- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 July 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 9 August 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many whole-time equivalent GPs have (a) been employed and (b) retired or left the profession, in each year since 2019.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold data on how many whole-time equivalent GPs have (a) been employed and (b) retired or left the profession, in each year since 2019.
Data on the GP Workforce is published annually by NHS Education for Scotland in the report and includes the whole time equivalent number of GPs in Scotland.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 July 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 9 August 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many GPs there were as of April 2024, broken down by (a) whole-time equivalent positions and (b) head count.
Answer
Data on the Whole-Time Equivalent GP Workforce is published annually by NHS Education for Scotland (NES) in the report . As of March 2023 the estimated WTE number of GPs (excluding GP registrars/specialist trainees) was 3,478.4, where 1 WTE is defined as 8 contracted sessions per week.
GP headcount is published by NES through the report. In September 2023 there were 5,168 Headcount GPs in Scotland (including GP Registrars on placement in general practice).
NES are due to publish results from the 2024 General Practice Workforce Survey and the 2024 General Practitioner Headcount data later this year.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 July 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 6 August 2024
To ask the Scottish Government who its special advisers are, and what portfolios they cover.
Answer
Special Advisers are appointed in accordance with Part 1 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 by the First Minister as a Special Adviser for the purpose of providing assistance to the Scottish Ministers. There are currently 12 Special Advisers.
The Scottish Government has published a list of the Special Advisers and their specific portfolio responsibilities at:
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 July 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 6 August 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many university places have been available for medical students who are (a) Scotland-domiciled, (b) from the rest of the UK and (c) from overseas, in each of the last 10 years.
Answer
The number of undergraduate medical school places available since 2015, broken down by domicile, has been provided in the following table. As requested, these reflect the places available, rather than the eventual entrants.
Academic year (A/Y) | Scots/ Rest of the UK (rUK)/RoI/Gibraltar | International | Total Per year |
2015-16 | 784 | 64 | 848 |
2016-17 | 834 | 64 | 898 |
2017-18 | 834 | 64 | 898 |
2018-19 | 889 | 64 | 953 |
2019-20 | 949 | 64 | 1013 |
2020-21 | 974 | 64 | 1038 |
2021-22 | 1039 (of which 790 must be Scottish domiciled) | 78 | 1117 |
2022-23 | 1239 | 78 | 1317 |
2023-24 | 1339 | 78 | 1417 |
2024-25 | 1339 | 78 | 1417 |
It should be noted that there is no separate target for students from the rest of the UK (rUK); instead, these students are considered to be home students in line with students from the RoI and Gibraltar.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 July 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 6 August 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated number of vacancies is for (a) paediatric and (b) neonatal nurses in NHS Scotland, broken down by NHS board, and what the vacancy rate was in each of the last five years.
Answer
Information on the number of vacancies for (a) paediatric nurses in NHS Scotland, broken down by NHS board can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: (Vacancy tab)
Information on the number of vacancies and vacancy rates for (b) neonatal nurses in not centrally collected.
Information on paediatric nursing vacancy rates across NHS Scotland in each of the last five years can be found in the following table:
Vacancy rate | Dec-19 | Dec-20 | Dec-21 | Dec-22 | Dec-23 |
Paediatric Nursing | 5.5% | 2.1% | 12.5% | 8.8% | 5.3% |
NOTE: Vacancy rates for Mar 2024 are currently unavailable and will be published on TURAS on 13 August.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 July 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 6 August 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) paediatric and (b) neonatal nurses have been employed by each NHS board, in each of the last five years.
Answer
Information on how many (a) paediatric and (b) neonatal nurses have been employed by each NHS board, in each of the last five years, can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at:
(Employment over time tab)
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 July 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 6 August 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many graduate nurses have been employed by NHS Scotland in 2024, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) speciality.
Answer
The requested information on how many graduate nurses have been employed by NHS Scotland in 2024, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) speciality is not centrally held.
Information on the number of nursing staff joining the NHS broken down by band, NHS board and specialty can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: (turnover tab)
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 July 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 6 August 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 2024 cohort of graduate (a) paediatric and (b) neonatal nurses have secured jobs in NHS Scotland, and how many have not been able to secure a post.
Answer
The requested information on how many of the 2024 cohort of graduate (a) paediatric and (b) neonatal nurses have secured jobs in NHS Scotland, and how many have not been able to secure a post is not centrally held.
Information on the number of nursing staff joining the NHS broken down by band, NHS board and specialty can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: (turnover tab)
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 July 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 6 August 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how much was spent on primary care (a) in cash terms and (b) as a percentage of the overall NHS budget, in each year from 2007-08 to 2023-24, and how much it anticipates will be spent in 2024-25.
Answer
The amount spent by NHS Boards on Family Health Services (FHS), which includes the four primary care contractors, is reported in the annual Cost Book published by Public Health Scotland. This information is publicly available on the PHS website: We would expect the 2023-24 data to be published in February 2025 and the 2024-25 data to be published in February 2026. The Scottish budget, including NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care is published on the Scottish Government website:
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 July 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 6 August 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how much money it costs to train a (a) paediatric and (b) neonatal student nurse at a Scottish university.
Answer
The Scottish Government package of support for Scottish domiciled student nurses, midwives and paramedics remains the highest level of support offered in the UK.
Annual Student Cost Breakdown |
Teaching Grant to University (subject to change) | £7,775 |
Tuition Fees to University (subject to change) | £1,820 |
Annual Bursary | £10,000 |
Uniform Costs | On average £54.72 |
Health Checks | On average £233.79 |
Disclosure Checks: Protecting Vulnerable Groups scheme (PVG) | Costs for the scheme: ? £59 to join the scheme ? £59 or £18 to update membership (cost dependent on whether the PVG member needs to apply to work with a new vulnerable group) |
Additionally, students are entitled to claim travel allowances, the amount will be variable dependent on the students circumstances.
There are also a range of additional allowances eligible students may be entitled to claim such as:
? Dependents allowance of up to £3,640 a year;
? Single Parents’ Allowance of up to £2,303 a year;
? Childcare Allowance for parents of up to £2,466 a year;
? Disable Students’ Allowance which will be variable dependent on the students requirements
Over a three year degree the average cost to train a nurse or midwife is in the region of £60,000 plus allowances and clinical placement expenses.
With regards to neonatal nurses, although a newly qualified nurse or midwife after completing their relevant pre-registration programme can be employed within a neonatal unit, a specific neonatal qualification is undertaken post-registration following an appropriate period of clinical experience. This is currently delivered by Edinburgh Napier University as a Neonatal Care - Qualified in Speciality postgraduate certificate (SCQF Level 11) part-time blended course, typically undertaken over 1 year. The current tuition fee is £1575 for Scottish & Rest of UK students, which is funded through Health Boards. Tuition fees are subject to an annual review and may increase from one year to the next.