Mental Health Patients (In-patient Facilities)
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the retention of locally accessible in-patient facilities for mental health patients. (S4O-05524)
The Scottish Government provides funding to individual health boards, which are responsible for providing services that meet the physical and mental health needs of their local population. Some in-patient mental health care will always be necessary, but the focus in recent times has been on maximising the provision of appropriate services in the community.
Mental health is an absolute priority for the Scottish Government and we will continue to work closely with our partners, including the national health service, local authorities, the third sector, service users and carers, to ensure that we offer the best quality of life and opportunities for people with mental health problems.
I thank the cabinet secretary for her response and for meeting me recently to discuss the situation regarding the Darataigh facility in Stranraer, which the local health board wishes to close. If it is closed, patients in need of in-patient support will have to be transferred to Dumfries, meaning a round journey of more than 150 miles for the patients, their families and loved ones.
There is widespread public anger about the matter, and there is cross-party support for the retention of an in-patient facility in Stranraer. People’s feelings were most recently expressed at a well-attended public rally just last Saturday. Things are getting somewhat heated.
Do you have a question, Mr Fergusson?
It is just coming, Presiding Officer.
Local councillors of all parties are keen to meet the cabinet secretary to discuss the situation. My simple question is whether she is willing to undertake such a meeting.
As the member knows, the board is now committed to engaging with local stakeholders for six months on the proposed service model, which seeks to maximise the provision of local, community-based care. I have been reassured by the chief executive that he remains personally committed to meeting any elected representatives who wish to discuss the matter.
It is a matter for the board. I am happy to continue to meet Alex Fergusson. I have also met Aileen McLeod on the matter. I can meet any other members of the Parliament who want to discuss the situation at Darataigh.
As for taking forward the consultation on the proposed service change, it is best left to the board to get on with the job of doing that, while consulting local elected members.
NHS Lanarkshire (Meetings)
To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport last met NHS Lanarkshire and what was discussed. (S4O-05525)
Ministers and Government officials regularly meet representatives of all health boards, including NHS Lanarkshire, to discuss matters of importance to local people.
How are NHS Lanarkshire and the Scottish Government responding to the outbreak of H1N1, otherwise known as swine flu, in the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth area? Can the cabinet secretary say whether there is anything that the Government can do to increase uptake of the flu vaccine among the vulnerable groups who would be most at risk from the virus?
I reassure the member that we have of course been kept fully informed about the issue. There is a very, very low risk to the public, and the situation is being well managed by the local health professionals, as you would expect. I am happy to write to the member with more details on the matter, if he would find that helpful.
As for uptake of the flu vaccine, it is very important that people who are entitled to the vaccine and who would benefit from it, particularly those with health conditions that make them more vulnerable, should take it up.
There has been a lot of promotion of the flu vaccine through the uptake campaign. The vaccine appears to be a better fit this year with the flu that is out there in the community, and that is an important message.
If Mark Griffin would find it helpful for me to write to him with a more detailed response, particularly on the H1N1 issue, I will do that and I will ensure that he is fully apprised of the work that is being done locally on the issue.
Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme
To ask the Scottish Government when work will start on the schools that are receiving funding from the recently announced £230 million investment under the Scotland’s schools for the future programme. (S4O-05526)
The Government wishes to maintain momentum across Scotland for the future programme and to build on the excellent progress that has been achieved to date.
Councils have already been informed that we expect all 19 of the schools that we announced on 25 January to be delivered and to be open for business by 31 March 2020 at the very latest. Moreover, earlier delivery dates are both expected and encouraged.
As part of the project development work, councils will be working with the Scottish Futures Trust to draw up detailed programmes that capture key milestones and to ensure that the projects will be delivered by the required timeline.
Can the cabinet secretary confirm what steps will be taken to ensure that disruption to the education of pupils, such as those at Wallyford primary school, will be kept to a minimum?
It is of course for education authorities to develop and implement such transition plans. We would hope and expect that any disruption to children’s education is kept to an absolute minimum when moving them from an existing school to a new one.
In the case of Wallyford primary school, East Lothian Council has indicated to Government officials that the relocation of the school will require a statutory consultation to be undertaken under the terms of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010. Under the 2010 act, a council’s proposal paper must set out clearly, among other things, how it intends to minimise or avoid any adverse effects that may arise from implementation of the proposal. We understand that East Lothian Council has still to carry out that very important consultation.
The First Minister announced last week that funding is now available for rebuilding Queen Margaret academy in my constituency. Can the cabinet secretary give me details of when that work will start and of the expected completion date of this rebuild project? I hope that it will be before 2020.
As I indicated in my response to Mr Beattie, as part of the project development work that is rightly being undertaken between councils and the Scottish Futures Trust, they will draw up very detailed programmes capturing all the key necessary steps and mapping out a timeline. It is the intention that all 19 of the schools will be delivered and open for business by 31 March 2020 at the very latest. I can of course write to Mr Scott with more specific information about the envisaged milestones regarding the school in his constituency.
