Mental Health Services (Access for Children and Young People)
Thank you, Presiding Officer, for reversing the order of questions. That was extremely helpful.
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that children and young people have access to mental health services, in light of reports of over 16,000 rejected referrals in the last three years. (S4T-01104)
We are committed to ensuring that children and young people of any age get access to high-quality mental health services. All children who are referred to specialist child and adolescent mental health services will be assessed individually. Where a request is not deemed suitable for intervention, we would expect clinicians to refer the child to an appropriate service. Children accessing mental health services will have their needs assessed by a multidisciplinary team, which may include psychiatrists, psychologists, occupational therapists and specialist nursing staff.
We are seeing a rise in demand. The past year has seen a 30 per cent increase in the number of people being seen in child and adolescent mental health services. Our response has been to invest an additional £100 million in mental health over the next five years. The funding will be invested in improving mental health services and will partly be used to further improve child and adolescent mental health services and to bring down waiting times.
I fully accept that this is a challenging area. I welcome the Government’s introduction of the 26-week target and, more recently, the 18-week target. However, the three health boards in my constituency—Fife, Forth Valley and Tayside—are all still failing to meet the 26-week target. The number of people not being seen within 18 weeks in Tayside has risen from 46 per cent in July 2014 to 65 per cent in July 2015. What is the minister doing to ensure that Scotland catches up with the proportion of funding England spends on mental health services? Scotland spends 0.4 per cent of its budget while England spends 0.7 per cent of its budget on those services. The Scottish children’s services coalition has said that that is “wholly inadequate”.
I recognise the need for continued investment in mental health services and CAMHS in particular. Since 2009, we have made available to NHS boards £16.9 million to increase the number of psychologists working in specialist CAMHS, and this year we have committed another £3.5 million. As a result of our additional investment, between October 2009 and December 2014 we have seen a 70 per cent growth in child psychology posts. We continue to invest £2 million a year in tiers 3 and 4 intensive community CAMHS. That investment is allowing NHS boards to grow intensive outreach services.
We have set that waiting time target and I want to reach it. I am in constant contact with the boards that are not meeting it. We continue to work with them to do what we can in that regard. However, we must place the matter in context and recognise the increased demand. We must also recognise that more children and young people are being seen throughout the services. We will continue to do what we can to deliver for children and young people. That is why, for example, we have invested the £100 million that I have mentioned.
The general increase in child and adolescent mental health service staff is extremely welcome, but there has not been one additional child psychiatrist appointed since 2008. Therefore, the size of one of the leading groups in the multidisciplinary team is not being increased in line with the increasing child population.
My big concern is about the rejections. The referrals have been made by various health professionals, along with educational psychologists. However, last year, 953 referrals were rejected in Tayside and 164 in Forth Volley and, over the past three years, 650 have been rejected in Fife. I ask the minister to look into what the outcomes are for those individuals whom health professionals have regarded as appropriate for referral and yet whose referrals are being rejected. That means either that the protocols are not working or that something is happening with service capacity. In both cases surely it is the outcomes for the children that are important. Will he investigate that issue now?
I reiterate my initial response. Where a request is made but on further assessment is not deemed suitable for a CAMHS referral, we would expect clinicians to refer the child to an appropriate service. I have mentioned the additional £100 million. Some of that funding will go to primary care, which has a big role in helping those who may have had a referral to CAMHS rejected, so that we do more in the community. Dr Simpson and this chamber can be assured of the Government’s determination to do all that we can to support the children and adolescents who are going through the system.
Refugee Task Force
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Scottish Government’s refugee task force. (S4T-01101)
Later today, I will chair the first meeting of the refugee operational task force to provide a co-ordinated Scottish response to the global refugee crisis. It will focus on the practical issues in the areas of housing, health services, language support, transport, social services and many other issues, and look at ensuring a positive and welcoming environment for the refugees arriving in Scotland. The task force will also look to harness the overwhelming public engagement in response to the refugee crisis.
The task force will include in its membership refugees, representatives from local government and refugee organisations, and many other stakeholders. The task force’s immediate priority will be to ensure that suitable accommodation and support are available for the people who arrive, noting in particular that some people, such as unaccompanied children, will have specific needs.
