Chamber and committees

The pupil census, which records a snapshot of data at a particular point in time, showed that on the date of collection in September 2022 there were 2,062 pupils reported as asylum seekers and 5,746 reported as refugees.

Under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 local authorities have a duty to provide adequate and efficient provision of school education for all children residing in their local area.

This duty does not distinguish between children and young people on the basis of their country of origin, race, belief or religion or refugee status.

This is a matter for individual local authorities. The information is not held centrally.

The identification of one probable case of tick-born encephalitis (TBE) in Scotland is insufficient evidence to conclude that there has been a significant change to the risk to human health in Scotland from TBE. On 5 April, the HAIRS group published an updated TBE Risk Assessment which states that the risk of infection to the general population in the UK remains very low, and low for high risk groups (such as those living, working or visiting affected areas, as determined by duration of time spent outside).

However, the potential seriousness of TBE infection and this finding has prompted increased clinical surveillance. Furthermore, Public Health Scotland have requested the UK Health Security Agency undertake tick capture and testing in Lochearnhead this spring to assess whether TBE infection can be identified in ticks in Scotland.

The Scottish Health Protection Network group on Tick Borne Diseases reconvened in April 2023 and will be looking to include surveillance as part of their future work.

The Scottish Government is committed to continuing its work on raising awareness of Lyme disease and ticks.

The Scottish Government-led Lyme Disease Awareness Raising Group will run the Lyme Disease Awareness Raising Campaign in May 2023 to coincide with National Lyme Disease Awareness Month, during which patients, activists, educators and Government share information on how to prevent Lyme and other tick-borne diseases.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with stakeholders and clinicians through the Health Professionals Education Sub Groups. This is chaired by the Scottish Government and comprises representatives from primary and secondary care, including experts in infectious disease in general and Lyme Disease. The group are examining the current resources being used by GPs and considering options for additional learning and development.

Clinical decisions on the care and treatment of individual patients are always matters of professional judgement for the responsible practitioner. NHS Boards and clinicians are required to use methods of treatment that are clinically appropriate and have a strong evidence base for their efficacy.

The Scottish Government will continue to use its own platforms to highlight the need to be tick aware and to set out the signs and symptoms of possible infection.

The Scottish Central Government Energy Efficiency Grant scheme will invest, as a minimum, capital funding of £30 million in 2023-24 to enable the delivery of heat decarbonisation projects across the public sector, including the NHS, and £1.5 million of resource funding to enable the building of a pipeline of investment ready, strategic heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency projects across the public sector. Since the scheme was relaunched in 2022-23, Health Boards have successfully applied for over £13 million.

In addition, the Scottish Government has funded Health Boards to prepare initial net-zero route maps which will be used as a basis for planning the decarbonisation of the NHS estate.

More information on NHS Scotland’s approach to decarbonisation is set out in the NHS Scotland Climate Emergency and Sustainability Strategy 2022-2026 which is available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-scotland-climate-emergency-sustainability-strategy-2022-2026/

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water [and this data is not held by Scottish Government] I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:

In respect of published guidelines on reporting, Scottish Water is not currently required to report the number of days for which overflow event monitoring is unavailable. Overflow events are calculated in January using available telemetry data downloaded throughout the year.

As part of Scottish Water’s annual reporting of overflow events, a lack of data available would be noted within the commentary along with any additional explanatory information.

As outlined within Scottish Water’s Improving Urban Waters Routemap, there is significant investment underway to increase data monitors on our overflows by 2024. As part of this work, data capture and availability is being reviewed to allow further enhancements. In due course, we will publish information on the number of days for which monitors are unavailable to support the reporting of 2023 overflow events in January 2024.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16755 on 2 May 2023. 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

Social Security Scotland offers a range of secure communication channels for clients. These do not include email, as unencrypted email is not secure and could place clients’ sensitive personal information at risk or expose the agency’s network and data to malware.

Emails from MSPs/MPs present less risk as it is easier to verify the sender’s identity, so Social Security Scotland does accept constituency casework via email. However, because such emails are unencrypted, client data may still be vulnerable, and Social Security Scotland accordingly recommends that MSPs/MPs use the Social Security Scotland Parliamentarian Enquiry Line as their primary channel for assisting constituents.

Net mental health expenditure is published on the Public Health Scotland website Scottish health service costs under data files mental health expenditure Excel workbook . This information is available for financial years 2011-12 to 2021-22 for each NHS Board in Scotland, split by various types of expenditure including Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), adult mental health services, and older adult mental health services. Please note that expenditure data is collected by broad specialties and therefore categories may include multiple ‘services’.

The Scottish Government is committed to monitoring the risk and prevention of the tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus.

The identification of one probable case of TBE in Scotland is insufficient evidence to conclude that there has been a significant change to the risk to human health in Scotland from TBE. On 5 April, the HAIRS group published an updated TBE Risk Assessment which states that the risk of infection to the general population in the UK remains very low, and low for high risk groups (such as those living, working or visiting affected areas, as determined by duration of time spent outside).

However, the potential seriousness of TBE infection and this finding has prompted increased clinical surveillance. Furthermore, Public Health Scotland have requested the UK Health Security Agency undertake tick capture and testing in Lochearnhead this spring to assess whether TBE infection can be identified in ticks in Scotland.