Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Official Report 1235KB pdf

Decision Time

The first question is, that amendment S5M-13847.1, in the name of Annie Wells, which seeks to amend motion S5M-13847, in the name of Clare Haughey, on “Scotland’s Suicide Prevention Action Plan: Every Life Matters”, be agreed to.

Amendment agreed to.

The next question is, that amendment S5M-13847.3, in the name of Mary Fee, which seeks to amend motion S5M-13847, in the name of Clare Haughey, be agreed to.

Amendment agreed to.

The next question is, that amendment S5M-13847.2, in the name of Alex Cole-Hamilton, which seeks to amend motion S5M-13847, in the name of Clare Haughey, be agreed to.

Amendment agreed to.

The next question is, that motion S5M-13847, in the name of Clare Haughey, on “Scotland’s Suicide Prevention Action Plan: Every Life Matters”, as amended, be agreed to.

Motion, as amended, agreed to,

That the Parliament welcomes the Suicide Prevention Action Plan; extends its sympathy to all those bereaved by suicide; believes that every life matters and that no death by suicide is either acceptable or inevitable; acknowledges the dedication, expertise and hard work of all those who have contributed to a 20% reduction in the suicide rate since 2002; accepts that there is far more work to do; supports the determination for a step change in suicide prevention; accepts the vision for a Scotland where suicide is preventable, where help and support is available to anyone contemplating suicide and to those who have lost someone to suicide; calls on leaders at national, regional and local level to transform society’s response and attitudes towards suicide; recognises the need for further collective action to prevent deaths by suicide; supports the additional £3 million investment, and the establishing of a National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group chaired by the former deputy chief constable, Rose Fitzpatrick; asks that the Scottish Government provides detail on the accountability of the leadership group and how and when the group will report to the Parliament on action delivery timescales and how funding will be allocated; agrees with the target to further reduce the rate of suicide by 20% by 2022; commends the partnership approach across sectors, organisations and society to better identify and support people in distress, to strengthen communities and to save lives; recognises the importance of early intervention for supporting good mental wellbeing; welcomes the recent Scottish Government announcement that it will invest in school-based counsellors; notes that this policy has had wide support for some time, given the pressure on youth mental health services, as evidenced in the most recent CAMHS publications, which detail a record low performance on waiting times; acknowledges that adult mental health services are also under pressure like never before; commends the tireless work of the staff of all of Scotland’s mental health services; recognises the importance of ensuring that all support services are given the resources that they need to provide care to deliver the reduction in suicide rates; notes the independent review of mental health services in Tayside and its national significance; calls on the Scottish Government to draw lessons for the whole of Scotland where appropriate; acknowledges the characteristics and factors known to contribute to raised suicide risk, and believes that work to identify actions to target risk groups is essential; understands that the Health and Sport Committee recently heard from people affected by suicide and that one of the consistent themes was the lack of access to talking therapies; notes the ISD Scotland statistics showing that one-in-four adults did not start treatment for psychological therapies within 18 weeks during the quarter ending June 2018; recognises that early access to services, support and treatment, and continuity of care can be important factors in preventing deaths by suicide, and urges the Scottish Government to secure substantial progress in these areas.

Unless anyone objects, I propose to put a single question on the four Parliamentary Bureau motions. The question is, that motions S5M-13864, S5M-13865, S5M-13867 and S5M-13880, in the name of Graeme Dey, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, be agreed to.

Motions agreed to.

That the Parliament shall establish a committee of the Parliament as follows:

Name of Committee: Hutchesons’ Hospital Transfer and Dissolution (Scotland) Bill Committee.

Remit: To consider matters relating to the Hutchesons’ Hospital Transfer and Dissolution (Scotland) Bill.

Duration: Until the Bill is passed or rejected, falls or is withdrawn.

Number of members: 4.

Convenership: The Convener will be a member of the Scottish Labour Party and the Deputy Convener will be a member of the Scottish National Party.

Membership: Maurice Corry, Kezia Dugdale, Ruth Maguire and Stewart Stevenson.

That the Parliament agrees that the Registered Social Landlords (Repayment Charges) (Scotland) Regulations 2018 [draft] be approved.

That the Parliament endorses the Scottish Government’s proposal to nominate, as a representative of the Parliament, Angela Constance MSP as a full member on the UK delegation to the regional chamber of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe for the remainder of the parliamentary session to 2021.

That the Parliament agrees that Fulton MacGregor be appointed to replace Ben Macpherson as a member of the Justice Sub-Committee on Policing.