Seòmar agus comataidhean

The reasons for the Commissioners’ resignations are a matter of public record as set out in letters to the Social Justice and Social Security Committee.

I am grateful to the Chair and Commissioners for their contributions to the Commission and thank them for their service.

As the Commission is an independent public body any issues relating to internal relationships are for the Commission to manage .

Scottish Water does not hold information for reported spills during dry weather, or the reasons for spills, however Scottish Water publishes all reportable pollution events each year to SEPA and this information is available in its annual reports, which can be found at: Annual Reports - Scottish Water .

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The Improvement Service’s annual Instrumental Music Survey of local authorities, does, however contain data on number of pupils that participated in instrumental music lessons from academic year 2012-13 to 2021-22 and can be found at the following hyperlink: Improvement Service Survey 2022 . The report highlights that not all local authorities were able to provide responses for all sections of the survey, so care should also be taken when comparing results between different years. We understand that results from the 2022-2023 survey will be published before the end of 2023.

East Lothian Council convened an Incident Response Group as the incident required a multi-agency, co-ordinated response. As part of the co-ordinated response, a sub-group consisting of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s (SEPA’s) Airborne Hazard Emergency Response (AHER) Team, Public Health Scotland and the local Health Board, provided scientific advice in relation to air quality and impacts on human health.

No additional assessment by Scottish Government on air quality, local people or wildlife was therefore required.

SEPA is continuing to engage with the operator and investigating the incident.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The table below details the average number of purposeful activity hours per week for convicted prisoners across the prison estate, in each financial year that incorporates 2021, 2022 and 2023:

Phasing out fossil fuel heating is essential to meet our legal climate targets and makes us less dependent on volatile and increasingly expensive fossil fuel prices. As set out in the Heat in Buildings Strategy, published in October 2021, the Scottish Government considers “low and zero emissions heating systems” to be systems that have zero direct greenhouse gas emissions. This includes individual electric heat pumps and connection to heat networks, or electric systems such as storage heaters, and systems that have very low emissions, such as those that use hydrogen.

In line with the recommendation of the Committee on Climate Change, we agree that bioenergy – such as biomass, bio-heating oil and bio-propane - should only be used in those applications where its carbon reduction impact is maximised, where alternative options are not available, and where it comes from sustainable sources. We recognise that, for a small number of homes, bioenergy might offer the only feasible way to reduce emissions from heating to displacing fossil fuels, especially where electric heating or heat pumps are unsuitable. We will therefore consider how such homes may be dealt with under any future regulatory system.

The new Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy sets out our vision to improve mental health and wellbeing – including the role of other key areas such as poverty, housing, employment and our communities. The Strategy recognises that in order to address the wide-ranging factors that impact people’s mental health and wellbeing, a cross-government, cross-sector approach is required.

A range of work is already taking place throughout the Scottish Government to promote positive mental wellbeing, prevent poor mental health, and provide support, care and treatment where needed. In addition we are working closely with our stakeholders, including Public Health Scotland, to develop and embed a collaborative health-in-all-policies (or HiAP) approach, which takes consideration of key health issues into decision-making at national and local level. As part of this approach, we will promote a more robust, efficient and effective use of impacts assessments across government.

In Dumfries and Galloway, a range of eating disorder care and treatment is provided in line with good clinical practice across primary care, community services and specialist services for children, adolescents and adults.

This includes the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Specialist Eating Disorder Service which provides out-patient treatment to children and young people impacted by an eating disorder. In addition, there is a Specialist Eating Disorder Service for adults, SEDS, which is based within Mountainhall Treatment Centre. This service provides those over the age of 18 a safe, supportive and collaborative environment to support them to live a more fulfilled and independent life.

Furthermore, Dumfries and Galloway has pathways into paediatric, general adult and CAMHS inpatient facilities when admission for an eating disorder is required.

Through Scottish Government funding of over £600,000 per annum, Dumfries and Galloway also has access to a wide range of support services offered by Beat, the UK’s largest Eating Disorder charity, which include:

• Nexus – A Carer telephone support programme which provides a weekly scheduled coaching call to support recovery.
• Synergy - A new service that provides direct support to under 18s and their families through weekly sessions over Zoom.
• Solace - Structured weekly peer-to-peer support groups for carers via Zoom.
• Motivate - Weekly support for those aged 18+ to ensure service users remain motivated while waiting for treatment for anorexia or bulimia to begin.
• Bolster - Weekly support through telephone sessions for Adults (aged +18) who are unable to access treatment.
• Momentum - Self-help programme based on cognitive behavioural therapy for adults (aged 18+) who present with Binge Eating Disorder or regular binge eating episodes.

The Scottish Government thanks Audit Scotland for a thorough, clear and wide-ranging report on Adult Mental Health Services in Scotland. Ministers recognise how closely some of the content of the report mirrors our vision, outcomes and priorities that we set out in our Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

The Scottish Government recognises that as frontline practitioners, GPs and their wider practice teams are often the first port of call for those seeking mental health and wellbeing support. In recent years we have prioritised significant investment to build mental health capacity in primary care through Action 15 and the Primary Care Improvement Fund.

We will now take the time to carefully consider both the specific recommendations, and the wider substance of the report. We will publish the Delivery Plan for our Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, together with our Workforce Plan, this Autumn, which will set out the actions we will take to address many of the issues set out by Audit Scotland, including those around mental health support in primary care.

Cabinet discusses the Scottish Government’s legislative programme on a regular basis.