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This issue is covered in guidance issued by the Scottish Government in August 2012 in relation to the treatment time guarantee and also on NHS Scotland waiting time guidance. These documents are available at the following links:

www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/mels/CEL2012_32.pdf

www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/mels/CEL2012_33.pdf.

The Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Act 2007 places a duty on all education authorities and managers of grant-aided schools to endeavour to ensure that public schools and grant-aided schools are health promoting. The Act defines a health promoting school as one which provides activities and an environment and facilities which promote the physical, social, mental and emotional health and wellbeing of pupils in attendance at the school.

In addition, under Curriculum for Excellence, everyone within each learning community, whatever their contact with children and young people may be, shares a responsibility for creating a positive ethos and climate of trust, one in which everyone can make a positive contribution to the wellbeing of each individual within the school and wider community.

It is for each local authority and school to decide how best to meet their duties under the Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Act 2007 and to develop their own approaches to implement Curriculum for Excellence, based on local needs and circumstances. A number of authorities provide access to school based counselling in their schools. In other areas, schools utilise the skills of their pastoral care staff and liaise with health services for specialist support when required.

Scottish Government officials met with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), the authors of the Welsh Government report, in August 2012 to discuss the report’s findings and their relevance for Scotland. Education Scotland are now in discussion with BACP to identify how best to disseminate the findings to Scottish local authorities.

The responses to the consultation are currently being analysed. The report of the analysis and the Scottish Government response will be issued as soon as possible.

As stated in previous answers to similar parliamentary questions lodged by the member on this subject, the current policy is to maintain eligibility for the same cohorts of patients who would have been eligible for free prescriptions prior to abolition.

The minor ailment service (MAS), available through community pharmacies, is specifically designed to help address health inequalities by increasing access to both advice and treatment for common conditions for particularly vulnerable groups in our society without the need to see their GP. There are no plans to extend MAS to additional groups at this time.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

The Commission on Women Offenders recommended that Cornton Vale should be replaced with a smaller specialist unit for women offenders serving a statutory defined long-term sentence.

On 29 October 2012 the Justice Secretary wrote to the Justice Committee advising that he had agreed the Scottish Prison Service Chief Executive’s recommendation that the SPS should proceed to develop HMP Inverclyde as a “custom made” national prison for women offenders, with both the regime and the building fully meeting the aspirations and recommendations of the Commission on Women Offenders. It is intended that HMP Inverclyde will include a specialist unit for long term women offenders in custody.

The Scottish Government has committed to pilot a Community Justice Centre for women as part of our response to the Angiolini Commission on women offenders. We expect that the pilot will run for 2 years. We will consider carefully the learning as it emerges from the pilot centre before considering wider implementation, including whether it would be appropriate to pilot such a centre for men.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

The Scottish Prison Service is committing a significant investment to improve the quality of facilities at HMP and YOI Cornton Vale pending the full implementation of its long term plans for women offenders announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice on 29 October 2012.

As I have previously indicated up to an additional £3 million will be spent on Cornton Vale to bring the facility up to the basic standard required to be able to maintain reasonable operation until the planned opening of Inverclyde.

This will include refurbishment of house blocks, ablutions, the gym, medical dispensary and the building which will be used for the new family centre.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

The Family Centre at HMP and YOI Cornton Vale is currently still on schedule to open in spring 2013.

Scottish Government staff are in contact with researchers on the Insect Pollinators Initiative (IPI) which is a research initiative led by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). The IPI aims to aid understanding and mitigation of the biological and environmental factors that adversely affect insect pollinators. The Scottish Government contributed £0.5m of co-funding.