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Whilst the management of the prison estate – including privately operated HMP Addiewell - is an operational matter for the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), I take very seriously the significant issues highlighted in the Inspectorate’s report.

It is clearly unacceptable that anyone in custody in Scotland should feel unsafe.

I have a meeting later this month with both the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and Sodexo Justice Services to discuss His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland’s (HMIPS) inspection findings for HMP Addiewell.

SPS and Sodexo Justice Services are engaging at the highest possible levels to ensure HMP Addiewell is a safe and secure prison and are committed to addressing the concerns raised in the HMIPS report.

Safety is an absolute priority and plans and actions are being scrutinised to ensure necessary improvements and changes are delivered. Abuse, threating behaviour, bullying and violence by prison staff will not be tolerated and any complaint of criminality is automatically referred to Police Scotland.

We recognise the value of peer support as a key component of perinatal mental health support. However, we are clear that this does not replace the need for clinical services where that is required to help individuals and their families.

The Scottish Government is supporting clinical service provision by investing in the development and implementation of Community Mental Health Services, Mother and Baby Units, Infant Mental Health and Maternity Neonatal Phycological Interventions services. This is creating capacity within clinical services to ensure they are well placed to offer effective perinatal support in every health board across Scotland, with peer support services complementing clinical work.

NHS Boards have local governance for peer support roles which will include the scope of the role, confidentiality and supervision arrangements. Mother and Baby Units can access guidance on peer support worker roles and the support which should be provided for them from Perinatal Mental Health Network Scotland.

The Scottish Government is funding a range of peer support models to improve perinatal mental healthcare across Scotland. These include paid peer support workers, volunteer peer support workers, peer support in specialised mental health services, peer support in marginalised groups and informal peer support including online services.

The Scottish Government established an annual peer support event to bring together practitioners across Scotland to showcase good practice and highlight the work being undertaken across localities. This shares knowledge and creates an opportunity for learning and understanding on how to effectively implement peer support tools to reach everyone in Scotland who needs support.

Through the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Fund And Small Grants Fund, we provide funding for both father specific and whole family work. From 2021 to March 2023, we have provided over £1 million to groups including Home-Start Glasgow North and North Lanarkshire, Quarriers, CrossReach, Sure Start Midlothian, Dads Rock and Fathers Network Scotland. This includes funding for peer support groups for new fathers, which can provide a valuable source of support.

We have also committed to working with Fathers Network Scotland to better understand the evidence around mental health within the perinatal period for fathers and partners.

Councils agreed to freeze Council Tax from 2008-9 when the average Band D charge in Scotland was £1,149. In 2021-22, we estimate this figure would have increased by £399 had the CPI inflation measure applied and by £502 had the average Council Tax increases in England applied.

Using the CPI measure, we estimate that by 2021-22 the average Band G and Band H charges would have been £3,033 and £3,794 respectively and £3,234 and £4,046 if the average Council Tax increases in England had applied.

The Scottish Government has worked alongside Inspiring Scotland, Evaluation Support Scotland and third sector partners to co-produce an Evaluation Toolkit for perinatal peer support, which was published on 1 March 2023.

The Scottish Government also worked with Scottish Recovery Network to develop a Perinatal Peer Support Resource, which launched on 20 April 2023 and can be found at the following link - Let's do Peer Support: Bump, Birth & Beyond - Scottish Recovery Network . The resource includes guidance plus links to good practice and specialised training from more established organisations, should peer support workers or volunteers feel they need further information and guidance.

Since publishing the Peer Support Action Plan in March 2021, the Scottish Government has established annual peer support in perinatal mental health events which bring together hundreds of practitioners from across Scotland to showcase good practice. These events highlight the role of peer support in supporting and complementing clinical work.

We have also worked with the Scottish Recovery Network to develop a Perinatal Peer Support Resource, called Let’s do Peer Support: Bump, Birth and Beyond. This is a practical guide/toolkit to support people who are planning and delivering perinatal peer support activities. The resource was launched on 20 April 2023 and can be found at the following link - Let's do Peer Support: Bump, Birth & Beyond - Scottish Recovery Network.

We also recognise the importance of peer support within statutory services. Scottish Government has provided funding to support the inclusion of peer support workers in both Mother and Baby Units within Scotland. A core part of statutory service peer support roles is close working with, and learning from, third sector organisations which have been successfully supporting communities through peer support for many years.

Since 2019, the Scottish Government has invested over £26 million in improvements to perinatal services and support for parents, infants and families across Scotland. This investment has facilitated a substantial increase in services and workforce across Scotland.

The Scottish Government also supports the Perinatal Mental Health Scotland Network which provides support to health boards on all aspects of service development, training, supervision and good practice.

Our investment also supports NHS Education Scotland to undertake workforce development and training, including a suite of training accessible to all professionals across Scotland.

The Scottish Government will continue to invest in perinatal and infant mental health to enable boards to recruit the required staff; to further establish specialist community perinatal and infant mental health services and to deliver on Scottish Government commitments towards perinatal and infant mental health in the long term.

The Scottish Government has worked with the Scottish Recovery Network to develop a Perinatal Peer Support Resource, which launched on 20 April 2023 and can be found at the following link - Let's do Peer Support: Bump, Birth & Beyond - Scottish Recovery Network . The toolkit includes advice, hints and tips for peer support workers, including how to deal with difficult topics which they may find triggering. The toolkit also helps to ensure that peer supporters are also maintaining their own recovery and wellbeing. Peer support workers also have access to the National Wellbeing Hub, which supports everyone working in health and social care services in Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17825 on 22 May 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