YE Scotland being unsuccessful in this round of funding. 

The charity was granted emergency funding of £285,000 which covered its existing costs for this financial year, allowing YE Scotland to avoid closure. 

Young Enterprise Scotland CEO Emma Soanes said: “It is a huge relief that we have been able to avoid a complete closure of Young Enterprise Scotland and we are grateful to the Scottish Government for providing us with emergency funding which prevented our worst case scenario becoming reality.  

“Sadly however, this will provide little consolation to the 17 valued members of our team who have lost their jobs just weeks before Christmas.

“Losing our major income source has been an enormously unsettling and upsetting time for everyone involved, and while we try to remain positive there is no doubt there will be challenging times ahead as we refocus and prioritise what programmes we deliver within schools and colleges on such a reduced staff model.”

Last year, YE Scotland supported over 18,000 school and college students through its enterprise programmes, including its flagship Company Programme, which many entrepreneurs credit with setting them on a successful business career.

In the past three years, more than 1,000 students have gained a YE Scotland enterprise qualification (SCQF Level 6) to prepare them for further education, work and life. 

Emma Soanes added: “We will definitely be engaging our own entrepreneurial mindsets in the coming weeks and months as we reposition ourselves within the education ecosystem and continue with our commitment to deliver financial and enterprise education from primary one and early years, right through to S6”. 

Auditor General: No clear plan to deliver NHS vision

The Scottish Government needs a delivery plan that clearly explains to the public how it will reform the NHS and address the pressures on services.

Despite increasing funding and staffing, the NHS in Scotland is still seeing fewer patients than before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Auditors found that:

  • commitments to reducing waiting lists and times have not been met
  • the number of people remaining in hospital because their discharge has been delayed is the highest on record
  • and NHS initiatives to improve productivity and patient outcomes have yet to have an impact and lack clear progress reporting.

Health accounts for about 40 per cent of the Scottish budget. Funding grew again in 2023/24 but has mostly been used to cover pay commitments and inflation. Costs are forecast to continue rising and making savings remains challenging. Work to build new healthcare facilities also remains paused.

The Scottish Government’s restated vision for health and social care is not clear on how these operational pressures on the NHS will be addressed or how reform will be prioritised. It needs to work with NHS staff, partners and the public to set out a clear delivery plan and make tough decisions about how it may change or potentially even stop some services.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “To safeguard the NHS, a fundamental change in how services are provided remains urgent. The Scottish Government needs to set out clearly to the public and the health service how it will deliver reform, including how progress will be measured and monitored. 

“Difficult decisions are needed about making services more efficient or, potentially, withdrawing those services with more limited clinical value to allow funding to be re-directed. Taking those steps will require greater leadership from Scottish Government and NHS leaders than we’ve seen to date.”

nr_241203_nhs_in_scotland_2024_erDownload

The Scottish Government responded:

End Child Poverty: Budget Briefing

In the period 2020 to 2023, 1 in 4 children in Scotland were growing up in poverty. Poverty strips away the opportunities for children and young people to learn, grow and develop fully, and have happy and thriving childhoods.

As well as harming children and families, poverty harms Scotland’s economy to the cost of at least £2.4 billion per year. This isn’t acceptable, and change is possible. 

We welcome progress on action to drive down child poverty, especially through investment in the Scottish Child Payment, a powerful intervention for putting money directly in the pockets of low income families.

However, while tackling child poverty is the Scottish Government’s and the First Minister’s stated “first priority”, this priority must be better reflected in budget decisions.

That is why the End Child Poverty Coalition is calling on the Scottish Government to ensure the 2025-26 Scottish Budget allocates the necessary additional resources to address the root causes of child poverty. 

The 2025-26 budget should resource action across social security, employment, housing and whole-family support. 

It is vital that the Scottish Government raises the resources in this budget – including through the ambitious and bold use of devolved taxation and Barnett consequentials flowing from the recent UK Budget – to fund the action needed to deliver on the First Minister’s number one priority of ending child poverty.

ECP Pre-Budget Briefing Final V02Download

Edinburgh to host 42nd British-Irish Council

Capital meeting will mark 25th anniversary of BIC  

The Scottish Government will host the 42nd Summit meeting of the British-Irish Council in Edinburgh on 5 and 6 December, First Minister John Swinney has confirmed.

