Chamber and committees

Neither the Scottish Government nor Public Health Scotland (PHS) hold this information centrally. The majority of data held by PHS on Olaparib (Lynparza®) is on the quantity issued within hospital settings rather than on the number of prescriptions, only a very small number of prescriptions for Olaparib (Lynparza®) are held within their primary care prescribing dataset.

While the Scottish Government does not collect statistical data on the total number of children and young people from a different legal jurisdiction who are currently in a care setting in Scotland, there is a range of data available which enables us to monitor cross-border placements made in to residential and secure care accommodation. This includes –

• The latest Secure Care Statistics which show that, on average, 22 children and young people from outside Scotland were in secure care in 2022-23.
• The Cross-Border Placements (Effect of Deprivation of Liberty Orders) (Scotland) Regulations 2022 , which require placing authorities from other jurisdictions to notify Scottish Ministers, and a range of other Scottish partners, of the placement of children and young people into Scotland who are subject to a Deprivation of Liberty Order. This information is collated and monitored by the Scottish Government. At the time of writing, there were a total of 10 live Deprivation of Liberty order placements notified to Scottish Government.
• A regulatory requirement for residential and secure care services to notify the Care Inspectorate when a child or young person moves in or out of placement in Scotland from a different legal jurisdiction within the UK. This data is collated by the Care Inspectorate and shared with the Scottish Government. From this data, we know, at time of writing there to be approximately 180 children and young people in residential and secure care who have been placed in Scotland from a different legal jurisdiction.

The Care Inspectorate inspects residential and secure care homes at least once each year and has a responsibility to ensure that services are upholding, protecting and promoting the rights of children and young people; meeting their needs; and keeping children, young people and others safe.

The Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill ("the Bill”) is currently proceeding through the Scottish Parliament and contains new powers in relation to cross-border placements. If passed by Parliament, the new powers in the Bill will enable Ministers to bolster the existing regulatory framework in relation to cross-border placements to protect and uphold the rights of all children placed in Scotland. This would include regulating for matters such as: notification of an amendment to/end of placements; ensuring appropriate access to services is secured such as health, education and any other supports that the child or young person may require for the duration of their placement; and transition planning for the child’s return to home jurisdiction.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the tragic death of any looked after child or young person is accurately reported on and reviewed to improve services and ensure that children and young people are receiving the best care possible. A total of 49 children and young people have sadly died in the care of local authorities prior to their 18th birthday since 2018 to the present day. These figures include children and young people with complex/life limiting health conditions.

Based on the recommendations of the Co-Production Working Group, the maximum award for new recipients of the Independent Living Fund has been set at £330 per week. Historically awards have tended to be substantially lower than the maximum. However, the Independent Living Fund is now open to new applicants for the first time since 2010, so it is challenging to estimate the average award level. Awards will depend on individual assessments by ILF Scotland Assessors of the award required to achieve the independent living outcomes sought.

The budget of £9m for 2024-25 has been set on the basis of up to 1,000 disabled people receiving awards of up to £330 per week. The budget takes account of awards for new recipients phasing in over the course of the year, and makes allowance for the additional operational costs to Independent Living Fund Scotland for processing and assessing applications and supporting new recipients.

There is currently no reason for Transport Scotland officials to consider the closure of the M74 Junction 1 Kingston Interchange, which is likely to have significant adverse impacts on the wider local road network given the volume of traffic on the M74 and M8. A clear rationale for changes to the strategic transport network, such as this, need to emerge from a robust business case in line with Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance and Transport Scotland's Guidance on the Development of Business Cases . If this change was for planning or land use change purposes, I would expect this to be initiated by Glasgow City Council.

We expect NHS Boards to follow the National CAMHS Service Specification , which sets out that CAMHS services " provide support and personalised, meaningful signposting to the child/young person and their family/carers, with informed consent, to access other services within the children and young people's service network, in cases where families' needs are best met elsewhere."

Appropriate redirection and alternative support will vary across NHS Boards depending on the services available locally, and the needs of the child or young person involved. For many children and young people, such support is likely to be community based, and should be easily and quickly accessible. Since 2020, we have provided local authorities with over £50 million to develop and deliver mental health and wellbeing supports and services, with a further £15 million committed for 2024-25.

As specified in the Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Supports and Services Framework , there should be strong links between CAMHS and the community supports in all areas, with services taking a whole-system approach to ensure that children and young people experience streamlined pathways and get the right support at the right time.

The information requested is not centrally available.

We are developing a new Palliative and End of Life Care Strategy which has an overarching aim that everyone in Scotland receives well-coordinated, timely and high-quality palliative care, care around death and bereavement support based on their needs and preferences, including support for families and carers. The strategy will cover children and adults, and care provided in all settings including in the community.

We have established a number of working groups to support the development of the strategy including a Children and Young People’s Palliative Care Working Group and we have completed a mapping survey of paediatric and neonatal palliative care provision to inform the development and delivery of the strategy.

We are committed to supporting people to access the right care at the right time and having support in place to respond to the whole person needs of those who suffer from an eating disorder. That is why in 2023-24 we allocated £55.5 million to Health Boards to improve the quality and delivery of mental health and psychological services for all, including eating disorder services.

The Scottish Government has recently developed a draft National Specification for the Care and Treatment of Eating Disorders in Scotland which will be finalised later this year. It clearly outlines that we would expect services to have specialist pathways and work jointly with other services to care for anyone with co-occurring considerations such as neurodiversity, pregnancy, diabetes etc.

The vast majority of people with eating disorders will be treated in the community, with support provided by primary care or community mental health teams, and with support links to specialist hospital or voluntary sector care where appropriate.

We have also provided Beat, the UK’s largest Eating Disorder charity, with over £600,000 to provide a range of support services for those impacted by an eating disorder.

The Scottish Government does not collect this data. Individual NHS boards may hold this data locally and are best placed to advise.

We do know that eating disorders can co-occur with neurodevelopmental conditions including autism and ADHD. The draft National Specification for Treatment and Care of Eating Disorders outlines that we would expect services to work jointly with other services to care for anyone with co-occurring considerations.

The Scottish Government also partners with and provides funding to a number of organisations that can support neurodivergent people who are living with an eating disorder. These include the National Autistic Society Scotland, which has published useful guidance and information that can help autistic people who struggle with eating in different ways.