Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has engaged with a range of stakeholders to plan and prepare for the implementation of the Act.

In April 2026, the Scottish Government established an Advisory Group to inform and coordinate this work. The answer to Parliamentary Question S7W-02739 on 21 September 2026 provides further detail on the membership of this group, which includes representatives from the residential outdoor education sector.

In addition:

• Scottish Government officials have been continuing to undertake visits to residential outdoor education providers and local authorities to explore different models of provision, including provision for pupils with complex and/or multiple support needs.
• In June 2026, Scottish Government and Education Scotland officials delivered a set of initial discussion sessions with school leaders to draw on their expertise and insights.
• The implementation of the Act was discussed at the Curriculum and Assessment Board in March 2026, which includes representation from teaching unions.

Scottish Ministers will make commencement regulations by 30 September 2027, in line with the provisions of the Act. Those commencement regulations will confirm the timeline for commencement of the Act and Ministers and officials will continue to engage with a range of stakeholders in relation to this work.

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 has not identified evidence of a sustained increase in the use of community-based treatment arrangements for restricted patients discharged from secure psychiatric facilities and has therefore made no assessment of the impact of such an increase on public safety. Data shows that, as at July each year, 78 restricted patients were on conditional discharge in 2024, 88 in 2025 and 83 in 2026.

Public safety considerations relating to community-based treatment arrangements for restricted patients are assessed and managed on an individual and ongoing basis throughout each patient’s care and treatment. Proposals for conditional discharge are informed by multidisciplinary assessment of the patient’s needs and the risk of harm to others.

Risk assessment and management take account of changes in the patient’s mental health, behaviour, circumstances and response to treatment. Restricted patients can only be conditionally discharged if the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland finds that detention in hospital is no longer necessary, with conditions imposed to support the patient’s safe management and supervision in the community.

Patients subject to a Compulsion Order and Restriction Order can only be conditionally discharged by the Mental Health Tribunal where detention in hospital is no longer necessary.

Conditionally discharged restricted patients remain subject to their orders, must comply with conditions of discharge imposed by the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland, and are subject to ongoing supervision by their Responsible Medical Officer, Mental Health Officer and Community Psychiatric Nurse, with regular reports provided to Scottish Ministers by each of them. Scottish Ministers can vary the conditions of discharge where necessary or recall a conditionally discharged patient to hospital. The clinical practice of the Responsible Medical Officer and the wider multidisciplinary team is, in turn, subject to the relevant NHS Board’s clinical governance arrangements.

Formal multidisciplinary risk assessments must be updated annually. Monitoring and review are ongoing and are undertaken by the multidisciplinary team through the Care Programme Approach, with arrangements reviewed in light of any changes in the patient's circumstances or risk. Restricted patients are also managed through Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), which provide for information sharing, coordinated risk management and regular multi-agency review.

The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland’s (MWC) 2006 inquiry into the care and treatment of Mr L and Mr M examined aspects of the management of a restricted patient following conditional discharge and identified lessons for the care, treatment and risk management of other restricted patients. Its recommendations informed the revised Memorandum of Procedure on Restricted Patients, published in 2010.

The MWC inquiry was case specific rather than a review of the national arrangements as a whole, and there has been no subsequent independent review of the current national arrangements in their entirety.

(a) The Scottish Government does not hold data regarding individuals subject to community based Compulsion Orders.

Data shows that there are currently 15 individuals subject to a Compulsion Order and Restriction Order and conditionally discharged to the community from medium secure care.

• 9 individuals under the responsibility of NHS Lothian
• 5 individuals under the responsibility of NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde
• 1 individual under the responsibility of NHS Fife

There are currently no individuals subject to a Compulsion Order and Restriction Order and conditionally discharged from high secure care.

Individuals subject to a Compulsion Order and Restriction Order can also be conditionally discharged from low secure care.

(b) It would be inappropriate to comment on the circumstances of individual cases. The Scottish Government receive regular reports regarding patients on conditional discharge from the Responsible Medical Officer, Mental Health Officer and Community Psychiatric Nurse. Together, these reports provide a multidisciplinary view of a patient’s mental health, care and treatment, progression in the community and management of identified risks.

Ministers also receive notification of any adverse event regarding patients subject to a Compulsion Order and Restriction Order who are conditionally discharged. This includes notification of any serious incidents, concerning behaviour or further offending. The multi-disciplinary community care team will report concerns regarding any aspect of management of the patient and provide sufficient information to enable Scottish Ministers to consider whether the patient may remain in the community, or whether for the protection of the public, steps should be taken to return the patient to hospital.

In the last five years one patient subject to a Compulsion Order and Restriction Order who was conditionally discharged from medium secure care was recalled to hospital. The circumstances did not involve any further offending.

The Scottish Government monitors NHS Boards' progress in developing specialist support services for long COVID, ME/CFS and other similar conditions through ongoing engagement with boards and by reviewing the plans they submitted as part of the allocation of the £4.5 million annual specialist support services funding.

The Scottish Government remains in regular contact with NHS Boards regarding the development of specialist support services funded through the £4.5 million annual allocation for long COVID, ME/CFS, chronic fatigue and other similar conditions. NHS Boards are responsible for the planning and operational delivery of services for their local populations and are best placed to determine implementation timescales considering local circumstances and workforce considerations.

Social Security Scotland has established processes for notifying the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) when an award of Pension Age Disability Payment or Carer Support Payment may affect entitlement a client’s entitlement to reserved benefits, including Pension Credit.

Information is shared with DWP through agreed data-sharing arrangements and is subject to validation and quality assurance checks before transfer. Social Security Scotland also undertakes routine monitoring of data sharing activity and works with DWP to investigate and resolve any discrepancies or issues identified.

These arrangements are designed to support the timely and accurate exchange of information between the two organisations and help ensure clients receive the correct benefit entitlement.

NHS Highland's Valuing Service Award is a local employer recognition scheme and decisions on eligibility are therefore matters for the Board. While arrangements for recognising service vary across NHS boards, workforce policies and staff terms and conditions are regularly considered through established national partnership arrangements. Scottish Government will continue to monitor issues raised by staff and trade unions through these channels, while respecting boards' responsibilities for local schemes.

Through Road Safety Scotland (RSS), the Scottish Government has engaged with the vehicle rental industry for many years. RSS, in partnership with Police Scotland, the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) and many of its constituent members, has spearheaded a campaign to enhance the safety of foreign drivers on our roads.

Campaign activity has recently been refreshed and consists of a significant website with a number of downloadable assets, which can be viewed here: https://roadsafety.scot/campaigns/drive-on-the-left-campaign-assets/. The content covers off: junctions; passing places; journey planning; safe overtaking, and includes videos, partner toolkits and suggestions for social media use.

In addition, a number of physical resources has been produced, all of which are available to individual car rental companies, the tourist industry, local road safety contacts, and Police Scotland. These resources include: Drive on the Left wristbands in eight languages; Ride on the Left reservoir gaiters for motorcyclists; and leaflets translated into a number of different languages.

Whilst any assessment made prior to timetable adjustments is a matter for ScotRail, the Scottish Government expects that services give the best reliability and availability for passengers. ScotRail advises that the service in question attracted an extremely low number of passengers. ScotRail works closely with Regional Transport Partners to ensure that local needs are taken into consideration, particularly in rural areas.