Chamber and committees

Assistance dogs should be accepted on all modes of travel, subject to one exception in the case of taxis and private hire cars for drivers with a medical exception certificate. Our Accessible Travel Framework commits us to take forward a number of work packages to improve accessibility. Transport Scotland is now actively supporting partners – disabled people’s organisations, transport providers and government – in this co-production process. Part of the work of the Framework involves ensuring training for transport staff about disability awareness is high-quality and this includes how to support people with assistance dogs.

VisitScotland works very closely with the Assistance Dog charities Canine Partners, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and Guide Dogs Scotland, all of which are represented on the VisitScotland Accessible Tourism Steering group. VisitScotland is working with the Scottish Government to discuss a number of complaint cases concerning assistance dogs refused access to bars, hotels and restaurants. VisitScotland published a booklet on their web-site www.visitscotland.org/accessibletourism called "Take the Lead" which gives very clear advice and states that by law access should be granted except in exceptional circumstances. This booklet is distributed widely and it is also sent to those businesses who are the subject of an access complaint.

The Equality Act 2010 states that it is unlawful for a service provider to discriminate against a disabled person by direct or indirect discrimination, discrimination arising from a disability, failure to make reasonable adjustments, harassment, discrimination by association, victimisation or discriminatory advertisements. This legislation prohibits discriminatory access arrangements. The Equality and Human Rights Commission is the regulatory body responsible for enforcing the Equality Act 2010.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-11532 on 9 October 2017. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Providing formula milk to HIV-positive mothers is a form of HIV-prevention which lies within the remit of NHS health boards. Some boards do this in co-operation with third sector partners such as Waverley Care. Health Boards meet expenses for such measures from their Outcomes Framework allocation. The amount of spending on this would vary per board according to the local needs and circumstances. BHIVA guidelines are followed by Scottish healthcare professionals and boards at their professional discretion.

As part of implementation a Communications group will be established to develop high quality information for women and couples and training and resources for health care professionals. The materials produced by this group will be informed by users and will go out for wide consultation and be piloted where appropriate. Information will include the offer of screening and further information for women who receive a higher chance result. The group will include representation from a wide range of stakeholders representing charities/support groups, clinical groups, academics with expertise in informed choice in pregnancy and experts in Fetal Anomaly screening.

The Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme is an established programme that prospective parents can choose whether to participate in. The key objective of the programme is to enable women to make informed choices, at each step of the screening pathway. Professional resources have been developed to support healthcare professionals working in the programme which includes online access to training materials, standardised national protocols and care pathways.

No. The screening programme aims to ensure that women and couples are provided with high quality information so they can make an informed choice about their screening options and pregnancy choices. In the event of a higher risk result the woman will be offered a face to face discussion with a health professional with the knowledge and experience to discuss the options available.

The UK National Screening Committee’s (UK NSC), which advises Ministers and the NHS about all aspects of screening policy, has recommended that non invasive prenatal testing (or cfDNA) should be introduced as an additional test into the existing NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme as part of an evaluative roll out. This approach will allow for further evaluative work to be undertaken with input from scientific and ethical expertise, in order to better understand the practical implications of implementing this change and allow detailed consideration of any issues raised.

The Scottish Screening Committee has commissioned the development of a business case to consider the introduction of NIPT within the programme in Scotland.

The following table shows the number of dental patients' registrations placed in abeyance, by each year since 2011:

Year	No. of registrations in abeyance
2011	52,468
2012	45,818
2013	40,060
2014	37,079
2015	39,156
2016	43,934

Source: ISD Scotland

The intention is going forward from January 2018 to exclude those patients in abeyance, with the next publication of registration and participation statistics.

The delegate list from the first Bi-annual Forum on the Mental Health Strategy, which took place on 23 June 2017, has been published on the SG website at the following link: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Health/Services/Mental-Health/Strategy/StrategyImplementation/Biannualforumattendees23June2017

The Minister for Mental Health’s opening address to the first Bi-annual Forum on the Mental Health Strategy, which took place on 23 June 2017, contained updates on the progress of various actions in the Strategy. The speech has been published on the SG website at the following link: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Health/Services/Mental-Health/Strategy/StrategyImplementation/Biannualforum-speechbyMinisterforMentalHealth