Chamber and committees

Information is not centrally held on numbers diagnosed with an eating disorder. However, Public Health Scotland (PHS) holds information on inpatients admitted with an eating disorders diagnosis.

The number of patients admitted to a mental health or general/acute specialty for an eating disorder is shown in the following table for the calendar years 2007 to 2020, broken down by year of admission, NHS Board of residence and age group (child: < 18; adult: 18+). Please note that complete figures for 2021 cannot yet be provided.

Number of child (1) patients (2) admitted to a general/acute or mental health specialty (3), either as an inpatient or day case, with an eating disorder (4); by age, year of admission and health board of residence, 2007 - 2020.

Scottish Ministers and the principal funder of Winchburgh Developments Ltd met twice in 2020 to discuss the proposed Winchburgh station. Transport Scotland and rail industry partners continue to work with West Lothian Council and Winchburgh Developments Ltd to progress the proposals for a new developer funded station at Winchburgh.

Ministers have tasked CalMac Ferries Ltd and Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd to seek out potential charter opportunities and the MV Arrow is one vessel that is being considered.

The Scottish Government is satisfied that no further change is required to the legislation in relation to the rights for grandparents to access their grandchildren. The Scottish Government appreciates that grandparents can often play an important and valuable role in a child’s life. Grandparents can currently apply to the court for contact rights. A decision will be made taking account of the child’s views and according to the best interests of the child.

Section 11ZA(3)(f) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (the 1995 Act) as inserted by the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 will require the court to have regard to the effect that the order they are deciding whether or not to make might have on the child’s important relationships with other people. This could include grandparents.

Section 11ZA of the 1995 Act is not yet in force as implementation is reliant upon the register of child welfare reporters being established. The Scottish Government has consulted on the register of child welfare reporters and plans to lay regulations in spring 2022 on the register. Once the regulations are in force there would need to be a lead in time for the register to be fully operational. Our indicative timetable for this is April 2023.

The Scottish Government appreciates that grandparents can often play an important and valuable role in a child’s life. Grandparents can currently apply to the court for contact rights. A decision will be made taking account of the child’s views and according to the best interests of the child.

The Scottish Government consulted in 2018 on the review of Part 1 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (the 1995 Act). The consultation sought views on whether there should be a presumption in law that grandchildren benefit from contact with their grandparents. Page 56 of the Family Justice Modernisation Strategy which was published on 3 September 2019 sets out why the Scottish Government did not proceed to introduce a presumption that grandchildren benefit from contact with their grandparents. This is available at:

Family Justice Modernisation Strategy (www.gov.scot)

As a result of the consultation the Scottish Government included in the Bill for the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 an amendment to the 1995 Act inserting section 11ZA(3)(f) which will require the court to have regard to the effect that the order they are deciding whether or not to make might have on the child’s important relationships with other people. This could include grandparents.

Section 11ZA of the 1995 Act is not yet in force as implementation is reliant upon the register of child welfare reporters being established. The Scottish Government has consulted on the register of child welfare reporters and plans to lay regulations in spring 2022 on the register. Once the regulations are in force there would need to be a lead in time for the register to be fully operational. Our indicative timetable for this is April 2023.

We held a number of meetings with a range of stakeholders during the parliamentary passage of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 (the 2020 Act), which gained Royal Assent on 1 October 2020. This included Grandparents Apart UK and Shared Parenting Scotland who provide support to those seeking contact with their grandchildren.

Section 11ZA(3)(f) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (the 1995 Act), as inserted by section 16 of the 2020 Act, introduces additional factors for the court to consider before making an order under section 11 of the 1995 Act. The 1995 Act is the key legislation on parental responsibilities and rights, contact and residence. This includes that the court must consider the effect that an order might have on the child’s important relationships with other people, which could include grandparents.

We have also engaged with Shared Parenting Scotland and Grandparents Apart UK during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A direct comparison of the costs of renting and buying is complicated because a range of factors need to be taken into account. For example, the capital element of a repayment mortgage creates an asset for the owner, which rent does not; conversely, renters will need to provide a smaller deposit than home owners. Other factors that should be included in a comparison are that, unlike a renter, an owner will be liable for costs such as buildings insurance, repairs and maintenance, and LBTT. It is unclear from the Hamptons Report whether any allowance has been made for these factors in their methodology.

In the year to end September 2020, the average 2-bedroom rent in Scotland was £689, [1] as compared with £793 in England. [2] In May 2021, private rental prices rose by an annual 1.3% in Scotland as compared with 1.1% in England. In April 2021, the average house price in Scotland was £160,632, up by an annual 6.3%, while the average house price in England was £268,321, up by annual 8.9%. [3]

We are committed to ensuring that everyone has a warm, comfortable and safe place to live, and to expanding our social and affordable housing stock. Housing to 2040 , Scotland’s vision for housing to 2040, includes a commitment to take action to ensure the housing market operates more fairly across Scotland, providing affordable housing options and choices in all communities.

For the social and private rented sector, we will publish a new draft Rented Sector Strategy, by the end of this year, which will be consulted upon in 2022. The Strategy will be informed by those most affected, that will seek to improve accessibility, affordability and standards across the whole rented sector.

These commitments, builds on the significant reforms already put in place through our 2016 Private Housing Tenancies Act, which provided private renters with a range of new rights and greater security, stability and predictability in their rents. We will also reform Rent Pressure Zones, so that this is a workable tool for local authorities to address high rents in localised areas.

[1] Scottish Government, Private sector rent statistics: 2010 - 2020

[2] ONS, Private rental market summary statistics in England: April 2020 to March 2021

[3] UK House Price Index

The self isolation support grant(SISG) is designed to encourage eligible individuals who have tested positive for Covid 19 to self isolate for the required period to stop onward spread. The SISG will be available for as long as required, subject to budget availability, with no plans at this time to withdraw that support.