Chamber and committees

We continue to work towards our vision that all journeys on Scotland’s bus, rail, ferry, subway and tram can be made using some form of smart ticket or payment. For some time now this has focused on creating an infrastructure across all of Scotland that can support saltirecards (ITSO secure smartcard) and – particularly for bus - contactless bank cards (EMV).

To make using public transport around Scotland a simpler experience for the public, and having now largely put the infrastructure in place, we are now working to improve smart ticketing interoperability by persuading over 200 transport operators across all modes to accept products on each others’ cards.

Over the last few months many of the major operators have also launched EMV on their services, benefitting the travelling public with an additional, easy and convenient way to pay. As technology moves apace we are also looking to take advantage of ITSO’s emerging options for using a mobile phone rather than a smartcard.

Lastly, we have just closed our “Future of Smart Ticketing” consultation (December 5^th) which considers whether legislation and governance requirements are needed to enable further, quicker progress with this consistent and standardised approach.

Government recognises that children who live with substance–misusing parents are among the most vulnerable in society and require particular care and support. We have an Alcohol Framework in place which contains a package of measures to tackle alcohol misuse. A key measure is the introduction of a minimum price for alcohol which we believe is the most effective and efficient way of reducing overall alcohol consumption and harm. We have confirmed an additional £20m for alcohol and drugs services as part of our Programme for Government 2017.

Improving outcomes for children affected by parental substance and alcohol misuse is a priority for the Scottish Government. That is why we currently provide funding of £600,000 per year to the CORRA Foundation who support Scottish voluntary organisations to deliver vital on the ground support largely to children and families across Scotland affected by substance and alcohol misuse. The CORRA Foundation receive a further £160,000 for the delivery of the recommendations contained in "Everyone Has A Story", an action learning project that aims to hear the voices and experiences of children and young people whose parents are in recovery from drugs and alcohol.

We also provide £269,000 to Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs for support to families across Scotland affected by a loved one’s substance and alcohol misuse, raising awareness of their needs and the issues affecting them and ensuring that these are recognised and addressed.

The Scottish Health Survey 2016 reports that 15% of adults exhibited signs of a possible psychiatric disorder (GHQ-12 score of four or more). The reported rate is 17% for women and 13% for men. It is important to note that the rate for women has consistently been 3 to 6 percentage points higher than for men since 2003. It should also be noted that the World Health Organisation reports that anxiety and depression are more common in women than in men worldwide.

Nonetheless, these statistics show the importance of achieving the vision laid out by the Mental Health Strategy 2017-27. Our aspirations include that we will see, and be able to measure, the following for mental health compared to physical health:

• Equal access to the most effective and safest care and treatment

• Equal efforts to improve the quality of care

• Allocation of time, effort and resources on a basis commensurate with need

• Equal status within healthcare education and practice:

• Equally high aspirations for service users

• Equal status in the measurement of health outcomes

The new drinking guidelines were revised by the UK Chief Medical Officers in February 2016, and advise that both men and women consume no more than 14 units per week, spread evenly over 3 or more days, and that alcohol should be avoided if you are pregnant or trying to conceive.

We have been clear to the industry that we expect the UK Chief Medical Officers’ guidance to be reflected on alcohol labels, and clear advice has been provided along with examples of how best to display the message (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/602132/Communicating_2016_CMO_guidelines_Mar_17.pdf.)

We are aware that a number of responsible organisations, such as the British Retail Consortium, the Scottish Retail Consortium and Tennent’s, are already implementing, or in the process of implementing, this guidance.

The Scottish Government’s alcohol strategy, Changing Scotland's Relationship with Alcohol: A Framework for Action, is well regarded internationally and contains over 40 measures to tackle alcohol misuse. The Framework has been shown to have a positive impact including 2.6 per cent reduction in consumption due to the multi-buy discount ban; increased delivery of Alcohol Brief Interventions; legislation to ban irresponsible promotions and the introduction of a lower drink drive limit. However, given the link between affordability and harm, we remain committed to minimum unit pricing which is the most effective pricing measure to tackle the high strength, low cost alcohol that causes so much damage to our communities.

The latest alcohol-related mortality statistics highlight the need for continued action to reduce alcohol-related harm in Scotland. We have seen improvements from historic peaks but we know we need to do more. We are in the process of refreshing our Framework and will consider what further action to take to reduce alcohol-related harm.

We have shaped our policies to tackle health inequalities in key areas, such as minimum unit pricing, which would have the greatest impact in our most deprived communities.

The Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) announced on 23 October 2017 that work on the audit of CAMHS rejected referrals is underway.

The Scottish Government sets national direction of policy on mental health and provides funding to agencies, including NHS boards and local authorities, to support implementation of policy.

The management of local actions in implementing national policy, and decisions on local spending priorities are the responsibility of relevant local agencies. It is therefore the responsibility of NHS boards, local authorities and Integration Authorities to work with their partners and regularly review spending decisions to ensure they deliver fit for purpose services which respond to the needs of their local population, including for veterans with PTSD.

Funding for mental health services, including veterans with PTSD, will continue to be drawn from the overall funds allocated to NHS Scotland and Local Authorities by the Scottish Government.

Many of the key themes and commitments in the Scottish Government’s new ten-year Mental Health Strategy will impact positively on veterans and their families, which has improving access to services and supporting earlier intervention at its core. The Strategy highlights the Scottish Government’s support for the ethos of the Armed Forces Covenant and, as set out in Renewing Our Commitments, that no one should suffer disadvantage as a result of military service. In supporting efforts to meet the needs of veterans and their families, local partnerships are encouraged to consider how best to provide services locally for them.

For example the Scottish Government has committed £825,000 in 2017-18 to support the Veterans First Point Network, and has made a match funding offer for the next two financial years to 2020 to NHS Boards and Integrated Authorities to encourage sustainable services in local areas.

We will continue to work with our partners to deliver the Strategy and updates on progress, governance and monitoring arrangements are available on the Scottish Government's website at