Seòmar agus comataidhean

At the start of the pandemic the State Hospital developed a process for safe use of video visiting facilities for patients and approved visitors to maintain relationships when that is in the best interests of the patient. This development builds upon existing practice supporting continuity of relationships in respect of telephone contact.

The Mental Health (Use of Telephones) (S) Regulations 2005 made under Section 284 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 provide for restricting or prohibiting telephone calls made to or by patients.

All patients in the State Hospital are "specified persons" for this purpose and the Responsible Medical Officer (RMO) may prohibit or restrict any call to or from a "specified person" where they are of the view that the call is likely to cause distress to the specified person or any other person, not on the staff of the hospital, or would pose a significant risk to the health, safety or welfare of the specified person or to the safety of others.

In making any decision on the use of telephones by a "specified person", the RMO must have due regard to minimising the impact on that patient's rights, and restrictions imposed must be proportionate in the particular circumstances.

Only "specified persons" may have calls “intercepted”, and this includes that calls can be listened to, recorded or otherwise monitored, They are also able to be interrupted , cut short, diverted or prevented from being connected. For calls to be intercepted they must have been previously restricted or prohibited or ones which would otherwise be unlawful eg a nuisance or malicious call. Calls would also be unlawful if they would breach a court order banning such a call. Calls to or from certain privileged persons and bodies ( Section 284(6) ) cannot be intercepted unless the person /body so requests or the call would otherwise be unlawful.

Patients in the State Hospital can request a review of restrictions or prohibitions on their use of the telephone. Where a patient has been prohibited from making or receiving a call to or from a particular person for 7 consecutive days then they can request a review once every 7 day period. They can also ask the Mental Welfare Commission to review the restrictions. The Commission may then issue directions to the hospital managers.

The Code of Practice which accompanies the 2003 Act provides guidance for practitioners and this can be found at; https://www.gov.scot/publications/mental-health-care-treatment-scotland-act-2003-code-practice-volume-1/pages/13/

In addition, the Mental Welfare Commission have published Specified Persons Guidance; https://www.mwcscot.org.uk/sites/default/files/2019-06/specified_persons_guidance_2015.pdf .

The regulation and funding of electricity networks are reserved to the UK Government. However, we are engaging closely with Ofgem and BEIS to ensure that its policy and regulation recognises and enables Scotland’s world leading net zero target, and unlocks investments and jobs in Scotland. I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-32359 on 26 October 2020 for more detail on this engagement.

To deliver strategic investment, Scotland’s electricity network owners– Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) and SP Energy Networks (SPEN) – need to have clear understanding of the energy system their networks will need to serve. The Scottish Government is working closely with SSEN and SPEN to ensure that they understand the scale and pace for decarbonisation Scotland, and to help them build well-justified business plans for the required investment. This has led to the creation of strategic partnerships looking at the network investment and regulatory issues associated with heat and transport decarbonisation.

Since the Electric Vehicle (EV) Strategic Partnership was launched in August last year, the Scottish Government, including Transport Scotland, SSEN and SPEN have been working closely to develop a number of demonstrator projects aimed at exploring new ways of coordinating EV charging and electricity network infrastructure to ensure efficient investment. One of the EV Strategic Partnership Charter’s objectives is to produce recommendations for Ofgem, UK government and others on an accelerated model for the coordinated delivery of EV and electricity network infrastructure.

Electricity networks will also be vital to decarbonising our heat demand. Investment in those networks to ensure that they can accommodate heat pumps in buildings will be vital, as will the connection of larger scale heat pumps as a source of low carbon heat for the heat networks enabled by upcoming Scottish Parliament legislation. In March 2020 a Heat Decarbonisation Strategic Working Group was established between Scottish Government and both Scottish DNOs to ensure that Scotland’s electricity networks are able to support and facilitate the decarbonisation of heat.

Both partnerships are playing a crucial part in gathering the evidence which will be an essential in making the case for strategic investment across Scotland’s electricity distribution networks.

I also chair, alongside Professor Keith Bell from the University of Strathclyde, the Scottish Energy Networks Strategic Leadership Group comprising representatives from all Scottish networks, independent consumer representation, National Grid ESO and Ofgem. This Group, which reports to our Scottish Energy Advisory Board, on which I sit and which is co-chaired by the First Minister and Professor Sir Jim McDonald of Strathclyde University, provides a platform to discuss all issues related to the electricity and gas networks and their role in supporting our net zero and green recovery goals, including strategic investment.

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

Based on current information provided by BT, we expect around 90% of the contract build in the Central and South lots will be completed by the end of 2023. As set out in my answer to your recent parliamentary question [S5W-31777 on 30 September 2020], we anticipate that the contract for the North lot will be signed by the end of this calendar year.

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

Ministry of Defence and Scottish Government procurements are generally undertaken publically through a competitive process. Although the Scottish Government holds a minority shareholding in BiFab, Scottish Ministers do not participate in operational management decisions - this is a matter for BiFab's Board of Directors.

Visiting guidance in health and social care settings recognises that visits to those nearing the end of life are deemed essential and as such we would expect those working in clinical settings to accommodate such visits where it is safe to do so. This provision has been in place since restricted visiting was introduced earlier this year.

Visiting guidance (including information on essential visiting) in acute settings and a leaflet for members of the public are available on the Scottish Government and NHS Boards' websites.

Measures to restrict visiting are being continually monitored and will be further relaxed when it is safe to do so.

Funding has been allocated to local authorities as set out in the following table. We are considering how best to invest the remaining £1m to further support digital inclusion.

The £11 million is the updated forecast published by the Scottish Fiscal Commission https://www.fiscalcommission.scot/forecast/supplementary
-costing-scottish-child-payment/  this will go directly to the recipients of the Scottish Child Payment.

The administration costs of Scottish Child Payment are met by Social Security Scotland’s 2020-21 resource budget allocation of £169.2 million, which was most recently published in the Autumn Revision to the Scottish Budget 2020-21.

Throughout our response to the Covid 19 Pandemic, where an urgent clinical need has been present access to Chiropody/Podiatric services has remained.

Since the publication of the Scottish Government’s framework on how those services which had been paused could be restored, “Remobilise, Recover, Redesign” on 31 May, local Health Boards have been gradually reintroducing those services, including Chiropody/Podiatric services, where it is safe do so, following local and national clinical advice.

We recognise that this is a difficult time for mobile therapists. However, our primary driver is safeguarding public health and wellbeing and preventing transmission of the virus.

While we are not yet able to provide a date for when these services will be permitted to resume, we will aim to do so as soon as is it safe. We have developed guidance in partnership with sectoral trade bodies and health specialists to support mobile close contact services when it is safe for them to return to work.

In the meantime, therapists who operate from a fixed premises – including the practitioner’s own home – are currently permitted to do so provided they follow the relevant guidance.