Question reference: S5W-01201
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 4 July 2016
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Current status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 20 July 2016
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish details of the stakeholder event that the then Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health, Jamie Hepburn, agreed to during stage 3 of the Mental Health Bill on 24 June 2015 (Official Report, col. 121).
Answer
This government is committed to undertake a review to determine whether people with learning difficulties and autism should be removed from the definition of ‘mental disorder’ under the provisions of the Mental Health (Care & Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003.
During the progress of the Mental Health Bill (now the Mental Health (Scotland) 2015 Act), Mr Hepburn made clear that he was open to a stakeholder event to help move the process forward. He also stated that the review will be participative and that stakeholders would be involved in shaping its remit.
The Mental Welfare Commission in partnership with the Scottish Commission for Learning Difficulties are currently undertaking a scoping exercise on behalf of the Scottish Government to gauge opinion from service users as well as representative bodies which will help shape the remit of the official review. This will in turn ensure that the design of the official review acknowledges the complexities, includes the full range of stakeholders and leads to practical proposals with as much consensus as can reasonably be achieved.
Part of the official review process will be to hear the views of the people of Scotland and once the scope and engagement strategy has been agreed it will be made public.