Chamber and committees

ScotRail have introduced Bike & Go at stations based on criteria, such as footfall, local plans for cycle access, proximity of cycle destinations (leisure and employment) etc, and are engaging with third parties in order to extend Bike & Go to other locations across the country.In addition ScotRail have put in place arrangements with local cycle hire companies in Fort William and Oban which offer discounted cycle hire to ScotRail customers travelling to these destinations.

ScotRail advise that staff are expected to act flexibly and use discretion to accommodate additional bikes where there is demand, without compromising passenger safety and this forms part of their training.

ScotRail are progressing with their programme to deliver an additional 3,500 cycle spaces across the network by spring 2018. ScotRail will continue to work with SESTRANS, HITRANS, local authorities and key stakeholders to identify suitable locations for cycle parking on the Borders Railway and West Highland Line.Sheltered cycle facilities have been installed at every station on the Borders railway, and ScotRail have put in place arrangements with local cycle hire companies in Fort William and Oban which offer discounted cycle hire.

Funding will be allocated over the next five years to support new activities which identify, address and reduce inequalities of access to screening services in Scotland.

Officials are currently working to establish an NHS Scotland network, including stakeholders and experts from across NHS Scotland, which will develop and share new ways of working.

Pilot activities with the ability to improve access to screening will be considered by the Scottish Government and if approved will be subject to evaluation. If successful they will be carefully considered for wider roll out.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child published its Concluding Observations on the fifth periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on 9 June 2016. The Scottish Government is considering carefully the full range of conclusions and recommendations raised by the committee and will engage with relevant stakeholders shortly on next steps.Actions following from the Concluding Observation will be taken forward in line with Ministers’ specific responsibilities in relation to children’s rights under Part 1 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. On the specific issues raised by the Member:

a) Legislation in Scotland already requires that practitioners must seek the consent of the child to mental health treatment, if the child is considered capable of understanding the nature and possible consequences of the procedure or treatment. Patients under the age of 18 also have specific rights and protections, including that practitioners must carry out their functions under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment)(Scotland) Act 2003 so as to best secure the welfare of the child and ensure that their views are considered.

b) Psychotropic prescribing is annually reported by the NHS Information Services Division (ISD).The attached link refers:

http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Prescribing-and-Medicines/Community-Dispensing/Mental-Health/. Evidence-based guidelines for such prescribing in Scotland are also in place.

c) The Independent Short Life Working Group on Food Poverty, in its report “Dignity: Ending Hunger Together in Scotland”, published in June 2016, made a similar recommendation to Scottish Ministers that relevant data should be collected each year to enable estimates to be made of the number of children affected by food insecurity. A copy of the Group’s report is available through this link: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0050/00502395.pdf.

The Scottish Government is considering this recommendation and will publish its response in due course.

d) On issues of restraint and seclusion, I refer the Member to the answer to question S5W-01671 on 5 August 2016. 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

Official statistics show that there was a 6.2% increase in deaths in 2015. The reason for the increase in the number of deaths is not entirely clear but the winter of 2014-15 saw a high number of deaths from a variety of conditions including respiratory and circulatory diseases. This trend was the same across the whole of the UK and an increase in winter mortality was seen across 14 European countries. Our experts will continue to review the trends in mortality rates and the drivers behind any changes. Their conclusions will continue to inform operational and policy work.

Health Protection Scotland also routinely monitors excess all-cause mortality and investigates any association with influenza. In partnership with the other UK countries Health Protection Scotland publishes annual reports on these investigations.

Figures for the first quarter of 2016 show a 6.6% decrease in the number of deaths compared to the same period in 2015 in Scotland.

The transportation of nuclear weapons is a reserved matter. The Ministry Of Defence produces guidance entitled “Local Authority and Emergency Services Information (LAESI)” and any environmental risk assessment required in relation to these matters would be the responsibility of the MOD.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-01436 on 9 August 2016. All answers to 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.

Omeprazole is a drug prescribed for reducing stomach acid in the treatment of gastric and duodenal ulcers, dyspepsia and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. In addition, omeprazole is increasingly recommended to prevent the side-effects from treatments for patients with arthritis and chronic pain.Increases in prescribing volumes are consistent with those attributable to an aging population with more complex medical needs. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have recently recommended prescribing omeprazole for patients receiving treatment for arthritis who may require gastro-protection, leading to further increases.The number of people prescribed omeprazole in each year since 2010-11 is set out in the following table:-

The figures include only those patients for whom a Community Health Index (CHI) number has been captured from the patient’s prescription form. CHI capture rate on prescriptions, while improving, is currently less than 100%. There will, therefore, be a degree of discrepancy between actual patient numbers and prescription items dispensed, more so in the earlier years.The Scottish Government has not undertaken any projections for the next five years.