Chamber and committees

The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 were approved by the Scottish Parliament on 10 February 2021 and will come into force on 1 September 2021. These regulations are concerned with modernising the licensing of dog, cat and rabbit breeding activities, pet selling - including the trade in young dogs, the operation of animal sanctuaries and animal rehoming activities.

Additionally, the Scottish Government works closely with a number of animal welfare organisations, other UK Government departments, the veterinary sector and enforcement agencies on the Puppy Trade Working Group to disrupt the activities of unlicensed and/or low welfare breeders and educate the public about how best to buy a puppy safely.

The Scottish Government continues to promote testing in its communications and public messaging. To raise awareness of how individuals can access testing at walk-through test centres and mobile testing units, the Scottish Government has:

• supported local authorities and health boards to promote new sites by creating a communications toolkit, which includes templates for news releases, social media content and signage,
• engaged with local authorities and health boards to inform them of upcoming Test and Protect communications campaigns and new site openings, and,
• promoted new sites online with the public and health journalists, broadcasters and bloggers with a Ministerial quote and UK Government news release.

The Scottish Government has recently announced a suite of measures to continue to support NHS dentistry, including a vital funding package of up to £5M for improved ventilation in dental premises, and an extension of free PPE for the dental sector, which from this month has increased by up to 50%. This builds on the continued phased remobilisation of NHS dental services, ensuring that as many patients can be seen within the current set of infection, protection and control measures required for the safe operation of dental treatment.

NHS dental services are largely provided by independent dental contractors. Information on appointments is held by each individual dental practice.

The removal of all dental charges for NHS dental treatment is a Scottish Government manifesto commitment and more detail will be published in due course. These changes will take place in the lifetime of this parliament and the processes are currently underway.

The Scottish Government continues to be committed to improving the lives of autistic people in Scotland. We work closely with autism organisations in the third sector and the public sector and actively seek the views of people with lived experience on autism services. This is reflected in our “Towards Transformation” plan and in specific pieces of nationally funded work, such as the National Post Diagnostic Support pilot for Autistic People.

While the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland, it is for the regional health & social care partnerships to determine the level of services that are required to meet local needs and to arrange an appropriate and suitable range of services to meet these local needs, as mandated under statute in the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act.

Local Authorities are distinct corporate bodies whose powers are set out in statute and as such are entirely separate from the Scottish Government, however it is also the expectation of the Scottish Government that Local Public Bodies will engage with the third sector regarding local autism services.

Before the Summer break, schools and education leaders were advised to provide all staff and secondary pupils with a pack of Lateral Flow Devices (LFDs) test kits prior to going on leave that they can use to restart testing in the week prior to return. In addition, they were also advised to ensure they have sufficient stock to support testing for at least the first few weeks after the return and to make any necessary orders before the Summer break – though of course they are also free to make additional test kit orders after their return to school in August. In preparation for the return of schools this month, the Scottish Government has allocated sufficient stocks of lateral flow tests to support the continuation of the twice weekly testing programme in all schools and ELC settings across Scotland.

The Scottish Government has taken a range of actions, in collaboration with key partners including the UK Government, local authorities and Young Scot, to support staff and secondary pupils to test and record their results regularly. For example, in response to user feedback about the discomfort that some pupils experience when using tests, we will be transitioning from LFDs that require both throat and nasal swabs to a nasal-only LFD model over the first months of the new term. These new LFDs are also quicker to use, cutting down on the time it will take staff and pupils to test. Feedback suggests also that some participants are testing but not recording results for a range of reasons. We have shared relevant feedback with UK Government partners about the UK-wide online reporting portal to support ongoing improvements. To make reporting easier, users of the self-reporting portal now have the ability to create a “household account” where the results of multiple family members can be inputted at the same time without having to manually enter their child’s details every time they report. Best practice has been actively shared with local authority Directors of Education and we have refreshed national communications in advance of the new term, including a communications pack developed in collaboration with Young Scot that will be provided to every secondary school in Scotland. All local authorities have also been asked to ensure that their return to school communications make clear the need to test and record results prior to return and twice-weekly thereafter.

While the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland, it is for the regional health & social care partnerships to determine the level of services that are required to meet local needs and to arrange an appropriate and suitable range of services to meet these local needs, as mandated under statute in the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act.

Local Authorities are distinct corporate bodies whose powers are set out in statute and as such are entirely separate from the Scottish Government, however it is the expectation of the Scottish Government that Local Public Bodies will engage with autistic people and children, including their families where appropriate, in relation to decisions regarding the allocation of funding for autism services.

