Chamber and committees

The majority of GP practices in Scotland operate as independent contractors under the terms of a UK General Medical Services contract and there is a contractual obligation on GPs to provide information to prove incapacity to work to Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), or their agents that is not chargeable to patients. It is only when GPs agree to provide services out with their NHS contractual terms and conditions, that they are entitled to charge a professional fee as remuneration for doing so.

NHS boards are required to provide medical reports to the DWP, on behalf of patients, to support claims for benefits. The following link gives guidance on the provision of reports and fees by hospitals and NHS consultants:

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/pip-assessment-guide.pdf

Matters relating to welfare, employment and tax benefits, including the implementation of current reforms are the responsibility of the UK Government.

This information is not held centrally. NHS boards and local authorities are responsible for ensuring that advocacy is available to all who need it within their respective areas and that resources are matched to meet these needs.

The Scottish Independent Advocacy Service has produced a Map of Advocacy and this is available at:

http://www.siaa.org.uk/images/stories/SIAA_AdvocacyMap_2011_2012.pdf.

The Scottish Government is aware that a number of NHS boards has prepared briefing for staff on welfare benefit changes. The Scottish Directors of Public Health Group has commissioned the Scottish Public Health Network to undertake work to identify possible mitigation measures and interim guidance has been published. Scottish Government officials have established a group of stakeholders to look at the potential impact of welfare benefit reform on population health and on demand for healthcare services. This group will report into the Scottish Government’s Welfare Reform Governance structure.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing and COSLA meet to discuss a range of issues from time to time.

On 21 November 2012, the Scottish Government signed an agreement with COSLA, to adopt a collaborative approach to supporting councils in their response to welfare reform. As part of this agreement, we hold regular joint political meetings to review progress on our collective efforts. A meeting is scheduled to take place on 28 February 2013.

This information is not held centrally. Each local authority will collect information relating to their specific circumstances.

The Children (Scotland) Act 1995, and accompanying Regulations and Guidance, set the eligibility criteria and assessment process in relation to disabled children and young people; including sharing of information, joint assessments and collaboration with both statutory and voluntary agencies. Each local authority will have their own defined standards for the delivery of these services, set within the context of local priorities to fulfil their statutory obligations.

Sections 23 and 24 of the Act relate specifically to the assessment of disabled children and their carers.

Subsequent legislation including the Community Care (Direct Payments) Act (1996) and the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 placed further duties on local authorities when carrying out assessments.

Education authorities have duties under the Additional Support for Learning Act to provide identify, make and review provision for children and young people for additional support needs, including those children who have a disability. In addition, specific provisions are in place for children who are identified and are brought to the attention of the education authority as having a disability from 0- 3 years of age. In these circumstances education authorities have a duty to provide additional support. The Code of Practice for Additional Support for Learning provides guidance to education authorities and partners on this provision and the assessment of children’s and young people’s additional support needs.

The Guide to Commissioners, published by the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance in 2010 to assist local authorities and NHS boards in the scoping of needs and procurement of advocacy services, is currently being reviewed. In addition following the national consultation exercise in 2012 which sought views on how to improve advocacy for children and young people more detailed guidance focussing on children’s advocacy is proposed. This will address some of the key issues which were highlighted through the consultation as being unique to children’s advocacy, including issues around consent, information sharing and the identification and management of conflicts of interest.

Guidance on the Procurement of Care and Support Services by public bodies in Scotland was published jointly by the Scottish Government and COSLA in September 2010.

In each year since 2005-06, £13 million has been included in the overall funding for local authorities and £5 million has been included in NHSScotland funding to help in the implementation and delivery of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003. This includes funding for the provision of advocacy services.

From 2010-11 additional annual recurring funding of £500,000 has also been provided for advocacy services.

I wrote to NHSScotland Chairs and Chief Executives on 22 February 2013, reminding them that boards should frequently review their behaviours and practices to ensure they have a culture which actively encourages and supports members of staff to raise concerns. The culture should also ensure that staff are not penalised or persecuted in any way for raising concerns in good faith.

The Partnership Information Network (PIN) Policy, Preventing and Dealing with Bullying and Harassment in NHSScotland, provides guidance to NHS Boards on the development of a clearly defined policy and procedure for dealing with bullying and harassment complaints. The PIN Policy also highlights the importance of promoting the policy to staff, training for managers and of senior managers monitoring the application of the policy.

The Dignity at Work toolkit, Give Respect Get Respect, provides guidance to NHS Boards on promoting Dignity in the Workplace. The toolkit includes a description of bullying and its effect.

Culture, values and behaviours will be a fundamental cornerstone of the 2020 Workforce Vision which we aim to launch at the NHS event in June 2013. This will present a further opportunity to restate our commitment to providing a working environment in the NHS in Scotland which is free from bullying and harassment.

No meetings have taken place between the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing and Chairs or the Chief Executives of NHS boards, for the specific purpose of discussing the impact of the proposed welfare reforms.

Directors of Public Health from Scottish Health boards have identified that reform of the welfare benefits system may have an effect on health outcomes and they have commissioned the Scottish Public Health Network (ScotPHN) to review the evidence of impact on health and identify mitigating actions. ScotPHN has published interim guidance which can be accessed through their website (www.scotphn.net).

The use of confidentiality clauses in compromise agreements is entirely an issue between individual NHS boards and their employees. Certain conditions have to be met in order for a compromise agreement to be legally binding, including a requirement for the employee to have received advice from a relevant independent adviser as to the terms and effect of the agreement. Any clause which sought to prevent an individual from raising a protected whistleblowing disclosure would be illegal under the Employment Rights Act and would therefore be unenforceable.

I wrote to NHSScotland chairs and chief executives on 22 February 2013, reminding them that boards should frequently review their behaviours and practices to ensure they have a culture which actively encourages and supports members of staff to raise concerns. I also told them that I expect Boards to ensure that confidentiality clauses and non-derogatory statement clauses are not being used to suppress the reporting of concerns about practice in NHSScotland, and to ensure that these clauses are used appropriately.