Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08108 on 3 May 2022. 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 duty to ensure equality of opportunity rests with employers and so the development and implementation of plans is a matter for Local Authorities. The Scottish Government does not collect this information centrally.

Public sector bodies, including local authorities, are subject to the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) which requires listed public authorities, in all their functions, to have due regard to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic, such as disabled people, and those who do not.

Furthermore, local authorities in Scotland are subject to The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012. This includes a duty to gather and use employee information in relation to their protected characteristics, before using that information to better fulfil their duties under the PSED; as well as a duty to publish statements on equal pay and occupational segregation (within organisations) regarding disabled people. Responsibility for ensuring compliance with these duties lies with the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The Scottish Government is currently reviewing the effectiveness of the PSED in Scotland. This means reviewing the Scottish Specific Duties as well as the implementation environment in which they sit. From December 2021 to April 2022 we ran a public consultation containing ambitious and detailed proposals for changes to the duties, several of which will help to address barriers faced by disabled people in the workforce.

After consultation responses have been analysed, we will continue to work with public bodies and equality advocacy groups with a view to introducing new regulations that will deliver better outcomes for those who experience inequality.

This data is not centrally available; whilst Public Health Scotland publish the total number of patients waiting for specialist mental health services, detail of the individual types of assessment or diagnosis is not held. The publications for both CAMHS and Psychological Therapies waiting times for the quarter ending December 2021 can be found at Publications - Public Health Scotland .

The Scottish Government is committed to implementing the National Neurodevelopmental Specification: Principles and Standards of Care for Children and Young People, published in September 2021, which specifies service standards that all children’s services should follow, to ensure access to support is effective and consistent across Scotland. Scottish Government have also commissioned Directors of eHealth, working with others including Public Health Scotland, to work to improve digital infrastructure, applications and data to report on all standards within the National Neurodevelopmental Specification.

The Scottish Government have also established the National Autism Implementation Team , in partnership with Queen Margaret University, to support Health and Social Care Partnerships to consider best practice and support improvement through the redesign of autism diagnostic services.

The National Implementation Team is supporting NHS Boards to examine diagnostic pathways for autism and establish regional experts to assist with improving tiered autism specialisms across health boards.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08108 on 3 May 2022. 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 Healthy Working Lives programme, which is delivered on our behalf by the Public Health Scotland, was paused during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Scottish Government is determining how best to take the Healthy Working Lives programme forward in light of the changing needs of the population coming out of the pandemic.

Needs arising from the pandemic, such as support for those suffering from Long Covid and mental health support, will be of particular focus as we adapt to the changed situation we find ourselves in. This will be in line with the commitments outlined in the Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan.

The level of engagement with the ‘New Deal for Tenants’ consultation has been positive, generating a large number of responses. The Scottish Government are currently considering these responses to inform the development of our approach to collection of rent data. The emerging findings from the consultation will help to define the scope of the proposed feasibility study, which we will seek to commission as soon as we have fully taken into account the analysis of responses from the consultation.

The Scottish Government has published proposals on the collection of additional rent data on pages 76 to 78 of the Draft Rented Sector Strategy Consultation paper titled ‘ A New Deal for Tenants ’.

The scope of the feasibility will cover all the aspects raised on pages 76 to 78 and will also take into consideration any additional issues raised through Consultation responses and during discussions with key delivery partners.

This Government is committed to broadening the range of people represented in Scotland’s public places, reflecting in particular the contribution of women and ethnic minorities. A specific fund is being considered in the context of the Scottish Government’s longer term spending plans and we will discuss how such a fund might be best deployed with Creative Scotland, whose remit includes public art.

We published the Women’s Health Plan in August 2021. The actions in the Plan are divided into short term (one year), medium term (one to three years) and long term (three years or more) timescales.

As set out in the Plan we will be appointing a national Women’s Health Champion. In addition, a Women's Health Lead will be established in every NHS board to drive change and share best practice and innovation. These are medium term actions but scoping work is underway and further announcements will be made in due course.

In November last year, Police Scotland had established a Gold command on the issue of spiking. Led by an Assistant Chief Constable, this comprised of a network of health partners, victim support organisations, colleges and universities and night time economy sector to achieve the right balance of targeted and universal intervention to ensure the safety of the public.

The Scottish Government is committed to working with partners to strengthen our response to spiking, and ensure that people are supported to report, if something does happen.

This includes ongoing work with health partners to explore clinical and reporting pathways and to ensure clear and consistent messaging for anyone accessing health services where a drink is believed to have been spiked.