NHS Scotland provides high quality care across a range of services and treatment for people living with multiple sclerosis.

The recently published national clinical strategy makes it clear that we want everyone who needs it, including people living with neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis, to receive safe, effective and person centred care in their own home or as close to home as possible.

The Scottish Government recently published A New Future for Social Security in Scotland which sets out the vision and principles which will govern decisions on social security policy and delivery in Scotland.

The document states our intention to introduce long-term awards for qualifying individuals with long-term conditions. Wherever possible assessments for these people will be paper-based rather than face-to-face.

We will continue to engage with a range of stakeholders as we work out the detail of how disability benefits in Scotland will operate.

GPs and pharmacists are bound by codes of practice which set out expected standards of care for their patients, including the provision of treatment. Any discussions about that treatment should be a matter for the healthcare professional, using their clinical expertise and judgement.

Our health service provides high quality care across a range of neurological services provided by NHS boards. The recently published National Clinical Strategy makes it clear that we want everyone, including people with neurological conditions, to receive care in their own homes or as close to home as possible.

To that end, we have increased our funding for specific projects to improve services and experiences for people with neurological conditions. In 2015-16, we invested £210,000, which was almost three times as much funding as the previous year. In addition to this, in 2016-17 we are investing £250 million a year through health and social care partnerships to protect and grow social care services. We are also investing an additional £11.6 million to implement self-directed support. This will increase the availability of social care, allowing more people to receive the care and support they need at home, living as independently as possible, and sharing their lives with their family and friends.

Dr John Paul Leach was also recently appointed as the new chair to the National Advisory Committee for Neurological Conditions, the successor group to the National Neurological Advisory Group. We are currently working with Dr Leach to put in place the group’s leadership team and a new work plan for the committee to focus on over the next two years.

The Scottish Government wants to see people receiving care in their own homes or as close to home as possible, as set out in our recently published clinical strategy. The care being delivered should be appropriate and based on their needs.

It is the responsibility of local authorities to determine the level of services that are required to meet local care needs and to arrange an appropriate range of services to meet individual care needs.

However, we appreciate the challenges of caring for people with complex and round the clock needs. We are determined that people with these kind of conditions get the support they need.

We are joining up health and social care services. This will ensure that our health boards work seamlessly with local authorities to deliver the best possible care, in the right place at the right time. We are also investing a further £250 million per year through health and social care partnerships to protect and grow our social care services.

National clinical standards for neurological health services were implemented in 2010.

We have asked Healthcare Improvement Scotland to review how the quality of care for people with neurological conditions can be enhanced in all care settings. That assessment will reflect our National Clinical Strategy and health and social care integration, as well as evidence of good practice.

The Transforming Care After Treatment (TCAT) programme, delivered in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support, NHS Scotland and local authorities, aims to support and enable people living with and beyond cancer to live as healthy a life as possible for as long as possible.

In February 2016 we also announced £450,000 investment for Macmillan Benefits Services which supports people with cancer, their families and carers to access benefits, claim grants and other related issues.

We will continue to support TCAT and other programmes to improve patient experience and outcomes. A new cancer plan will be published in spring 2016, prior to the dissolution of the Scottish Parliament.

It is essential that we listen to people with cancer in order to fully understand their experiences and what matters most to them.

In October 2015 we launched the first-ever Scottish cancer patient experience survey in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support. The survey asks people questions such as how they felt about the way that they were told about their diagnosis, whether they understood the information provided about their treatment and whether they had confidence and trust in the staff treating them. The results of this survey, expected in summer 2016, will be helpful in improving on the quality of care available to people living with and beyond cancer.

A new cancer plan will be published in spring 2016, prior to the dissolution of the Scottish Parliament.

In 2013, the Scottish Government in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support launched the five year Transforming Care after Treatment programme to support people who have been diagnosed or treated for cancer by integrating health and social care elements to more effectively meet their needs.

As the programme is still ongoing it is not possible to evaluate its influence at this stage. We expect an interim progress report on the programme to be available this summer with a final report due in 2018.

In addition to health boards’ budgets, the Scottish Government has also made £90 million available through the New Medicines Fund in 2015-16 to provide additional support to NHS boards for end of life, orphan and ultra-orphan medicines.