The British-Irish Council was formally established following the Good Friday Agreement. It brings together leaders from the Northern Ireland Executive, the Government of Ireland, the UK Government, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, the Isle of Man Government, the Government of Jersey, and the Government of Guernsey.

The meeting in Edinburgh marks the 25th anniversary of the first BIC which was held in London in 1999.

With a focus on financing a just transition, the First Minister said this Summit provides a forum for leaders to work collaboratively on tackling climate change and delivering real progress towards action that will help protect the planet.

First Minister John Swinney said: “I am pleased to confirm Scotland will host the 42nd Summit meeting of the British-Irish Council in Edinburgh – a meeting which marks the 25th anniversary of the first Summit which took place in December 1999 following the Good Friday Agreement.

“Since that first meeting, politics across our nations – and the issues that we have each faced – have changed significantly however the principles underpinning the British-Irish Council remain as important now as they did 25 years ago.

“In this anniversary year, I hope our meeting in Edinburgh will encourage and enhance a shared desire to work collaboratively on the big issues facing people.

“One of the biggest issues facing us all is of course climate change and this Summit’s theme of financing a just transition is a critical example of how governments must work together in recognition of the challenges we have to overcome, whilst seizing shared opportunities for the future.”

The 42nd Summit of the British-Irish Council (BIC) will take place on Thursday 5 December and Friday 6 December 2024, marking the 25th anniversary of the first Summit which was held in London in December 1999.

This will be the sixth time the BIC Summit has been held in Scotland.

The Scottish Government last hosted an in-person Summit in June 2016, in Glasgow. In November 2020, it hosted a Summit virtually.

Festive drink and drug-driving crackdown launched

Figures show 45 offences recorded in Edinburgh during last year’s festive period

A hard-hitting campaign aimed at tackling drink and drug-driving was launched by The Scottish Government and Police Scotland yesterday, after a record number of drivers being caught drink or drug-driving.

Last year’s efforts resulted in more drink and drug-drivers being caught over the festive period than ever, with 45 offences recorded in Edinburgh between 1st December 2023 and 2nd January 20241. 

Police Scotland is now warning offenders that anyone who drives with alcohol or drugs in their system, endangering themselves and others, risks being caught. 

With police officers able to carry out immediate roadside drug testing using a simple swab, it’s easier than ever for officers to catch drug-drivers, with almost 50 per cent of tests showing up positive2.

The most recent figures available, from 2022, show that drink-driving is estimated to have resulted in 30 deaths and a further 280 injuries. 

Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs, Angela Constance, was joined by Chief Superintendent Hilary Sloan, Police Scotland’s Head of Road Policing, at the Livingston Inn, to emphasise the potentially devastating consequences of drink and drug-driving – not just for other road users but for those behind the wheel.

Ms. Constance said: “Driving with drink or drugs in your system destroys lives. As well as those whose loved ones are killed or seriously injured as a result of a driver under the influence; drivers themselves face losing their licence and their job, and could be faced with hefty fines.

“The impact on their own families can be huge. It’s simply not worth the risk – leave the car at home if you are planning a night out.”

Police Scotland is urging people to make transport plans before heading out to festivities.

Chief Superintendent Hilary Sloan, head of Road Policing, said: “Our officers will be working hard to relentlessly target drivers who choose to drink alcohol or take drugs.

It doesn’t matter how good a driver you think you are, alcohol or drugs will affect your reactions and your judgement.”

The campaign aims to emphasise the long-lasting effects of drugs and alcohol and remind people that even one drink can take them over the alcohol limit. You can still be unfit to drive the morning after drinking or taking drugs, and some drugs can remain in your system for days.

Those caught driving with drugs or alcohol in their system may face a range of penalties including a 12-month driving ban, a fine of up to £5,000, penalty points on their licence and up to six months in prison.

Chief Superintendent Sloan continued: “We will be doing everything we can to protect the public and support crucial road safety partnerships to encourage behaviour change, but we also need your help.

“The influence people can have on their family and friends can be lifesaving.

“If you know someone is going to drive after drinking alcohol or taking drugs, please speak to them. We all have a responsibility to improve road safety.”

The new drink and drug-driving advertising campaign highlights how easy it is to catch drivers under the influence, that even one drink can put you over the limit, and that you can still be over the limit the morning after.

