Chamber and committees

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. 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.

The Scottish Government will shortly publish Core Standards for Mental Health Services, which will be implemented first in adult secondary services, as well as the National Specification for Psychological Therapies and Interventions. The aim of the standards and service specification is to ensure that individuals, their families and carers know what they can expect from mental health services, and from psychological therapies in particular. These standards are measurable and will provide a basis for continual improvement through enabling greater accountability and scrutiny.

The implementation of the standards will initially be supported by a self-assessment. The self-assessment will encourage reflection, learning and exchange regarding best practice and the identification of areas for improvement.

The implementation of the Core Standards for Mental Health Services and the National Specification for Psychological Therapies and Interventions will be further supported by Public Health Scotland’s 2023-24 review of the Mental Health Quality Indicator Framework. The scope of the review includes new measures that arise from these recent publications, with the aim to improve the general monitoring of the quality, outcomes and experiences of mental health services.

There are currently 10 commercial datacentres in Scotland that offer a wide range of data hosting services to both public and private sector organisations.

In addition there are datacentres built by private sector companies including banks to service their requirements which are operated discreetly by the company, as well as a significant number of smaller datacentres which will service a particular local authority and wider public sector which are often located within the organisation’s estate. We have not mapped the full extent of datacentres which service specific companies and organisations.

Datacentre development is driven by commercial investment and developers do not routinely share information on sites under development with the Scottish Government. We are, however, in active discussions with datacentre operators interested in developing further datacentre capacity in Scotland.

Plans to pilot drug checking facilities are being developed in Dundee, Aberdeen and Glasgow following a research project funded through the Drug Deaths Taskforce.

The research work, carried out by Stirling University, highlighted the need for a national hub for drug checking to be established alongside the facilities in the three pilot cities.

That national hub will: provide the ability to re-test samples from the city drug checking sites; confirm the identity of compounds; and quality check the results supplied by the sites. This will allow for the establishment of levels of accuracy and error margins, and assess limitations from the city drug checking sites. The information produced can then be used to inform services and individuals as well as feeing into Public Health Scotland’s RADAR system.

Once the national hub has been established it has the potential to be used to provide a similar type of service as the WEDINOS service currently operating in Wales.

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.

While we will take the time to carefully consider other specific recommendations, and the wider substance of the report, we can commit to publishing the outcomes and measures framework to guide evaluation of the local implementation of Mental Health and Wellbeing in Primary Care services by the end of the year. Further details on the framework will be provided in the forthcoming Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy Delivery Plan.

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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20943 on 26 September 2023 and, in addition, can advise that no representations have been made to the Rail Delivery Group.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20938 on 26 September 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

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.

The Scottish Government welcomes the report from Public Health Scotland as a contribution to the evidence base on probable suicides in Scotland. It is positive that the trends show there has been a reduction in the rate of suicide in Scotland from the position in 2011. However, from such reports and listening to those with lived experience of suicide, we know there is still much work to do to reduce suicide deaths and for people at high risk of suicide – including middle aged men. The report confirms many of the contributing factors and experiences faced by those who die by suicide such as poverty, homelessness and the cost of living crisis, and the findings will inform the delivery of our Creating Hope Together Action Plan.

Taking a whole of government and society approach focused on addressing the social determinants of suicide, which we know are concentrated in particular communities of place, interest and experience, is fundamental to our Strategy. This dedicated work is further complemented by our new Mental Health and Wellbeing strategy , published jointly with CoSLA on 29 June 2023, that places early intervention at its heart, which we know is key to reducing suicide deaths.

We are also supporting a range of local suicide prevention initiatives across Scotland through our £15 million per annum Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund . The Fund is focused on tackling inequalities and supported nearly 300 suicide prevention initiatives in 2022-23, as well as projects aimed at building social connection in our communities, which we know promote good mental health and wellbeing.

I refer to recent answers regarding the Clydebridge site in Cambuslang, in particular my answers to written questions S6W-17169 on 4 May 2023 and S6W-17708 on 16 May 2023.

The Clydebridge site is not currently operational and no staff are currently employed at the site. The future of the site, including any plans for development, is an operational matter for Liberty Steel.

Scottish Government maintain an open dialogue with Liberty Steel and have a number of regular meetings with them. We are not aware of any plans to install an electric arc furnace at the Clydebridge site at this time.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers