Chamber and committees

Under powers contained in the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, it is for local authorities to consider byelaws as provided for in section 201 of that Act. The Act provides that local authorities ‘… may make byelaws for the good rule and government of the whole or any part of the their area, and for the prevention and suppression of nuisances therein.’ It is entirely a matter for local authorities to consider whether to make byelaws with confirmation of any byelaws a matter for Scottish Ministers.

The Scottish Government is happy to engage with any local authority who wished to consider making any byelaws under the section 201 powers including where such byelaws may relate to XL Bully dogs in public places.

Once there is agreement between the patient and her clinicians that removal surgery is the best course of treatment, the decision on where that treatment is carried out, whether it is by the NHS or an independent provider, rests with the patient.

Both NHS Greater Glasgow and NHS National Services Scotland, National Services Division will provide information and assistance to women in whom surgery is being recommended as part of their treatment plan and where they wish to explore alternative options. It is made clear that women can choose to have surgery elsewhere and there is information provided, both online and in hard-copy, about choosing mesh removal surgery with one of the independent surgeons.

It is normal practice to record the content and outcome of any discussion taking place within the contemporaneous, confidential patient record. This includes a note of which leaflets have been provided as part of these discussions.

£648,000.

At the time of its announcement we indicated that the Mesh Fund would have an upper ceiling of £1 million, we have therefore ensured that the remainder of those funds have been invested in other mesh-related initiatives, including the Reimbursement Scheme, in line with calls made in the mesh campaigners’ Charter.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6O-03094 on 21 February 2024. Answers to Oral parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, Meeting of the Parliament: 21/02/2024 | Scottish Parliament Website .

As at 15 February 2024, £481,423.63 had been paid to applicants. Administration costs to the same date are approximately £120,000.

The original scheme closure date was specified in the Scheme documentation and announced at the time of the Scheme’s opening as 6 December 2023. This date was then extended to 31 March 2024. The Government therefore urges any woman who wishes to apply, but has not yet done so, to ensure that an application is sent prior to this date.

The closure of the Reimbursement Scheme to applications has no effect on the arrangements that NHS National Services Scotland has entered into with both Spire Hospital, Bristol, and Dr Veronikis in the USA. In any situation where it is determined that removal surgery is clinically appropriate, the patient will remain able to choose, via the official NHS referral process, to have that surgery carried out in the Complex Mesh Surgical Service in Glasgow, in an NHS England centre, or by one of the two contracted independent providers.

The overall policy intention behind simple procedure is to provide a quicker, less formal, and more accessible route to justice for individuals involved in low-value civil disputes. It is therefore suitable for party litigants to raise or defend an action and conduct their cases to a conclusion themselves.

While the current monetary limit is £5,000, there are provisions for flexibility and case-specific considerations within the simple procedure framework. Even if the sum sought exceeds the monetary limit for simple procedure cases parties can agree to transfer a case to the Simple Procedure. In such cases, there is no obligation to lower the sum sought to meet the £5000 limit.

The Scottish Government considers the average value of simple procedure claims does not support an immediate need to increase the £5000 limit. We remain of the view that the current limit and flexibility within the simple procedure framework strikes the right balance between providing an accessible and cost-effective legal avenue while ensuring fairness and proportionality in resolving disputes.

The Government will continue to keep the monetary limit for simple procedure under review.

Simple procedure is a court process designed to provide a speedy, inexpensive and informal way to resolve disputes. A claim is made in the sheriff court with the final decision in a claim made by a sheriff or a summary sheriff. Claimants do not need to use a solicitor to use the simple procedure, but they can do so if they wish.

The following table provides the number of simple procedure claims, and breaks the disposals between those which were successful and unsuccessful. It then gives the average monetary value of the successful claims for each financial year where data is available.

a) The Health and Social Care Alliance were funded £10,776 by the Scottish Government in 2021-22 to carry out specific work to support people with chronic pain.

Since 2009, The Health and Social Care Alliance has also administered the ‘Self Management Fund’ on behalf of the Scottish Government which has included projects which support chronic pain issues. Details of funded projects can be found on The Health and Social Care Alliance’s website: Funded Projects – Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (alliance-scotland.org.uk)

The funding outlined in the following tables includes funding from the Chronic Pain Winter Support Fund which, in 2021, provided an additional £240,000 to increase the capacity of local support available for people with chronic pain during the winter period.

b) Pain Association Scotland

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20618 on 19 September 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 .

The Scottish Government expects all clinicians and NHS Boards locally in Scotland to adhere to current guidelines and follow best practice from authoritative sources such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) when providing healthcare services and treatment for patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

In September 2023, NICE published interventional procedures guidance on the use of transurethral water jet ablation for lower urinary tract symptoms caused by BPH (www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ipg700) .

The Interventional Procedures (IP) programme aims to protect the safety of patients and to support doctors. Each piece of guidance makes recommendations about whether the interventional procedure is safe enough and works well enough for routine use. NHS Scotland is part of the IP programme and all IP guidance is applicable in Scotland (link: http://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/our_work/technologies_and_medicines/nice_guidance_and_scotland/interventional_procedures.aspx )