Pre-Budget Fiscal Statement: Equality and Fairer Scotland Impact Assessment

Health and Social Care

Agreed saving: Community Eyecare

Description: This reflects non-recurring savings realised in the Community Eyecare programme budget line.

£million (reduction): 2.4

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

These savings will not impact on the delivery of existing services. Due to reprofiling no direct impact identified.

Agreed saving: COVID-19 funding and other services

Description: Continuing to drive down expenditure and seek operational improvements in covid activity including vaccinations, PPE and test and protect.

£million (reduction): 20.3

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

Along with new vaccine developments and programmes, we are also seeing a decrease in eligible cohorts for our flu and Covid-19 programmes and PPE/Test and Protect as we move away from an emergency pandemic footing. Minimal impact.

Agreed saving: Education and Training

Description: Scaling back activity in various workforce lines including NHSS Academy and Leadership Talent Management. Also includes reduction in Distinction award line, reflecting declining scheme demand.

£million (reduction): 8.2

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

Saving realised through scaling back activity but there are no major equalities impacts identified.

Agreed saving: General Medical Services

Description: Non-recurring savings come from a number of budget lines with some planned work re-profiled or paused. Examples of this include Digital Improvement and Strategic Communication work. There is no reduction in existing spend or activity and the revised budget continues to support core activity.

£million (reduction): 11.0

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

These savings will not impact on the delivery of existing services. Due to reprofiling no direct impact identified.

Agreed saving: Health Improvement and Protection

Description: Updated profile of spend on innovation and immunisations alongside a reduction against a number of smaller health improvement budget lines.

£million (reduction): 4.1

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

Main savings come from reduction in data provider and reprofiling of Innovation spend. No/minimal impact expected from these changes.

Agreed saving: Mental Health Services

Description: Saving includes mainstreaming elements of the Distress Brief Interventions programme, student mental health measures and additional Mental Health Officer funding, and reprofiling the commencement of the Changing Places Toilet fund.

£million (reduction): 18.8

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

We know that some groups of people (including those experiencing poverty, minority ethnic people, women and girls, disabled people and LGBTI+ people) can have poorer mental health than others and that budget reductions risk disproportionately impacting on these communities. The need to reprofile the commencement of the Changing Places Toilets this financial year means that it will take longer to deliver the benefits of this funding to disabled people. In seeking to mitigate impacts across all mental health spend, SG will draw on the work undertaken with stakeholders to gather evidence and continue to drive forward the Mental Health and Wellbeing Delivery Plan with a focus on reducing mental health inequalities.

Agreed saving: National Care Service / Adult Social Care

Description: Savings mainly come from a refinement of some assumed non staff spend associated with the delivery of the NCS, maintaining MDT funding at prior year levels, and uptake of the reopened Independent Living Fund being slower than anticipated in the first half of the year, leading to a reduction in the funding requirements.

£million (reduction): 13.6

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

MDT services will be maintained at prior year levels so minimal impact. Additional savings on ILF will have no impact because demand is lower than anticipated.

Agreed saving: Quality and Improvement

Description: Includes a review of Alliance funding to align with self-management fund grant awards, and various smaller savings including the transformational change fund.

£million (reduction): 7.8

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

Savings identified from reducing activity on spending plans such as transformational change and through reductions in forecasts in self-management fund spend. Minimal impact.

Agreed saving: Revenue consequences of NPD Schemes

Description: Savings following in year review of contractual costs

£million (reduction): 2.0

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

No impact, savings generally achieved by finding efficiencies on existing spend and from emerging underspends

Agreed saving: Other

Description: Savings made across a number of budget lines, including anticipated changes on demand-led lines, and reprofiling activities. This includes re-phasing of optometry costs and pausing investment in digital trial developments within Health Research and smaller savings across several programmes including empowering communities and National contact centre funding.

£million (reduction): 27.7

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

Savings generated from several programmes nearing completion, emerging underspends and reductions in vaccines cohorts. Minimal impact.