Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07914 on 28 April 2022. 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

Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance on the extended use of face masks and face coverings in hospitals, primary care and wider community healthcare was updated on April 14th 2022 to reflect the change from legislation to guidance for the wider use of face masks and face coverings in public spaces, and to align with the updated Scottish Winter (21/22 Respiratory Infections in Health and Care Setting Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Addendum.

The updated guidance for staff and patients/visitors reaffirms the continued use of face masks in healthcare settings. Staff (in hospital, primary care and community healthcare) providing direct care are strongly recommended to continue to wear Type IIR fluid resistant surgical masks (FRSMs) at all times while on shift.

Staff in non- clinical areas are strongly recommended to wear a FRSM (or their own face covering) when not seated at a desk.

Out- patients and visitors are strongly recommended to wear a face covering when attending health and community healthcare settings. Face masks are provided at the entrance to hospitals for any individual who requires one.

Section 5.1.5 of the Scottish Winter (21/22 Respiratory Infections in Health and Care Setting Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Addendum sets out the current recommended PPE requirements for Healthcare workers across the NHS (hospital, primary care and community healthcare).

The safety of staff in health and social care settings is our top priority and spending decisions on pandemic PPE are, at every stage, led by clinical need and current guidance. Work on implementing a joined-up public sector procurement arrangement which will provide Scotland with a resilient and secure pandemic PPE supply for the long term is being taken forward at pace.

The NHS National Services Division (NSD) commissioning team have completed a Major Service Review of the current Genomics service. The final report has been shared with NHS Board Chief Executives, the Scottish Genomics Leadership Group, Trade Union representative, Medical and Laboratory Directors for the boards that host the Genomic Laboratories, the document is now available on the (NSS)NSD website at the following link:

SEPA has an extensive network of rainfall monitoring gauges across the country and the data collected are available at SEPA’s Rainfall data for Scotland website.

Scotland’s National Water Scarcity Plan is available on the SEPA website. This sets out how water resources will be managed prior to, and during, periods of prolonged dry weather.

SEPA has started publishing a weekly Water Scarcity Report for this year as some parts of the country are already experiencing drier than average conditions. The current report can be found on SEPA’s water scarcity page.

The report uses a range of hydrological and meteorological data to set water scarcity levels across the country. The National Water Scarcity Management Plan explains what the different levels mean in terms of communication with licence holders and further regulatory action.

Scottish Water routinely monitors water levels at abstraction points and will contact public to advise them to use less water where there is a risk of a water shortage. Local Authorities are contacting owners and users of Private Water Supplies to remind them to check on their water supplies to ensure that they are resilient to the impacts of a dry summer.

Further to my answer today to the Member's question S6W-08418 on 16 May 2022, the Scottish Government is not currently at the stage of considering preferred locations for a national slavery museum.

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 does not hold this information. Scottish Health Service Costs are published annually in arrears by Public Health Scotland.

The most recent cost book data available covers 2020-21 and was published on 22 February 2022. Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services spend is not routinely published in the cost book publication but is available from Public Health Scotland on request through phs.costsinfo@phs.scot.

Data for 2021-22 is not currently available, but will be available on request after publication of the 2021-22 cost book, which is currently scheduled for November 2022.

In 2019, we introduced a uniform approach to recording and monitoring bullying incidents in schools, supported by guidance. All local authorities and schools are expected to be using the new approach.

It is the responsibility of school staff and local authorities to decide how to address bullying in their schools. We expect that all local authorities have an anti-bullying policy that covers all of their schools and each school should develop and implement an anti-bullying policy in line with this. The policy should indicate how incidents will be dealt with and recorded.

Therefore, this information would need to be requested from each local authority directly.

The Empire, Slavery and Scotland’s Museums steering group is an independent group and the Scottish Government is not, therefore, able to comment on its discussions.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting and empowering women and girls to reach their full potential through our sustainable and inclusive economic growth ambitions.

In our recently published Best Start, Bright Futures: Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2022-26, we committed to building on existing work to remove barriers to employment, taking a strategic and intersectional approach to tackling employment inequalities. We know that the voice of lived experience is vital in developing and implementing policy to tackle poverty, and will continue to work with partners in the delivery of this plan.

To incorporate understanding of women’s experiences, we will be working in partnership with our key stakeholders and partners, as well as key advocacy groups who work directly with parents in the priority families groups outlined within the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan. We have committed to establishing a Parental Lived Experience Panel in Summer 2022, to help inform our activity around employability. This will build on the on the success of our existing Lived Experience Panel, which has been invaluable in co-designing No One Left Behind, and aligns with our wider commitments to embedding the Scottish Approach to Service Design in employability. Work is also underway to develop a lifetime skills offer to support individuals and businesses to develop the skills needed now and in the future, and as these proposals are developed, we will link with key expert groups to inform the process.

The Scottish Government is committed to implementing the National Neurodevelopmental Specification: Principles and Standards of Care for Children and Young People, published in September 2021, which specifies service standards that all children’s services should follow, to ensure access to support is effective and consistent across Scotland.

In 2021-22, through our Mental Health Recovery and Renewal Fund, we allocated around £40 million to NHS Boards across Scotland to improve their Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and Neurodevelopmental services for children and young people.

The Scottish Government understands that delivering service improvements can only be achieved with the right workforce capacity and capability. Therefore to support this, £3.06 million from the Mental Health Recovery and Renewal Fund was allocated to NHS Boards in 2021-22 to build professional capacity within Boards to support children and young people with neurodevelopmental support needs.

Against a backdrop of a 6% increase in NHS Psychology staffing in 2021, we are also working in collaboration with NHS Education for Scotland and NHS Boards to undertake a UK level National Psychology Recruitment drive. In addition, we are increasing the student intake for Psychology Masters and Doctorate training programmes and creating new roles, and Enhanced Psychology Practitioners in primary care, community, early years, and schools. These professionals can support the delivery of the National Neurodevelopment Specification, including contributing to diagnosis, but also importantly in training and support for universal services and delivering family support interventions tailored for children and young people with neurodevelopmental support needs.

Alongside the important role played by psychologists, other registered health and social work professionals can be trained in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnostic tools such as Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), and provide ASD assessment, contributing to diagnosis. Diagnosis is recommended from at least 2 professionals using a number of information sources, including parental reports.