Chamber and committees

The Mental Welfare Commission have visited and reported on Skye House seven times since 2016 as part of its local visit programme, the most recent of which was in March 2024.

Some of the issues raised in these reports were also identified in the Disclosure documentary. These included staffing difficulties, support for young people with eating disorders in terms of standard of food, impact of isolation, and concerns regarding certain medical treatment under the Mental Health Act being properly authorised and monitored. The MWC does not comment on specifics such as self-harm, aggression or restraint in its visit reports, as there could be a risk to individuals being identified.

The MWC base their findings and recommendations on observations from the day of the visit and these local visit reports represent a snapshot of each facility at that moment in time, with recommendations made accordingly. MWC reports are an important part of ensuring standards of care and upholding rights, but they should not be seen as a comprehensive investigation or audit.

Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, all children and young people of school age have the right to an education that helps them develop their abilities to their fullest potential. Local Authorities, who deliver education, also have a statutory duty to make special arrangements for any affected pupils to receive education elsewhere than at a school, or other educational establishment, if they are likely to be absent for a prolonged period as a result of ill health. This statutory duty applies regardless of the nature of the health condition keeping a pupil absent from school, including IBD, Crohn’s diseases and colitis.

The Scottish Government published guidance on the education of children unable to attend school due to ill health and, within this guidance, it states that legislation requires that local authorities make special arrangement for children and young people absent from school through ill health ‘without undue delay’.

The guidance on the education of children and young people unable to attend school due to ill health is available on our website through the following link: Introduction - Education of children unable to attend school due to ill health: guidance - gov.scot. Alternatively, this information is also summarised on user-friendly fact sheets which are available on the Enquire website through the following link: too-unwell-to-attend-school.pdf.

Artificial grass pitches play an important role in the delivery of sport and physical activity across Scotland, helping the nation to lead more active, healthy lives. Well maintained artificial pitches allow for year-round, intensive use and can provide significantly more playing hours than traditional grass pitches.

sportscotland, our national agency for sport, are part of the UK Artificial Grass Pitch forum monitoring work on the long-term viability of these products. sportscotland, continue to engage with sporting bodies, educational bodies and key partners across the sporting sector in the development of synthetic pitches and surfaces.

There are already alternatives on the market such as cork, corn husks and olive pits amongst others. St Andrews University has already installed a full-size 3G pitch with cork infill, and there is research and development continuing across the industry with more products in the market. Glasgow Life is also planning to trial the use of biodegradable corn as an alternative to 3G rubber crumb on two five-a-side courts at Glasgow Green – with further developments potentially taking place across the city.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS are pleased that His Majesties Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland, recognised that HMP Dumfries is a well-run prison and performs well against their standards.

Prior to the inspection a CCTV replacement and upgrade programme was already agreed as part of the establishment maintenance programme.

A contractor has now been appointed and will replace and/or upgrade existing systems, introducing CCTV coverage into areas that do not currently have it such as D and E Halls and the respective exercise yards. This work is expected to begin in Autumn 2025 and is expected to take approximately 8 months to complete.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will be reviewed as soon as this process is complete and will supersede existing SOPs that are in place to monitor exercise yards.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS are pleased that His Majesties Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland, recognised that HMP Dumfries is a well-run prison and performs well against their standards.

In 2022 work started on the new SPS development and learning strategy, now called "Learning for a Better Future”. The strategy will be implemented across all SPS sites on 1 August 2025 and aims to utilise an enhanced screening process, to support and identify the specific needs of learners, and allow establishments to design Annual Learning Plans (ALP) which deliver a range of qualifications and opportunities appropriate to their specific needs.

The strategy and individual ALPs will help to identify ways for establishments to enhance engagement and participation in learning opportunities both in and out with the traditional classroom setting.

Work is ongoing to establish whether Emergency Department (ED) opt-out testing for blood borne viruses would be acceptable, deliverable and cost-effective in areas of higher diagnosed prevalence, or across the whole of Scotland. Two of the pilot projects commenced later than originally planned, meaning that the evaluation process has not yet been completed. There has also been an extension to the Scottish Government-funded academic research on missed opportunities for blood borne virus testing, which will provide valuable information to inform future funding decisions.

An options appraisal is in development, which will be carefully considered alongside other potentially beneficial testing interventions.

The Scottish Government has provided specific funding (totalling around £145,000) for Emergency Department (ED) opt-out blood borne virus testing pilots in NHS Lothian, Grampian and Highland. At present, any other ED opt-out testing would be delivered by NHS Boards using the core funding they receive from the Scottish Government which includes baselined funding for sexual health improvement and blood borne virus elimination.

The recently approved 2025-26 Budget will provide a record £21.7 billion for Health & Social Care next year, including £16.2 billion for NHS Boards.

NHS Boards and other local partners are responsible for prioritising funding to ensure that their local population receives the highest quality of care and treatment at the right time and in the right place.

I expect any body responsible for planning and delivering health services to the public in Scotland to operate within the relevant strategic and statutory frameworks. Scottish Government officials are engaging with Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership and NHS Grampian about their plans.

We are working with NHS Boards and partners to improve access to diagnosis and we have commissioned the National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT) to support local health partners to develop, enhance and redesign existing local neurodevelopmental services. As part of this, NAIT is also working with NHS Boards to build a neurodevelopmentally informed workforce in Scotland.

Through our £1 million Adult Autism Support Fund (AASF), the Scottish Government funds SensationALL, which provides support to autistic adults in both Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. Whilst this support does not include assessments, a diagnosis is not required to access the service, and the majority of service users have reported improved wellbeing as a consequence of this support.

The Scottish Government provided £400,000 to establish an adult ADHD and autism assessment service in Aberdeenshire between 2019-21.

NHS Boards and other local partners are responsible for prioritising funding to ensure that their local population receives the highest quality of care and treatment at the right time and in the right place. Accordingly, funding for adult ADHD and autism assessments in the Aberdeenshire Council area between 2021 and 2025 will have been derived from the overall budget allocated to NHS Grampian.

In 2021-22, NHS Grampian received £1,027.9 million from the Scottish Government. In 2022-23, NHS Grampian received £1,072.2 million from the Scottish Government, an uplift of 4 per cent on the previous year. In 2023-24, NHS Grampian received £1,129.9 million from the Scottish Government, an uplift of 5 per cent on the previous year. Finally, in 2024-25, NHS Grampian received £1,176.4 million from the Scottish Government, an uplift of 4% on the previous year.

Public Health Scotland publish data in relation to the number of GP practices currently operating in Scotland – the data can be accessed at: https://publichealthscotland.scot/healthcare-system/primary-care/general-practice/general-practice-data/general-practice-list-size-and-demographics-information/.

Scottish Government does not hold details on GP recruitment at a practice level. However, more general information on GP vacancies can be found in the 2024 General Practice Workforce Survey: https://turasdata.nes.nhs.scot/media/2gdpo04l/generalpracticeworkforcesurvey2024_revised.html.