Chamber and committees

In a hospital setting, all patients should complain to the nurse in charge of their ward if they are not happy with the food provided and they should be offered an alternative meal. Patients can also complete a questionnaire as part of the mealtime observations conducted by NHS board staff or through an inpatient experience survey. If the patient is still unhappy, they can address their complaint at a local level through the NHS complaints handling procedure.

The Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011 and supporting legislation provides a specific right for people to make complaints, raise concerns, make comments and give feedback to NHS Boards. The Act also places a duty on NHS Boards to thoroughly investigate and respond to any concerns raised, to take improvement actions where appropriate and to share learning from the views they receive. .

In Social Care settings, if the level of service that a person or someone they care for is receiving is not up to standard, they should in the first instance to speak to the care service itself about their concerns. If they do not receive a favourable response they can then raise a formal complaint using the relevant local authority’s complaints procedure. They can also choose to complain directly to the Care Inspectorate if the service is being provided on behalf of the local authority, by a private care provider. If they are still unhappy with the outcome, they have the right to ask the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) to look into the decision.

Edinburgh City Council has produced an action plan containing a number of measures to improve air quality. The Scottish Government is working closely with the Council as it implements the measures contained in the plan and is providing practical and financial assistance to both monitor air quality and support delivery.

As announced in the 2017-18 Programme for Government, the Council will establish a Low Emission Zone in Edinburgh by 2020.

NHS Boards are required to comply with the ‘Food in Hospitals: National Catering and Nutrition Specification for Food and Fluid Provision in Hospitals in Scotland’ guidelines which were revised and updated March 2016 and Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s Food, Fluid and Nutritional Care standards published October 2014.

NHS Boards are required to meet these standards and the specification regardless of whether the catering is provided in-house or by an external provider.

NHS Boards are currently required to self-assess their performance against the Food in Hospitals Specification, taking into account local audit information (such as regular mealtime observations conducted by NHS board staff) and results from patient experience surveys. From April 2019, a new process for the provision of detailed self-assessment and supporting evidence will go live.

Food in Hospitals provides information on standards for nutritional care, nutrient and food provision for patients within hospitals. It provides information on how the standards/guidance can be met. There is no formal inspection of food provision in Scotland. Healthcare Improvement Scotland carries out inspection of nutritional care and hydration as part of their unannounced inspections of care of older people in acute hospitals.

The Health and Social Care Standards took effect from 1 April 2018 and are applicable across the whole of health and social care. They set out what everyone should expect when experiencing care and support, including eating and drinking. The Care Inspectorate and Healthcare Improvement Scotland are incorporating the Standards into their inspection and quality assurance activities.

The catering service in every Board must comply with National Food Safety Standards and the Food in Hospitals specification (the National Catering and Nutrition Specification for Food and Fluid Provision in Hospitals in Scotland) with regards to the quality of their patient catering service.

These standards are mandatory whether the service is provided in-house or by an external provider. For those services that are provided externally, Boards are responsible for ensuring that the standards and specification form the basis of the quality criteria for the provision of those services.

A review of the exemption scheme, published on 6 March 2018, concluded that the qualifying income levels remain relevant. There is therefore no further review planned at this time. A copy of the review can be found at https://www.gov.scot/publications/water-sewerage-charges-exemption-scheme-review/ .

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-21212 on 6 February 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

The Scottish Government’s international ambitions are set out in our International Framework and various country plans. It aims to create an environment within Scotland that supports a better understanding of international opportunities and to influence the world around us on the issues that matter most. Scotland’s International Framework sets out how our international work supports the Government’s central purpose of creating a more successful country. The International Framework can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-international-framework-9781788514033/ .

Our partner countries in Africa are Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia. Scotland has identified it’s partner countries across the world based on historical and contemporary relationships, shared values, partnership and trust. Our bilateral relationships are primarily focused on Scotland acting as a good Global Citizen, through collaboration opportunities in trade and investment, culture and tourism, research and innovation, education links and international development to support poverty alleviation and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W- 21212 on 6 February 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

The Scottish Government welcomes the Report of the Cross Party Group on Heart Disease and Stroke. The Report was launched on 22 January 2019 and the Scottish Government will consider the Report and individual recommendations in due course.

Scotland has many different and complex aspects to its history and it is important that these are acknowledged. In order to support this process, in March 2007 a book was published entitled “Scotland and the Slave Trade” to mark the bicentenary of the abolition of the Slave Trade Act. http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/172082/0048155.pdf .

The most important way to learn lessons from that past is by showing leadership in tackling racism today. In December 2017 we published the Race Equality Action Plan outlining more than 120 actions we will take over the course of this Parliament to secure better outcomes for minority ethnic communities in Scotland.

One of the commitments we have given in the Race Equality Action Plan is to mark the International Decade for People of African Descent with an innovative programme of events. This provides us with an opportunity to work with stakeholders and consider how we can mark Scotland’s role in the slave trade in a way that will have the greatest impact for their communities today.