It will run during the festive period on radio, digital and outdoor channels supported by a PR and social media campaign.

For more information go to roadsafety.scot or the Road Safety Scotland Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter) (@roadsafetyscot) pages.

‘Deeply Disturbing’: Boyack slams Scottish Government for failing the Lothians over housing crisis

Lothian MSP Sarah Boyack has slammed the Scottish Government as new statistics have revealed just how stark the current housing crisis gripping the Lothians is.

The Private Rent Statistics Scotland report, published by the Scottish Government, reveal that rents in the Lothian have seen the highest above inflation increases in rent for two bed properties of any area in Scotland.

The situation is equally alarming for one bed properties, with Lothian rents increasing by 14.4% in 12 months, compared with only a 0.3% increase in Greater Glasgow.

This has left Lothian with the highest average monthly rent for one bed flats anywhere in Scotland.

The same is true for 2 beds with the average rent in Lothian being £1358, the highest in the country.

The average rent across Lothian has increased almost 100% from 2010, from £520 to £1013 over the period.

The crisis prompted Edinburgh Council to declare a housing emergency in November 2023 highlighting the scale of the challenge facing the capital.

East Lothian Council declared an affordable housing emergency on the 12th of November this year after it was revealed they were likely to lose over 1200 affordable houses over the next five years.

Commenting on these stats, Sarah Boyack MSP said: “These figures are deeply disturbing but entirely unsurprising. Any tenant in Edinburgh is aware of just how much rents have spiralled out of control.

“I have been raising constantly with the Scottish Government about the state of the housing crisis in Edinburgh and the wider Lothians. I hope these statistics snap them out of their apathy.

“Edinburgh Council desperately needs more funding if we are ever to get on top of this problem.

“The Scottish Government must finally act and work with councils across Lothian if we are to finally start addressing this housing emergency rather than letting it escalate.”

Scottish Government announces additional investment in general practice

Funding to help practices retain and recruit key staff

An additional £13.6 million will be invested in General Practice this financial year to support GPs to retain and recruit key staff, Health Secretary Neil Gray has announced.

Speaking at the annual conference of BMA Scotland’s Local Medical Committees, Mr Gray confirmed the immediate funding for 2024-25 will address known financial pressures, support staff costs and enable GPs to take on partners and salaried GP staff.

Mr Gray said: “I recognise the significant financial and workload challenges facing both the NHS as a whole and General Practice, especially during this period of high demand, and understand the significant strain this places on GPs.

“My focus remains firmly on finding ways to recruit more GPs, even within the constraints of the current financial climate, and that is why I am allocating an additional £13.6 million for General Practice this financial year to support staff costs. This additional funding will help GPs to underpin business decisions and provide high-quality patient care.

“Sustainable reform of the NHS means we must look to shift more care to primary and community care with a relentless focus on better outcomes for people.

The Scottish Government reform programme will develop the means to credibly restore, and further increase GP and wider primary care spend, within the overall health budget.

“This will be a long-term endeavour but this strategic shift is crucial. Our reform plans over the next period will look to explore this in partnership with key stakeholders including the GP profession.”

Addressing the separate issue of next year’s UK National Insurance contribution increases, Mr Gray added: “The UK Government’s decision to increase national insurance contributions will have a major financial impact on GPs.

“I have been very clear that this is completely unacceptable and the UK Government must fully cover the costs.  Scotland’s GPs should not be paying the price for UK Government decisions.”

The Scottish Budget for 2025-26 will be published on 4 December.

Wallyford Learning Campus opens

New, modern learning facilities for East Lothian

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth has formally opened the new Wallyford Learning Campus in East Lothian, marking completion of another high school to be funded through the £2 billion Scottish Government Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP).  

The Wallyford Learning Campus features the new state of the art Rosehill High School, in addition to:

  • facilities for pupils with additional support needs (ASN), including a hydrotherapy pool and a specialist provision hub for adults with complex needs
  • Wallyford Community Centre, Margaret Oliphant Community Library and a grab and go coffee shop
  • community sports facilities including a fitness suite and sports pitches

The £47.2 million campus is a joint initiative between the Scottish Government and East Lothian Council, with Scottish Government investment totalling around £22.1 million. The high school was a ‘population growth’ priority project for the Council, and will help respond to significant new house building in East Lothian.

