Seòmar agus comataidhean

The petitioner has been made aware of the submissions in relation to the access improvements that have been undertaken.

The next new petition is PE1870, which was lodged by Edward Fowler. It calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to introduce legislation that would require teachers of autistic pupils to be appropriately qualified to improve educational outcomes.

In its submission, the Scottish Government states that the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, as amended,

“provides a comprehensive legislative framework for supporting children and young people to overcome barriers to their learning and achieve their full learning potential.”

The submission details a variety of work that is being done with the aim of enabling teachers to support autistic children, and it highlights the “Additional Support for Learning Action Plan”, which was published in October last year. Progress made against the action plan is expected to be monitored and reported on next month, in October 2021.

The Scottish Government’s submission also points to qualifications that teachers can obtain to demonstrate their ability to provide support for children with additional support needs, such as a postgraduate certificate or diploma in inclusive practice.

In his submission, the petitioner emphasises the impact of education on the experiences of autistic people later in life and states that many people are now seeking answers as to

“why they were failed by the education system of Scotland”.

Those people want to know what can be done to change the situation, and they want their voices to be heard.

The issue is one that has come before the Parliament in different guises over time. Would anybody like to comment on the petition?

The next new petition is PE1871, which was lodged by Karen McKeown on behalf of the shining lights for change group. We are joined for consideration of the petition by our parliamentary colleague Monica Lennon MSP—good morning and welcome, Monica. The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to carry out a full review of mental health services in Scotland, which should include consideration of the referral process, crisis support, risk assessments, safe plans, how integrated services work together, first response support and the support that is available to families affected by suicide.

The Scottish Government’s submission details the work that is under way to improve the quality, access and variety of support that is provided for mental health. That includes tailored programmes to support national health service boards with long waiting lists, the establishment of 24/7 mental health assessment units and the distress brief intervention programme.

In response, the petitioner provided a very powerful submission—anybody who read it will have been naturally affected by it—in which she shared the story of her partner, Luke Henderson, who died in 2017, and their experience of seeking support from mental health services prior to his loss.

In response to deliverables against the suicide prevention action plan, the petitioner notes that the target to reduce the number of suicide deaths by 20 per cent by 2022 does not

“appear to be on track.”

I understand from advice that I have received that our predecessor committee considered a petition along these lines from the petitioner previously.

I invite Monica Lennon to speak in support of the petition to assist us in our consideration.

PE1873, which was lodged by Graeme Harvey on behalf of the Scottish Hypnotherapy Foundation, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to instruct the NHS to provide hypnotherapy for the treatment of mental health, psychosomatic disorders and chronic pain.

In its submission, the Scottish Government recognises that hypnotherapy may offer relief to some patients but says that it is up to NHS boards to decide which complementary and alternative medicines services are made available—good luck with that. However, the submission states that hypnotherapy does not meet the standard of evidence that is required for recommendation for use as a psychological treatment on the NHS. Similarly, on addressing chronic pain, the Government’s submission points to the Scottish intercollegiate guidelines network guideline, which states that

“No good-quality studies were identified to evaluate the efficacy of hypnotherapy”

and that further research is required.

In response, the petitioner suggests that the main issues are a lack of regulation and a lack of research. The petitioner explains that hypnotherapy is not regulated because the UK Government decided that it is a safe modality and that self-regulation should be sufficient.

Do members have any comments or suggestions? Having been on the petitions committee previously, I am always slightly suspicious when the establishment tries to close such things down on the basis that there is no evidence, because without research and trials there cannot be any evidence. I am nervous about that being the basis on which we agree to not do anything. Is there something that we could do to evidence any research?

Our final new petition, PE1886, which has been lodged by Ryan Gowran, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to establish a specialist paediatric liver centre in Scotland.

In its written submission, the Scottish Government explains that there is neither any specific highly specialised service nor the clinical expertise to deliver paediatric liver transplantation or complex paediatric hepatobiliary surgery in Scotland, due to the specialist training that is required. Therefore, NHS Scotland commissions those services from NHS England, and they are delivered at King’s College hospital in London, St James’s University hospital in Leeds and Birmingham children’s hospital. The submission notes that the reimbursement of travel and subsistence for children and their families is the responsibility of the NHS board where the child resides.