Common Financial Tool (Personal Independence Payments)
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason personal independence payments are included for income assessment as part of the common financial tool in a bankruptcy process. (S4O-05527)
The common financial tool determines the level of contribution that a debtor can pay; ensuring the interests of debtors and creditors are considered.
It is absolutely clear both in legislation and guidance that no contribution is appropriate where income is derived solely from benefits. And where there is private income any contribution must not include any element of state benefits that are in payment.
The common financial tool guidance also makes it clear that where personal independence payment or a similar benefit is received, full account must be taken of additional expenditure that is likely to be required for care, mobility or other health related matters.
I thank the Deputy First Minister for that answer, which I know will be of interest to a constituent of mine. How many bankruptcies have involved people in receipt of personal independence payments or similar benefits in the past year?
Since April 2015, 295 bankruptcies have been awarded following a debtor application where income has included personal independence payments, disability living allowance or attendance allowance. A contribution has been applied in one of those cases to the level of private income involved. [John Swinney has corrected this contribution.]
I hope that that clarifies the issue for Fiona McLeod.
Medical and Home Care (Older People)
To ask the Scottish Government how it works with the national health service and local authorities to ensure that medical and home care for older people is adequate and sustainable. (S4O-05528)
Our legislation to integrate health and social care provides a platform for health boards and local authorities, along with the third and independent sectors, to work together to ensure that people are supported to live as independently as possible for as long as possible in their own homes.
The Public Bodies Joint Working (Scotland) Act 2014 places a duty on integration authorities to create a single strategic plan for the integrated functions and budgets that they control. The plan will set out how they will plan and deliver services for their area. The views of clinicians and care professionals, along with those of the independent and third sectors, service users and carers, will be central to shaping the commissioning and planning process.
Can the cabinet secretary clarify what progress has been made between NHS Fife and Fife Council in improving outcomes and supporting service redesign of health and social care integration and the establishment of a new joint board? Further, what share of the Scottish Government integrated care fund for 2015-16 is allocated to Fife?
Yesterday I attended the formal launch of Fife’s health and social care partnership, which was a well-attended event by people of all sectors. It was a very positive event throughout the day.
NHS Fife and Fife Council are making steady progress in relation to the integration of health and social care. I have signed off their integration scheme, which details how integrated arrangements between both organisations will work. The integration joint board was able to be legally established from 3 October 2015.
The partnership recently conducted its consultation on the strategic plan; that ran from 7 October 2015 to 6 January 2016. The consultation is now closed, and the results will be considered by the integration joint board on 10 February.
Finally, the Fife integration joint board received £6.73 million from the integration care fund in 2015-16. It will also get its share of the £250 million announced in the budget by John Swinney—if Fife Council accepts the Scottish Government deal.
Major Trauma Centres
To ask the Scottish Government whether it expects to deliver the commitment that it made on 30 April 2014 that four specialist major trauma centres will be operational from 2016. (S4O-05529)
Good progress continues to be made in developing the right trauma network for Scotland, but there are differing views among clinicians on just how many major trauma centres Scotland needs. It is extremely important that we get the model of care right.
I have asked the national planning forum to examine what the appropriate balance of centres and responsibilities within a new trauma network would be. The new network will be developed to complement our accident and emergency departments across the country and ensure that the right specialists with the right experience are in place to save more lives in the most difficult of circumstances.
It is very disappointing to hear that answer, because the Government made a very clear commitment in April 2014 that there would be four specialist major trauma centres. Does the cabinet secretary not understand the impact that it has on the morale of staff and the ability of hospitals to recruit staff when she reneges on that promise? I do not understand, and so perhaps she can explain, why it is that Aberdeen royal infirmary and Ninewells hospital in Dundee are now faced with that uncertainty after a very clear commitment was made by her Government two years ago.
I do not know whether Lewis Macdonald is suggesting that we just go ahead, regardless of the fact that, at the moment, clinicians do not agree what the model of care should be. Surely it is important that we listen to the clinicians across the whole of Scotland. [Interruption.]
Order.
Maybe Lewis Macdonald does not want to hear the detail of the answer—I think that it is important that he does and that we listen to the clinicians.
As I said, good progress continues to be made with the work to develop the four major trauma centres, which may well transpire to be the right model for Scotland. There is now better data available than there was in 2013, and that is why I have asked the national planning forum to look again at the most appropriate model for Scotland, taking all of that data into account. Until that work is completed and we get the clinicians to agree on what is the best model for Scotland, I will not make a decision on the number of major trauma centres.
I am happy to keep Lewis Macdonald updated. However, I am quite surprised that, in the face of a lack of clinical agreement on the matter, he wants to push ahead. That speaks volumes about his position on the matter.
