Local authority officers are required to be as open as possible in all the decisions and actions that they take and not to restrict information, except where required by council policy or the law, as set out in the national code of conduct for local government employees in Scotland. Enforcement of the expected standards of behaviour of council employees is a matter for each local authority as an employer and the Scottish Government has no plans to change the current framework.

There is a national code of conduct for local government employees in Scotland. The national code requires that employees should be as open as possible in all the decisions and actions that they take, should give reasons for their decisions, and should not restrict information unless this is clearly required by council policy or by the law. The national code also includes a statement that mutual respect between councillors and employees is essential to good local government. Each local authority has published a code of conduct for its employees in line with the national code setting out expected standards of behaviour, and it is up to each local authority to enforce that code. Scottish Ministers have no general powers that would enable them to intervene in matters between an employer and employee.

£28 million was provided to NHS Boards in 2015-16 to support the implementation of the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework (breakdown in the following table). NHS boards determined how best to use this funding, however, under the framework boards are set an annual treatment target for hepatitis C.

In 2016-17 the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework was funded as part of the £161 million outcomes framework budget. This gives individual boards flexibility to allocate funding for Sexual Health and Blood Borne virus activity. The Scottish Government has not ring-fenced specific funding for hepatitis C, however boards are expected to continue to meet the framework target of at least 1,500 people per year initiated onto antiviral therapy.

NHS Board	Amount
Ayrshire and Arran	1,741,857
Borders	401,456
Dumfries and Galloway	636,685
Fife	1,302,657
Forth Valley	1,418,319
Grampian	2,659,315
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	7,223,593
Highland	1,138,530
Lanarkshire	2,501,571
Lothian	5,129,215
Orkney	101,718
Shetland	127,139
Tayside	2,241,327
Western Isles	115,109
NSS HPS	770,597
NSS ISD	51,000

Healthcare Improvement Scotland will be conducting a scoping exercise to assess the currency and relevance of the clinical standards for neurological health services. This is planned to run from September to December 2016. This will include consideration of other relevant standards and guidance including the new national care standards. Healthcare Improvement Scotland will make recommendations on the future of the standards based on the outcome of this work.

We are looking at this report and the wide range of issues raised, and will consider our position in relation to the recommendations.

The development of all future standards or indicators will reflect the integration agenda. This will be supported by appropriate collaboration between the Care Inspectorate, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and other stakeholders in the design of these measures.

The initial two year work plan for the new National Advisory Committee for Neurological Conditions is currently being developed. The issue of data collection on neurological conditions is one which the expert group will consider, alongside other priorities for action. Any decision to take forward work on this issue will be closely related to the outcome of the Healthcare Improvement Scotland review of the clinical standards for neurological conditions.

The Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014 provides the legislative framework for integration of health and social care services in Scotland. The integration of health and social care will tackle the challenge of ensuring a consistent provision of quality, sustainable care services for people who need joined-up, integrated support and care, particularly for those with multiple complex, long term conditions such as multiple sclerosis.

Furthermore, in 2016-17, we are investing £250 million through health and social care partnerships to protect and grow social care services.

Familial Arrhythmia Network for Scotland (FANS) aims to improve outcomes in heart disease care for people with life threatening inherited cardiac conditions and their families. FANS is a national managed clinical network comprising specialist healthcare practitioners, such as cardiologists and geneticists, and patient representatives. FANS provides a section for patient involvement on its website, and undertakes a range of actions to work with the general public through its public education events intended to raise public awareness of a number of cardiac conditions, including atrial fibrillation (AF).

FANS coordinators and a number of its members participate in the National Advisory Committee for Heart Disease, which works closely with the Scottish Government and a range of key partners to support NHS boards in delivering improved clinical outcomes in treating heart disease conditions such as AF via a range of funded initiatives involving primary care and wider community settings.

The National Clinical Strategy, published on 17 February 2016, sets out a clear vision for the development of sustainable health and social care services across Scotland for the next 10-15 years. Simultaneously, the integration of health and social care will tackle the challenge of ensuring a consistent provision of quality, sustainable care services for people who need joined-up, integrated support and care – particularly for those with multiple complex, long term conditions.

Furthermore, in 2016-17, we are investing £250 million through health and social care partnerships to protect and grow social care services.