In addition, the Scottish Government works closely with COSLA and HSCPs in relation to the aims and objectives of our national autism strategies. Those strategies and the delivery of them is shared jointly between the Scottish Government and COSLA. We are currently looking at monitoring and engagement arrangements for the “Towards Transformation” plan involving a range of key stakeholders, including people with learning disabilities and autistic people.

The Scottish Government takes seriously the responsibility to ensure those going through the criminal justice system with mental health issues are appropriately supported, treated and cared for, while ensuring their rights are being maintained

This is an important report that contains a number of recommendations which are being given careful consideration. The Scottish Government continues to work closely with the Scottish Prison Service and other partners to ensure that frontline staff are properly supported and that the recommendations from the Mental Welfare Commission’s report are being given a collaborative response. Current progress includes the development of a new custodial estate for women in Scotland, scheduled to open in 2022. We have also created over 41 whole time equivalent mental health roles which are located across the prison estate, including the female estate.

Our Mental Health Transition & Recovery Plan published last year made clear our commitment to continue to work with partners to seek better support for those with mental ill health within the criminal justice system. The Plan is further supported with £120m from a Recovery & Renewal Fund and focusses on the specific mental health needs of women and girls to support better outcomes across a range of settings .

The Scottish Government and COSLA jointly published our Learning/Intellectual Disabilities and Autism: Towards Transformation Plan in March 2021, which builds on existing autism and learning disabilities strategies. The plan looks at the actions needed to shape supports, services and attitudes to ensure that the human rights of autistic people and people with learning/intellectual disabilities are respected and protected and that they are empowered to live their lives, the same as everyone else.

The Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Joint Delivery Board has recently agreed the final version of the National Neurodevelopmental Principles and Standards of Care. The Principles and Standards of Care is for those children and young people who have neurodevelopmental profiles and support needs, including those with autism, and require more support than is currently available. The National Neurodevelopmental Principles and Standards will be published shortly.

The Additional Support for Learning Act places duties on education authorities to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils, including those with autism. We provide free professional learning opportunities for practitioners, including the Autism Toolbox and Inclusive Practice online professional learning modules.

In addition, we published our Autism Action Plan in December 2020, setting out the actions we will take to improve the support to children and young people with autism in Scotland’s schools. We have made significant progress in implementing these actions and will formally report our progress in December 2021. Our work on supporting young people with Autism in mainstream schools is also supported by our guidance on the presumption of mainstream education.

The Scottish Government also directly funds the National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT) which supports NHS Boards to consider best practice and improve service in the redesigning of autism diagnostic services.

The Scottish Government has an annual dedicated budget for our autism strategy programme of work supplemented by additional support provided throughout the pandemic. (£3.1m for financial year 2021-2022) However, a much wider range of Scottish Government and Local Authority funding helps to support autistic people through education and employment initiatives, for example, as well as social care funding.

a) Strategy funding is currently directly supporting autistic people through:

-The Increasing Understanding of Autism Programme - we are aiming to make Scotland a more accessible, inclusive, and understanding place for autistic people to learn, work and live. As part of this Programme, Inspiring Scotland, in partnership with the Scottish Government has distributed £470,709 of funding from December 2019 to date. Funding decisions include input from the autistic people on the autism advisory forums.

-A new National Post Diagnostic Support Service pilot launched on 1 December 2020. Following a diagnosis of autism, individuals, parents and carers living across Scotland are routed to appropriate support to understand and embrace their identity as an autistic person. So far, £394,645 has been allocated to various autism organisations to provide direct support to autistic people.

b) Sportscotland has agreed £572,500 of investment for 2021-22 for Scottish Disability Sport (SDS). SDS has the lead role for developing the quality of disability sport for disabled people in Scotland; this includes supporting autistic people. Sportscotland also invests in and supports a number of programmes and projects that deliver wider benefits to autistic people in their communities through sport. This includes £30,000 to Strathmore Rugby Club to support Scotland’s first autism-friendly rugby sessions, and £51,600 to the Changing Lives Fund project , delivered through a partnership with Forth Valley College and Falkirk Community Football Foundation, which focussed on young people with learning needs (including autistic young people.),

c) The information requested is not held or monitored centrally.

The international travel restrictions in Scotland currently apply to people arriving into or returning to Scotland. Anyone travelling to another country should make sure they comply with the relevant procedures where they are visiting. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advice on travel to Norway can be found online at https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/norway .