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Technical skills development forms part of the Curriculum for Excellence Experiences and Outcomes in the Technologies. As such, the development of those skills should remain an important part of the school curriculum throughout the Broad General Education (BGE).

In line with the STEM Education and Training Strategy, the Scottish Government supports the development of a range of STEM-related skills. This includes programmes of professional learning for teachers, an awards programme for young people and a range of remote learning resources.

In terms of new-build schools being suitable to deliver courses such as woodwork and metalwork, the Scottish Government’s Learning Estate Strategy is clear that learning environments should support and facilitate excellent learning and teaching to meet the needs of all pupils. The Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) is being delivered in partnership with local authorities (which have responsibility for school buildings) and will benefit tens of thousands of pupils across Scotland. The LEIP aims to deliver modern learning environments, including spaces for practical subjects.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to expand the scope of SSSC registration to bring other groups employed in the self-directed support sector into the regulated workforce. For a further description of expansion of scope of SSSC registration please refer to answer given to S6W-13523 on 20 January 2023.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Intergenerational working has a role to play in both primary and secondary schools as part of volunteering and cross-community support for the curriculum, learning and teaching.

It is right that schools and local authorities determine whether and in what ways, intergenerational working is incorporated in school level curricula. Scottish Government and national partners provide support, including in the following ways:

• Generations Working Together (GWT) was established with Scottish Government support in 2007 as a nationally recognised centre of excellence supporting the development and integration of intergenerational work across Scotland. GWT has developed a strong multi-faceted model of working to raise awareness of what constitutes good intergenerational practice and has developed local intergenerational networks, training opportunities and a library of materials/resources to support and inspire organisations and partners to take action and enhance their intergenerational practice. A wide range of organisations, including schools and education authorities, access advice and support from GWT.
• The Raising Aspirations in Science Education programme, which aims to ignite a passion for science in primary school pupils, supports family run events along with science festivals designed to engage different generations.
• Some local authorities and schools have chosen to use Scottish Attainment Challenge or Pupil Equity Funding to develop intergenerational practice, alongside a range of other innovative and community-based approaches, as part of their overall approach to raising attainment and narrowing the poverty related attainment gap.

The Scottish Government is increasing the number of pharmacist pre-registration training places from 200 by an additional 120 places over 5 years from December 2019, to create the opportunity for more pharmacists to enter the profession. To date we have increased places by 76, with the remaining 44 places due to be available by 24/25.

Inspiring Scotland through the ‘Support in the Right Direction’ (SiRDS) programme, provides access to independent advice and advocacy in 31 local authorities, with a forthcoming scoping project tasked with identifying a SiRD partner to offer services in the Moray area from FY 2023-2024. SiRDS is supporting over 9,000 people and families.

The Scottish Government funds the Personal Assistant Network Scotland , which is a Personal Assistant (PA) national membership organisation offering a free photo ID card as well as advice. PANS has also helped to promote the first ever online which provides valuable information for PAs.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving pharmaceutical care in Scotland and the development of digitally enabled infrastructure in primary care to underpin this. The ePharmacy Programme continues to oversee and develop technology used in community pharmacies to support the provision of NHS pharmaceutical care services.

The Digital Prescribing and Dispensing Pathways (DPDP) programme is on track to replace the current paper prescription in Scotland with a digital approach by the end of this parliamentary term. The early focus is in-hours fixed General Practice prescribing and Community Pharmacy dispensing across Scotland, with initial user engagement complete and planning underway for the design on an initial prototype approach.

The Acute Medication Service (AMS) Digital Programme is also underway which aims to significantly reduce the volume of barcoded paper prescriptions that need to be sent by community pharmacies into NSS for scanning.

The Scottish Government have delivered the largest financial increase to date for community pharmacy funding, increasing both the remuneration Global Sum by 6% (£12.3 million) and an increase in the Guaranteed Minimum Income of 15.9% (£15.9 million). This delivers a guaranteed minimum funding package of £399.955 million for the financial year 2023-24.

The Scottish Government will commence discussions on the 2024-25 settlement with the representative body, Community Pharmacy Scotland, in the coming weeks. Preliminary discussions have begun on setting out agreed negotiation principles which continue the partnership working between the Scottish Government and Community Pharmacy Scotland to deliver settlement which is fair to community pharmacy providers and is an affordable offer in the current fiscal position.

The Scottish Government continues to work with NHS National Education for Scotland (NES) and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in developing a joint programme to encourage more students, and not just school leavers, to consider careers in pharmacy, including ensuring the output reaches deprived and remote and rural communities.

In addition, both Schools of Pharmacy work towards the widening access targets set by the Commission on Widening Access for universities to drive forward the delivery of equal access in Scotland.

There are also wider initiatives such as The Scottish Wider Access Programme (SWAP). The partnership develops access programmes for adults returning to education, and targets adults who reside in the most disadvantaged areas of Scotland and particularly those who have no, few or out of date qualifications. This can help support people with few suitable qualifications to progress to degree level Pharmacy studies.

To promote pharmacy technician recruitment, a number of senior pharmacy technicians attend school careers fairs etc to raise awareness of the role. All vacancies for the Pharmacy Technician Technical Apprenticeship are advertised on the Apprenticeships.scot website.

Whilst responsibility for recruitment and retention of pharmacists and the wider team in community pharmacies is a matter for individual community pharmacy contractors, the Scottish Government has increased the number of pharmacist pre-registration training places available from 170 to 224 currently. A further 44 places will be available by 2024-25.

In order to aid retention of pharmacists in community pharmacy we have developed a Community Pharmacy NHS Post Registration Foundation Programme, which sees up to 130 places made available for a two and a half year programme for early career pharmacists. The programme is an experiential learning programme designed to develop confidence in pharmacy practice specific to Scotland, building on the skills and resilience established during the pre-registration Foundation Training Year. A Scottish NHS community pharmacy contractor will employ post-registration pharmacists qualifying in the summer of each year as pharmacists in a permanent role.

We are also already investing in and providing a greater mix of enhanced experiential learning in clinical practice for undergraduate pharmacy students, including in community pharmacy, to help them gain valuable experience in this setting. This is a key addition in preparing students with the relevant skills and experience for the changing demands of the workforce, including collaborative practice. It is also an important first step in helping to build a career pathway for pharmacists.

The updated Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 Statutory Guidance, written in partnership between Scottish Government and COSLA, commits to integrated monitoring arrangements that co-ordinate two forms of monitoring, welfare and financial.

The Guidance states that Local Authorities:

• Should develop effective arrangements for the assessment and monitoring of SDS.
• Should ensure that all monitoring arrangements are explained to the supported person.
• Should actively seek the comments and suggestions of supported people, carers and the wider population as part of any review of processes, systems, guidance and procedures and should seek to co-design all such arrangements with the full involvement of supported people and carers from the beginning and throughout.
• Should consider regularly publishing data they routinely collect about the experiences and outcomes of supported persons, consistent with accessibility and data protection requirements.