Scottish Strategy for Autism
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the progress of the Scottish strategy for autism. (S4O-05530)
The Scottish strategy for autism is a 10-year strategy, and although progress has been made there is still work to be done.
The Scottish Government reviews the progress of the strategy through quarterly meetings with the national autism governance group, which provides service expertise and strategic leadership and challenges the delivery of the strategy’s outcomes, with the aim of improving outcomes for individuals and families who live with autism. The strategy’s progress was highlighted at the annual autism conference, which was most recently held in December 2015.
The recommendations of the strategy have been reframed as an outcomes-based approach, with priorities identified for 2015 to 2017. The outcomes focus on improving services so that people with autism can live healthier lives, can have choice and control over the services that they receive, and can be supported to be independent, active citizens.
What is the Scottish Government’s response to the report of the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland into the tragic death of Ms MN, who was on the autistic spectrum and who took her own life while in a care home? How will the recommendations from that report inform the autism strategy?
I read with great sadness the report from the Mental Welfare Commission about Ms MN’s death. I accept the recommendations for the Scottish Government. The report and the recommendations will be discussed at the next meeting of the autism strategy governance group, on 11 February, and the group will consider how to take the recommendations forward. Following that, a response from the governance group and the Scottish Government will be sent to the Mental Welfare Commission to advise of actions to be taken forward. Of course, any lessons for the overall strategy will also be taken forward.
NHS Lothian (Chair and Chief Officers)
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has confidence in the chair and the chief officers of NHS Lothian. (S4O-05531)
Yes.
At NHS Lothian we have a chairman who arrogantly dismisses hundreds of emails from members of the public who are extremely concerned about the future of the children’s ward at St John’s hospital, and we have a senior officer who warned that a protracted review would increase the risk of service disruption but then agreed to such a delay, following pressure from civil servants and the cabinet secretary.
How can the public have confidence in anyone in the Scottish Government, when it is playing party politics with the health and wellbeing of children in Lothian?
A bit of self-awareness from Neil Findlay would not go amiss.
The outcome and timing of the independent review are absolutely a matter for the board and for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, which confirmed that it has had no discussion with the Scottish Government. The review is an independent review, which NHS Lothian commissioned, the timing of which was due to the availability of experts from the royal college to carry it out.
Neil Findlay asked about the 400 members of the public who have contacted NHS Lothian. I absolutely expect NHS Lothian—whether that is the chair, the chief executive or anyone else in NHS Lothian—to listen to the concerns of those 400 individuals. I have made that clear to the chair of NHS Lothian. I hope that Neil Findlay will accept the assurance that any member of the public should be heard, whether they email, write or attend a local meeting.
The review, which I understand is going well, will be a full process, carried out by the royal college. I hope that Neil Findlay is not casting aspersions on the royal college and its role in this regard, because the royal college is engaged in a full consultation with local people. I hope that Neil Findlay will encourage constituents to attend meetings and take part fully.
The only person who is talking about closing the ward at the moment appears to be Neil Findlay. No one else is talking about that.
Flooding (Barnett Consequentials)
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the £12 million funding for flood-hit communities derives from Barnett consequentials and when it will be distributed. (S4O-05532)
Any Barnett consequentials that accrue to the Scottish Government are added to the total funding that is available to the Scottish ministers; it is then for the Scottish ministers to decide how available resources should be allocated.
The First Minister announced a £12 million funding package on 9 January. Confirmation was received from HM Treasury on 18 January that the Scottish Government will receive £14.5 million of resource in 2015-16; that is additional to the Barnett consequentials that were received in December, which support the £4 million aid package that was announced in the budget statement. Local authorities are now actively paying out grants to people who were affected by the recent flooding.
Whatever source the funding comes from, it will certainly go to good use, given the devastating start of the year that a number of communities in my region experienced due to flooding and its aftermath. The problems will continue for some time yet.
I acknowledge the flood recovery appeal, which has reached £300,000, due to the generous support of the public, businesses and funders. That fund is open to applications, over and above the Government funding.
Can we have a question, Ms Brennan?
Does the minister agree that prevention is much better than cure? Given reports that plans for the long-awaited flood prevention scheme for Stonehaven—[Interruption.]
Order. Let us hear the member.
Given reports that those plans are to be called in by the Scottish Government, can the Deputy First Minister give me an undertaking that the process will avoid significant further delays, while taking full account of the concerns of local residents and traders about the proposed development?
On the point of substance, I agree with Lesley Brennan that it is important that we have a range of flood alleviation measures in place. Some of that involves flood defences, but as the flood management strategies make clear, it also involves alleviation measures in the hill areas, before the water flows down to coastal areas such as Stonehaven.
I am not familiar with the issues to do with the flood scheme in Stonehaven, but Lesley Brennan will know that all applications of that nature must go through effective public consultation and consideration, and some planning issues might not be able to be resolved in that process. I will explore the rationale for the situation in Stonehaven and write to the member to confirm the details.