The task force meeting is being held further to the refugee summit that the First Minister chaired last Friday, which was attended by party leaders from the Parliament, and further to my meeting yesterday with the Scottish Refugee Council.
I thank the minister for his comprehensive response, and I thank him on behalf of the many people and groups in my constituency who attended the meeting last Friday and who were full of praise for everyone who attended.
The minister talked about a co-ordinated approach when people arrive. Does he think that David Cameron’s offer to take 20,000 refugees over five years is adequate? Is he aware of a timescale for refugees arriving in Scotland?
When any country is willing to accept refugees, we should welcome that. This morning I spoke to the United Kingdom Government minister for immigration, James Brokenshire, and I put on record that I think that the move is an important first step. I reassure the member that I think that 20,000 should be not a cap or upper limit but the absolute bare minimum. In the same way, the figure of 1,000 refugees that Scotland is willing to take immediately should be regarded not as a cap or upper limit but as the number that we are prepared to take immediately.
On the offer to take 20,000 refugees over five years, I hope that the majority of the arrivals will be front loaded. Many refugee organisations have asked for that, because the crisis is immediate; it is now. Therefore, it would be wise for the UK—and Scotland, in playing its part—to take in as many refugees now as we can do.
On the point about a co-ordinated response, we will try to ensure that there is a central focal point by the end of the task force meeting, through which we can harness all the public engagement. I know that many efforts are being made up and down our country, and we will see how we can co-ordinate those efforts through a central focal point. I will be able to say more about that after the task force’s meeting later today.
It would be helpful for everyone in and outside the Parliament if we could have an update on the timescale for arrivals in Scotland.
The minister talked about updating us on the task force and the need for co-ordination. He is aware that many groups have been set up and I know that all members of the Scottish Parliament have received representations on the issue. When he considers a co-ordinated approach, will he consider setting up a one-stop shop, website and telephone number? Many people have contacted me because they are desperate to help refugees. They are talking about having somewhere to store goods and about transporting goods to Calais and elsewhere. It would be in everyone’s interests if we could have an update on whether there will be a central website or telephone number through which people can get information as quickly as possible, so that donated goods can reach the refugees in the way that is intended.
We will continue to push the UK Government to go as quickly as possible, while acknowledging the complexities of what it is trying to do, particularly through the vulnerable persons relocation scheme. Criteria are attached to the scheme, which the UK Government must, quite rightly, ensure are met. The member should be in no doubt that we are working at a pace and trying to push things along as swiftly as possible.
On the member’s latter point, I will consider ideas, including some of the ideas that she mentioned, such as a website. Such matters are on the agenda for and will be discussed by the operational task force, and I will be able to update Sandra White—and the Parliament, if it so wishes—after the task force’s meeting.
I echo what Sandra White said about how people up and down the country are showing overwhelming compassion and humanity in their desire to help their fellow human beings. I commend the many organisations that have been set up, including Scotland supporting refugees and the Glasgow campaign to welcome refugees, for their work and efforts to help the most vulnerable people in the world.
I welcome the actions that the minister described in his response to Ms White. I also welcome the U-turn that the Prime Minister has performed, but the Prime Minister’s decision to accept 20,000 people over five years from the vulnerable persons relocation scheme does nothing to help people in immediate danger, whose situation in Syria is so bad that they are trying to escape in overcrowded and inadequate boats.
Local authorities such as Glasgow City Council are to be congratulated on volunteering to accommodate more of those very vulnerable people, but they will need Government support if they are to do so. By definition, the vulnerable persons relocation scheme deals with the elderly, the disabled and the victims of torture and sexual violence. Such people have particular support needs. Is the minister confident that the required funding will be available to enable the support that such vulnerable people need to be in place when the refugees begin to arrive in our towns and cities?
I thank Patricia Ferguson for raising some important points. I agree with her entirely on the first issue. Our preference is for the UK Government to take in addition a number of refugees from the southern European coastline in Italy and Greece—indeed, many are coming through Hungary, too—and we will continue to urge it to do so. The European Union must look at providing better legal safe passage for refugees to come to Europe, and we will be pushing very hard on that.