The completion of the high school comes as figures show the proportion of schools in “good” or “satisfactory” condition across Scotland has increased from 62.7% in April 2007 to 91.7 % in April 2024.

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said: “The Wallyford Learning Campus is a prime example of the Scottish Government delivering for communities through our £2 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme. It is fantastic to see the Campus come to life, and I am very pleased to officially open the facilities today.

“The new campus was needed as a result of significant population growth in this area, and through our investment 91% of schools in Scotland are in ‘good’ or ‘satisfactory’ condition, a marked increase from 62.7% in 2007.”

East Lothian Council’s Cabinet member for Education and Children’s and Family Services Councillor Fiona Dugdale said: “We are delighted to welcome Ms Gilruth to Wallyford Learning Campus today along with so many people involved in the development and running of this fantastic building.

“This has been an ambitious project bringing together a range of facilities under one roof, improving connections and offering a range of opportunities to the widest community.

“It is a testament to partnership working using Scottish Government funding, East Lothian Council investment and officers’ skills, our construction partners’ expertise, and community involvement. The results of this careful collaboration are evident in the quality of the spaces and the benefits that are already being successfully delivered.”

Rosehill High School Headteacher Gail Preston said: “After an incredible year one as Headteacher of Rosehill High School on the Wallyford Learning Campus, we are delighted to have been able to hold our Official Opening Ceremony and to have the Cabinet Secretary join us in our growing, thriving local community.

“Projects like this are a huge learning curve for everyone involved, and relentless hard work, but seeing the positive impact that the learning spaces have on the young people makes it all worthwhile. We are very proud of all that has been achieved so far and excited about the future of both the school and the campus as whole.”

Robison has limited room for manoeuvre in next week’s Scottish Budget

Despite increases in funding for Scotland from the UK Government’s October Budget, Scottish Government Finance Minister Shona Robison has little room for manoeuvre when she presents her Budget for 2025-26 next week (write FRASER OF ALLANDER INSTITUTE’S Joao Sousa and Mairi Spowage).

This is the headline message of the Scotland’s Budget Report 2024, published yesterday by the Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde.

Significant Barnett Formula consequentials have been generated by UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcements last month – £1.5bn in 2024-25 (of which £1.4bn is resource) and £3.4billion in 2025-26 (of which £2.8bn is resource).

However, the Scottish Government has said the funding provided in the 2024-25 year is already largely committed. If this is the case, the uplift for 2025-26 is under more pressure than it would appear. On the resource side, this would mean an uplift of £1.4 bn in 2024-25 being followed by an uplift of £1.4bn in 2025-26.

Public Sector Pay makes up over half of the Scottish Government’s resource budget, and therefore the decisions made on pay will have significant bearing on the overall budget position. Wage bills recur every year, thus current and future 2024-25 pay decisions will have a big impact on the overall budgetary decisions.

The fact that public sector workers are, on average, paid more in Scotland, will mean that the challenges are even more acute, given the country’s much larger public sector. The decisions on this, and on areas like social security, have put additional pressure on the Scottish Government’s budget.

Dr João Sousa, Deputy Director of the Institute, said: “As part of our report today, we have published where we think the Scottish Government are in terms of their funding position for 2024-25.

“Figuring out the funding position for 2025-26 has been much more challenging. The lack of a Medium Term Financial Strategy this year has made calculating this near impossible, but we have set out the various pressures that the budget is likely to be under.

“Health Spending, all other pay, social security and grants to local government make up £7 in every £8 the Scottish Government spends. This seriously limits their room for manoeuvre in changing the overall shape of the Budget.”

The report includes significant analysis of how Scotland spends its money to understand more about the discretionary power the Government has to prioritise its budgetary decisions.

Also included is analysis of the impact of employer National Insurance Contribution rises on the Scottish Government’s Budget, and analysis of the cost to the Scottish Government of replicating the 40% retail, hospitality and leisure relief (RHL) announced by Rachel Reeves in Scotland.

Our analysis also that although spending on reducing child poverty – stated by successive Scottish First Ministers as one of the main, if not their utmost priority – has grown significantly since 2018-19, it would not be fair to say that it has become a large part of the Scottish Budget.

It remains under 3% of all discretionary resource funding, and capital spending on child poverty reduction through the provision of affordable housing and urban regeneration has actually fallen by 13% in real terms since 2019-20.

Read the full report here.