• The number of ScotGEM students increases year on year and this is a manual process. There were a high level of student queries and some complaints during the 2022/23 ScotGEM Bursary payment cycle, so the team undertook a process review and met with NES Finance and St Andrews and Dundee University who are key to the administration of the Bursary payments.
• Through this review it was identified that Year 2,3 and 4 students start the Academic Year up to a month earlier than first year students. Due to this we created separate applications for first time applications, those who have received ScotGEM Bursary in previous years and those repeating a year wishing to apply for a Bursary. This allowed us to have different application close dates which meant the repeating students received Bursary payments shortly after matriculation and that the administration process was spread over several months which was better for NES teams.
• The student information sheets were updated, and the Universities circulated the updated guidance and timeframes to students directly. These changes significantly reduced the volume of queries received by students both by NES and the Universities and no complaints were received regarding payment dates.

ACT was selected to undertake a review by the Internal Audit Team. The overall draft report rating was significant assurance with minor improvement opportunities.

The Medical ACT team have become aware through Stakeholder engagement meetings of the need to review the existing NES Travel, Accommodation and subsistence (TAS) policy. The current policy provides guidance on the management of student travel and subsistence costs funded from Medical ACT and describes the over-arching principles that underpin this guidance.

The policy currently states that no more than 5% of the ACT allocation is spent on TAS which may be limiting for Health Boards who have a higher number of remote and rural primary and secondary care placements in an era when there have been significant increases in fuel, transportation and accommodation costs, the policy requires updating which will involve a review of the general principles and consultation with key stakeholders.