Patricia Ferguson’s second point is well made. I join her in commending Glasgow City Council for taking a lead not only in this refugee crisis but in assisting refugees for a number of years.
Much of the task force’s discussion will inevitably concern the financial packages that are available, on the understanding that local authorities will often be the ones that provide the majority of services. I am confident that the noises from the UK Government on financial packages are positive.
I do not have the detail yet—I spoke to the minister who is responsible this morning, but we did not get into that level of detail—but I assure members that the Scottish Government, local government and the UK Government are working closely to ensure that there are no gaps in service provision.
At the weekend the First Minister announced that the Scottish Government will put forward £1 million initially to plug any gaps in service provision. I will have more details with which to update Patricia Ferguson after the task force meets.
Will the task force work with local authorities in rural areas, given that they may face greater challenges in helping refugees due to their peripheral nature and distance from major population centres? What assessment has the task force made of Scotland’s preparedness in terms of having an adequate number of Arabic translators to support Syrian refugees who may be without English?
Jamie McGrigor raises another important point. What has been overwhelming has been not only the public support but the number of local authorities that have said that they are prepared to be involved.
After the task force has met, I will be able to provide an update from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, which will be represented at the meeting, on the number of local authorities that have expressed an interest. My understanding is that more than half of local authorities in Scotland have expressed some sort of interest in being involved in resettling refugees. I imagine that a number of those local authority areas include rural communities, and that will be part of the discussion.
There is also a more academic debate to be had around how widely we disperse refugee populations, and that too will be part of the task force’s discussion.
Jamie McGrigor’s second point is valid. The reason why Glasgow City Council is attending the task force meeting in its own capacity is that it has a huge amount of expertise and infrastructure, having taken in refugees and asylum seekers since 1999. Its expertise will be vital in informing other local authorities about the infrastructure—including interpreters—that they will need to have in place to ensure that refugees, when they are resettled, are able to access all the services that they need.
Borders Railway (Benefits)
To ask the Scottish Government what benefits it considers there will be for Midlothian and the Borders from the Borders railway. (S4T-01103)
We believe that the Borders railway will assist in preventing a decline in the Midlothian and Borders populations and act as a catalyst for encouraging approximately £33 million of benefits at 2012 prices for the wider Scottish economy. It will increase business development, housing opportunities and inward investment, and potentially public sector relocation opportunities, for the local community.
The route has connected the people of Midlothian and the Scottish Borders to the national rail network, and it will connect communities, encourage more affordable housing, and reduce carbon emissions and reliance on the car.
I am thrilled, after campaigning for 16 years for a Borders railway and as a founder member of the cross-party group, to be on that train tomorrow. I have selected my hat—it is understated, as members would expect it to be.
However, there are still opportunities to increase tourist footfall that people have raised with me. For example, the signage at Tweedbank could be improved to direct travellers to Abbotsford house, as could the signage at Newtongrange for the national mining museum. I ask the cabinet secretary—or his colleague the Minister for Business, Energy and Tourism—to undertake to ensure that the most is made of that journey for tourists and the stops en route.
I always expect understatement from the member.
It is worth pointing out that Christine Grahame and you, Presiding Officer, along with people such as Madge Elliot, who has campaigned for the reopening of the Borders railway for 50 years, and Petra Biberbach have all played a part in the success. It is often said that success has many fathers, but it is interesting that, in this case, quite a few mothers deserve to be paid tribute to for the success of the line.
I advise Christine Grahame that we have taken a number of measures to ensure that we properly exploit the benefits of the line for tourism. A marketing campaign will promote the Borders railway both nationally and internationally, which is intended to boost tourism, investment and associated regeneration in areas along the entire length of the route. We are also taking a number of other tourism initiatives in relation to the line because we want to properly exploit it.
We are willing to consider any further suggestions. The minister who led today’s time for reflection used the Aramaic word ephphatha—be opened—and we are certainly open to any suggestions from the member or any other member who wants to put forward proposals that will help us to fully exploit the benefits of the line.
It would be remiss of me not to mention the Public Petitions Committee, which stimulated this development. The committee has taken a bit of a kicking recently, which it does not deserve, but it was the pathway to the reopening of the railway.
