Chamber and committees

Data from the Business Ventilation Fund has not yet been published. In line with all previous funds, the Scottish Government will publish data on the Business Ventilation Fund. This is planned for May.

Data from the Business Ventilation Fund has not yet been published. In line with all previous funds, the Scottish Government will publish data on the Business Ventilation Fund. This is planned for May.

All children in Scotland are offered child health reviews at 13-15 months, 27-30 months and 4-5 years. These reviews are typically carried out by a Health Visitor. They allow monitoring and promotion of a child’s health and collect data on child development. The latest Early Child Development Statistics cover 2019/20 and are available here - https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/early-child-development/early-child-development-scotland-201920/ .

The 2019/20 statistics show that the proportion of review records containing meaningful information for every developmental domain was lower for children from certain minority ethnic groups. However, the differences between ethnic groups, in the proportion of records with meaningful information in 2019/20, are the smallest observed to date (since 2013/14).

We remain committed to improving outcomes for all children and that is why we have commissioned an evaluation into the Universal Health Visiting Pathway. Findings from the evaluation will support Health Visitors in continuing to support all young families across Scotland.

In addition, to address gaps in Scotland’s equality evidence base, we launched the Equality Data Improvement Programme (EDIP) in April 2021. The EDIP is aligned with our wider Mainstreaming Equality and Human Rights Strategy.

Data from the Business Ventilation Fund has not yet been published. In line with all previous funds, the Scottish Government will publish data on the Business Ventilation Fund. This is planned for May.

Nine projects were funded through the Chief Scientist Office Long-term effects of COVID-19 funding call Long Covid Call – Chief Scientist Office (scot.nhs.uk)

6 month progress reports have been received for all 9 projects. On 31 March 2022 the Chief Scientist Office hosted a virtual symposium at which the lead investigators of each of the 9 projects presented the results obtained to date.

In line with Chief Scientist Office policy final project reports will be published on the CSO website.

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

The Scottish Government and SPS are committed to continuing work on modernising and improving the prison estate which includes the construction of a new Women’s National Facility, 2 Community Custody Units and replacement prisons for HMP Barlinnie and HMP Inverness.

Since the commencement of the SPS Estates Development Programme, 75% of the prison estate has either been replaced or modernised. in line with relevant guidance and standards for building accessibility. The completion of these further major infrastructure investment projects will represent another significant step in improving accessibility across the prison estate.

SPS establishments also continue to work collaboratively with local NHS Health Boards to put in place care plans which may include utilising services and aids to improve accessibility, for individuals who require additional support.

The remaining Covid-19 specific legal requirements have been removed, but regulators will continue to engage to support businesses in managing their risks and applying any relevant guidance. While Covid-19 specific spot checks may no longer be carried out, pre-existing regulations are still in place, for example on fresh air/ ventilation and cleanliness. Regulators will be conducting inspections as they would have before the pandemic. As part of these visits, Covid-19 risks and adaptations may be discussed.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07910 on 25 April 2022. 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’s understanding is that the wellbeing assessment tool being piloted by South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership called the Autism Resource Co-ordination Hub (ARCH), is a support service for children, young people, adults and their families. It is not intended to replace services already provided by health, education or social work with regard to assessment, diagnosis or treatment of neurodevelopmental conditions.

The Scottish Government is committed to implementing the National Neurodevelopmental Specification: Principles and Standards of Care for Children and Young People, published in September 2021, which specifies service standards that all children’s services should follow, to ensure access to support is effective and consistent across Scotland. The ARCH service complements existing services and the Principles and Standards set out in the Neurodevelopmental Specification by providing the support provided by universal services, and the neurodevelopmental assessment pathway provided by NHS Lanarkshire community paediatrics and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

To support improvements across Scotland, £3.06 million was allocated to NHS Boards in 2021-22 to build professional capacity within Boards to support children and young people with neurodevelopmental support needs.

In March 2022, Scottish Government also provided over £750,000 to five local authority areas to run tests of change on the implementation of the Neurodevelopmental Specification. These tests will run over the next six months and will provide learning and evaluation to be shared across other local authorities and health board areas to inform and assist national implementation of the Specification.

This data is not centrally available; aggregated data for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Waiting Times is sent to Public Health Scotland (PHS) from each NHS Board. It does not contain explicit information on the type of assessment or treatment children and young people are waiting for. It reports on the number of referrals for young people to CAMHS; numbers waiting to start treatment and total waiting; not accepted for treatment from referral and Did Not Attend status numbers for 1st contact appointments; and the time between referral and first treatment.

The CAMHS statistics capture children and young people who meet the CAMHS criteria. Children and young people who are waiting for a neurodevelopmental assessment but do not meet the CAMHS criteria are not reported in these statistics.

PHS are developing a patient-level dataset to provide detail for these aggregate CAMHS statistics. This Child, Adolescent and Psychological Therapies National Dataset (CAPTND) will contain reason for referral to CAMHS

The Scottish Government is committed to working with Boards to implement both the National Neurodevelopmental Specification: Principles and Standards of Care for Children and Young People and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Service Specification. The National Neurodevelopmental Specification was published in September 2021 and the CAMHS Service Specification was published in February 2020. These set out service standards that all children’s services should follow, to ensure access to support is effective and consistent across Scotland.