Chamber and committees

Powers to levy taxes on foods high in fat, salt and sugar are reserved to the UK Government. As such, the Scottish Government has not conducted any impact assessment that such additional taxes would have on the types of establishments mentioned in the question.

The consultation document 'A Healthier Future - Action and Ambitions on Diet, Activity and Healthy Weight' was published on 26 October 2017, with consultation running until 31 January 2018.

In addition to our on-line process, we will engage directly with a wide range of stakeholders including through regional workshops with the health and third sector; activities with young people; and a series of meetings with industry bodies and others.

The Best Start recommends that "NHS Boards should ensure all neonatal staff can refer parents of babies in neonatal care to local psychological services" and we will work with NHS Boards to ensure that this is taken forward. We are unable to give data on the number of psychologists that offer services in neonatal units because psychologists may offer support across a number of areas.

The Best Start launched in January 2017 and shortly after this Jane Grant was appointed Chair of the Implementation Programme Board (IPB). I met Jane Grant on 31st October to discuss progress of the IPB. An update on the progress has been lodged in SPICe Bib number 59286.

There has been ongoing communication between the Government and Kindred over the last weeks. The Scottish Government currently provides £64,000 annually through the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention Fund to support the infrastructure of the organisation awarded through open and transparent competition.

Officials from Corra Foundation, the administrators of this fund are working alongside Scottish Government officials with Kindred to support them to establish a way forward.

Kindred is also a delivery partner in the Let’s Talk ASN Service, receiving £30k of the total £100k grant from Scottish Government until March 2018.

The Best Start recommends: "All NHS Boards should review their current access to perinatal mental health services to ensure early and equitable access is available to high quality services, with clear referral pathways. NHS Boards should ensure adequate provision of staff training to allow staff to deliver services to the appropriate level. Primary midwives, in partnership with primary care colleagues, should play a proactive and systematic role in the identification and management of perinatal mental health care"

Scottish Government has asked all NHS Boards to outline their existing provision of psychologist support for parents of neonates. At present NHS Boards have a varied level of provision, we are working with Local Implementation Leads under the Best Start to ensure early and equitable access.

The Scottish Government has ensured that by legislating to require local authorities to offer deferred payment agreements, no-one should have to sell their home during their lifetime to fund the cost of their residential care.

The Scottish Government introduced free personal and nursing care for people aged 65 and over in July 2002. The Local Authority pays for these elements of the residential care for all those assessed as needing them. The current rates are
£171 per week for personal care and this rises to £249 per week if nursing care is also required. The Scottish Government reviews these payment rates on an annual basis.

You may also be aware we have committed to the extension of Free Personal Care to all under 65s who require it regardless of condition, Scottish Ministers have committed that this extension will be in place by 1 April 2019. This will benefit younger people in residential care.

In the current financial year almost half a billion pounds of NHS spending will be invested in social care services, underlining the importance we attach to improving services, and ensuring that people are able to receive care in their own homes or in a homely setting.

In Scotland there are three regional Neonatal Managed Clinical Networks (MCNs), for the West of Scotland (WoS), South East and Tayside (SEAT) and North of Scotland (NoS). The MCNs aim to hold meetings quarterly however this will vary depending on business need.

The aims of the networks are:

• To support the delivery of high quality neonatal care for all their residents

• To ensure that mothers and babies are treated in the right hospital at the right time and by the right staff with the appropriate skills.

• To agree a model of care based on core values where provision of care should be provided as close to home as possible, minimising transport where possible but accepting that some babies may require transfer for intensive care services

• Agree pathways of care and clinical guidelines

• To provide high quality services by addressing key issues such as data collection, capacity, workforce, education and training of staff

• To audit activity and outcomes of neonatal services both across the network and against national statements within Neonatal Care in Scotland: A Quality Framework, published in March 2013 (see link on page)

• To consult with and collaborate with users of the service to enhance the services and their experiences

• Each neonatal MCN to work inter-regionally

The North of Scotland region MCN includes the following Boards:

• Highland

• Grampian,

• Orkney,

• Shetland,

The West of Scotland region MCN includes the following Boards:

• Ayrshire & Arran,

• Dumfries & Galloway,

• Forth Valley,

• Greater Glasgow & Clyde,

• Lanarkshire, and

• Western Isles.

South East and Tayside region MCN includes the following Boards:

• Lothian,

• Tayside,

• Fife,

• Borders

Following recommendations in The Best Start, work is underway to facilitate the transition from three regional MCNs to one national MCN.

The Scottish Government considered advice and views from a wide variety of sources in preparing the consultation document. From within the public sector that included advice from Food Standards Scotland (FSS) and supporting evidence in 3 papers (January 2016, October 2016 and March 2017) which are available on the FSS website http://www.foodstandards.gov.scot/.

The Scottish Government also commissioned Health Scotland to carry out a rapid evidence review, and this was published on the NHS Health Scotland website on 30 October 2017 http://www.healthscotland.scot/publications/rapid-evidence-review-restriction-of-price-promotions.

Further views will be provided as part of the consultation, following which the Scottish Government will as always seek any advice necessary as it shapes its policy and to ensure that any legislation would be within legislative competence when introduced to the parliament.

This information is not held centrally.