Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S4W-27607

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what research it has commissioned since 2007 regarding the therapeutic benefits of care for children and young people.

The Scottish Government has not commissioned specific research on the therapeutic benefits of being looked after on children and young people since 2007. However, as a result of direct consultation with care experienced young people, a number of relationship focussed practices are being taken forward. For example, the national mentoring scheme for looked after children and young people will provide free individual mentoring, and associated group events, for looked after children and young people across Scotland. Also, the Scottish Government is currently consulting on secondary legislation proposals under Part 12 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 for provisions on services in relation to children at risk of becoming looked after, which may include family group decision making.

Question reference: S4W-27952

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S4W-27597

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 6 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time is for people to commence treatment for hepatitis C, broken down by NHS board.

The specific information requested is not held centrally. Waiting time data is collected by specialism only and not by condition, although most patients with hepatitis C requiring hospital care will be seen within the specialty of gastroenterology and are likely to receive their treatment at an outpatient clinic. Any patient who requires inpatient and day case treatment would be covered by the 12 week legal treatment guarantee.

Question reference: S4W-27608

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 6 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of children and young people in care has accessed mental health services in each year since 2010.

Question reference: S4W-27598

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 6 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with each NHS board regarding the average waiting times for people to commence treatment for hepatitis C.

Scottish Government officials meet regularly with individual boards to discuss waiting times for treatment. The discussions will include waits in the specialty of gastroenterology – this is the specialty where most patients with hepatitis C would be treated. In addition, the Scottish Government is a member of the Scottish Viral Hepatitis Lead Clinicians Network, which also regularly discusses issues of treatment of hepatitis C.

Question reference: S4T-01136

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 05 October 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the claim in the report, Affordable Housing Need in Scotland, that the need for affordable housing is double what is being delivered.

Question reference: S4W-27610

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 5 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on consulting care leavers regarding how children and young people parented by the state could be better supported in recovering from an early childhood trauma that was experienced in care.

Question reference: S4W-27609

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 5 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what emotional and psychological support it provides for children and young people in care environments.

The mental health of looked after children and young people is the direct responsibility of local authorities and health boards. Scottish health boards are required by the Scottish Government to provide a health assessment to all children who become looked after within four weeks of notification. In May 2014 the Scottish Government published Guidance on Health Assessments for Looked After Children and Young People in Scotland. This guidance recommended that health board works with placing authorities in its area to ensure that procedures are in place for the health board to offer a mental health screen to every looked after child or young person by 2015. It also recommended a number of suitable screening tools for this assessment (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, emotional and behavioural wellbeing profile).

Chief Executive Letter 16 (CEL16) of April 2009 placed a responsibility on each NHS board to assess the physical, mental and emotional health needs of all looked after children and young people for whom they have responsibility and put in place appropriate measures which take account of these assessments. They ensure that all health service providers work to make their services more accessible to looked after children and young people, and to those in the transition from care to independence.

Question reference: S4W-27603

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 5 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how it promotes better mental health in looked-after young people as part of its corporate parenting responsibilities.

The corporate parenting responsibilities in Part 9 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 commenced in April 2015. The Act extends the eligibility for aftercare to age 25 – ensuring that all care leavers are entitled to have their needs assessed by local authorities for support from all appropriate corporate parents. Under these duties, if assessments show support is required, it must be provided.

Also, more specifically in relation to health, the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 requires every corporate parent (including health boards) to:

Be alert to matters which, or which might, adversely affect the wellbeing of looked after children, young people and care leavers under the age of 26;

Assess the needs of those children and young people for the support and services it provides;

Collaborate with each other when exercising their responsibilities in relation to looked after children and young people;

Promote the interests of those children and young people;

Seek to provide those children and young people with opportunities to participate in activities designed to advance their wellbeing;

Take action it considers appropriate to help those children and young people to access opportunities and support and make use of the services it provides, and

Take any other action as it considers appropriate for the purposes of improving the way in which it exercises its functions in relation to those children and young people.

This means that corporate parents are required to collaborate with each other when exercising their corporate parenting responsibilities. They are currently undergoing training from the Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland on how to prepare, consult on and publish a corporate parenting plan and keep this under review. From April 2018 they will be required to report to Scottish Ministers on how they are exercising their corporate parenting duties.

Statutory guidance on Part 9 of the Act (Corporate Parenting) was published on 14 August 2015 and is available at:

http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/08/5260

Question reference: S4W-27611

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 1 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how the mental health of children and young people in care compares with those who are not care-experienced.

The Scottish Government are overseeing a research project on how the wellbeing of children in different areas is being met by local areas, including the emotional wellbeing of looked after and non-looked after children. The project is currently ongoing. Data analysis and reporting on the first three Community Planning Partnership areas will be undertaken in May 2016.

The 27-30 month review data which data published by Information Services Division Scotland

(https://isdscotland.scot.nhs.uk/Health-Topics/Child-Health/Publications/2014-12-16/2014-12-16-Child-Health-27m-review-Summary.pdf?278872252) records if children have social, emotional and behavioural concerns/disorders. The preliminary data not including information on whether children were looked after was published in December 2014. This may be a source of comparable wellbeing data for looked after and non-looked after children in future.