Based on available data for the past five years, the Scottish Government states that NHS Scotland’s national services division has funded an average of five children per year to be assessed and/or treated by the specialist paediatric liver services in England. It explains that such a level of need is not consistent with ensuring that the case volumes seen or treated in Scotland are adequate to sustain a safe, fully staffed, highly specialised service. We have seen that across other medical disciplines, too.

In response, the petitioner states that there are significant costs involved when supporting a family member who is being treated so far from home and that that puts more strain on families. He states that it needs to be easier for families to be reimbursed for those costs and that long-term hospital families need much better support. He argues that the recently launched young patients family fund does not provide any true form of assistance for travel to other nations.

Do members have any comments or suggestions for action?

It is not appropriate for the committee to investigate individual cases. That is clearly stated in the guidance on submitting petitions. The evidence submitted in relation to the petitioner’s previous petition, and from the Scottish Government in relation to the current petition, does not appear to highlight any new issues meriting investigation into the level of prosecutions under sections 315 and 318 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003. We might want to elicit further information about what we could reasonably take forward before we invite the petitioner to speak to us.

PE1880, on awareness and practical experience of litter picking and waste separation in the school curriculum, has been lodged by Calum Edmunds, Susanna Zanatta and Tannith Diggory of Cleanup Glasgow. It calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to make an appropriate level of daily cleaning, including litter picking and waste separation, part of the curriculum in schools.

In her submission, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills explains that the Scottish Government is committed to increasing the prevalence of learning for sustainability in the curriculum and says that the Government supports the ultimate aim of the petition. However, the Government believes that individual schools should determine the precise content of their curriculum and how it is applied to the timetable at school level.

Although the Government

“would prefer to avoid excessive prescription”,

the cabinet secretary states her intention to share details of the petition, and her response to it, with Education Scotland and Keep Scotland Beautiful to ensure that the issues that it highlights are taken into account. She will do that in the context of exploring the current programme on litter and waste management to see which aspects of it could be strengthened.

The cabinet secretary seems keen to take forward the sentiments of the petition. Do members have any comments?

I am very happy to keep the petition open and to proceed on the basis that has been suggested. Financial reimbursement is often something of an afterthought, with proper consideration not being given to the mechanisms that should be in place. When health boards take varying approaches, the process can be complicated or not, depending on the health board concerned.

PE1877, which was lodged by Alex Wallace, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to provide body cameras for all front-line NHS staff and paramedics in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has stated that it does not believe that bodycams would be necessary or appropriate for all front-line clinical staff as the safety risks vary considerably in different job roles. The submission highlights that the Scottish Ambulance Service has advised that the trade unions have shown no appetite for bodycams, and that attacks on paramedics in Scotland have decreased in recent years.

A feasibility study was conducted and the Scottish Government believes that the cost of the proposal would be prohibitive for health boards and would not provide value for money.

Do members have any comments or suggestions for action?

PE1882, which has been lodged by Laura Steel, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to ensure that any person who is charged with a sexual offence against a child is remanded in custody.

In its written submission, the Scottish Government explains that the Criminal Proceedings etc (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007 forms the basis of the current law on bail. As a result of that act, there is a general presumption in favour of bail. However, the legislation ensures that an individual could be held on remand where there is a substantial risk that they might abscond or fail to appear at court, commit a further offence or offences, interfere with witnesses or otherwise obstruct the course of justice, or where there is any other substantial factor that appears to the court to justify keeping that person in custody.

The Government states that the general presumption in favour of bail is reversed where an individual is accused on indictment of drugs, sexual, violent or domestic abuse offences and they already have a conviction in solemn proceedings on such a charge. In such cases, the presumption is that the individual be remanded.

The Scottish Government’s submission also states that the European Court of Human Rights has developed case law that requires decisions on the remand of individuals who are accused of offences to be made on a case-by-case basis. As a result, it would not be possible for the Scottish Parliament to legislate to require that all individuals who are accused of certain offences, such as sexual offences, always be remanded in custody prior to trial.

Given that background, do members have any comments or suggestions?