The cabinet secretary says that he wants to hear about other things. There are some teething issues at the Galashiels transport interchange, where the electronic information boards have teeny-weeny print. Also, the automatic ticket dispensers at Newtongrange need to be recalibrated, because passengers need to have very swift reflexes to work the things.
Addressing such issues will make the journey smoother and allow people to enjoy it more. They are minor issues, but we could address them quite easily. I therefore ask the cabinet secretary to get in touch with the relevant authorities to make them aware of those things. If I have any more little issues, I will raise them with him at another time.
I am grateful to the member for her feedback. ScotRail staff are aware of the issue with the automatic ticket dispensers. There is a huge amount of new plant as well as the line itself, and there will inevitably be some snagging issues. However, they are being dealt with.
We all hope for the best possible day tomorrow, as it will be a fantastic day for the Borders. From the various events that I have been involved with over the past week or so, I know that there is real excitement and pride around Scotland in the new Borders railway.
I welcome the cabinet secretary’s remark about openness, which builds on the past cross-party work on the issue. I also welcome the thrilling sight of trains full of passengers going to Tweedbank and back.
I recognise the work of the Scottish Government and other agencies as well as that of the Campaign for Borders Rail. Does the cabinet secretary acknowledge the contribution that has been made by Scottish Labour in the development and vision of the process over the years? Now that we have, together, secured steam trains and some cycle space for tourism, will he commit to—I am chancing my arm in saying that—or comment on the future of rail freight for the Borders and Scotland, and possibly even the extension of the line to Carlisle?
I know that the member made representations, along with others such as Christine Grahame, on the issue of tourist trains, and we were able to accommodate them. I recognise her efforts and those of her colleagues.
In relation to a possible extension of the line, we have said that we will have to see how the line works. We are confident that it will be a success, but we will have to see how it works. We have gone beyond that and have said that, if the local council—as it has said—or the local transport partnership is looking to undertake a feasibility study for a potential future extension, we will help out with that. By that, I mean that Transport Scotland and Government agencies will provide any support that is necessary to carry out that feasibility study.
Another campaigner made the point that any study should also take into account the potential for freight, as it may not be possible to make a sufficiently strong case on the basis of passenger numbers. That will be in the hands of those who undertake a feasibility study; however, as I have said, we are committed to the idea that Transport Scotland will help out in that process.
I, too, look forward to the train journey tomorrow, although I will probably not be wearing such a fancy hat as Christine Grahame. Perhaps she will let me borrow hers.
The former First Minister said that the Borders rail link would serve as a catalyst for the restoration of the historic route right through to Carlisle. It would be interesting to hear from the cabinet secretary today at what stage the Government would consider it appropriate to step in and look at a timetable for a feasibility study to see what the economic benefits would be, to underline what has been suggested not just by the former First Minister but by the leaders of Scottish Borders Council and Carlisle City Council.
The member’s question prompts me to say that we also owe some thanks to the councils, especially Scottish Borders Council, with which we have had a very co-operative relationship in relation to not just the new line but the events leading up to tomorrow’s formal opening of it by the Queen. I recognise the efforts that they have made. We have had a particularly good relationship with David Parker of Scottish Borders Council.
In relation to the possible extension of the line, I have laid out the Scottish Government’s position. The council and the transport partnership might well come forward with a proposal for a feasibility study—they said that they are interested in doing that. Building on the comments of the former First Minister, I said that we will provide every assistance with that.
I repeat the point that I made to Claudia Beamish: as well as looking at increasing passenger numbers, which is a challenge because of the nature of the terrain that the line goes through, consideration should also be given to the use of the line for freight, as others have suggested.
The important thing is that we get the line off to a good start. Tomorrow, we will be using a very old steam engine, the Union of South Africa. All our efforts are focused on ensuring that it makes the journey, which is very important, given some of the passengers it will be carrying, who will include my boss. We also need to concentrate on making sure that the line is a success. The bread and butter of the line will be the provision of reliable and efficient services between Edinburgh and Tweedbank. We must concentrate on providing such services and on maximising the use of the line.
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