Chamber and committees

Drug & Alcohol Waiting Times data gathers information on the type of treatment provided. Table 1 provides monthly data on numbers receiving residential treatment. Latest available data is until June 2020.

Table 1 Residential Rehabilitation treatments started in 2020, by month during which treatment commenced, Scotland, January to June 2020

The Scottish Public Health Observatory publish details on their website on prescribing for opioid dependency and on methadone patient estimates. This information can be found here - https://www.scotpho.org.uk/behaviour/drugs/data/treatment-for-drug-misuse/ .

With regards methadone prescribing, the information published is recorded in terms of dispensed items and is broken down by year rather than calendar month.

Table 3 from the attached link provides information on dispensed items. This was last updated in September 2020.

https://www.scotpho.org.uk/media/2010/201920-prescribing-for-opioid-dependence-in-scotland.xls

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Scottish Health Service Costs are published annually by Public Health Scotland. Data for 2019-20, which includes Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services spending, is expected to be published on 19 January 2021.

Data collected on the Number of Urgent Suspicion of Cancer referrals is management information which is not validated and is not currently published. However we are currently working with Public Health Scotland to develop data set that will include referral data.

This unvalidated data indicates that Urgent Suspicion of Cancer symptomatic referrals have now increased from March 2020 and for week ending 18 October are 4% higher than the pre lockdown level.

Officials have regular engagement with NHS Health Boards to ensure Urgent Suspicion of Cancer referrals are closely monitored and provide enhanced support where required.

The Scottish Government has received a considerable amount of correspondence concerning care homes since April 2019 . Most of the correspondence has come from care home relatives who have raised a range of issues, mostly relating to the impact of the pandemic on care homes. Some people have referred to the human rights of their relatives.

We have clear standards regarding the quality of care that everyone should be entitled to across our health and social care services and these may be viewed at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/health-social-care-standards-support-life/pages/1/ . The Health and Social Care Standards set out what we should expect when using health, social care or social work services in Scotland and these seek to provide better outcomes for everyone and to ensure that individuals are treated with respect and dignity and that the human rights we are all entitled to are upheld.

A framework of legislation protects the rights of individuals receiving care. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that any person who has COVID—whether they are in a care home or their own home—should be treated as an individual with their human rights fully respected, protected and fulfilled.

The Annual Reports for the NHS Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Indemnity Scheme (CNORIS) provide details of the scheme along with the number and value of claims made during each financial year and historical values.

The annual reports, which also cover information available in terms of categorisation of claims, are published online at: https://clo.scot.nhs.uk/our-services/cnoris/frequently-asked-questions.aspx

Soft play centres are currently required to remain closed by law. We will soon be publishing provisional guidance for the re-opening of soft play centres to support soft play businesses to prepare for the day they can re-open.

The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture confirmed on 9 October that part of a new £11 million Contingency Fund would be used to support the soft play sector. More detail will be announced shortly.

On 24 September 2020 the Scottish Government published its draft Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP) which sets out a clear vision for our future infrastructure from 2021-22 to 2025-26. The draft IIP is available on the Scottish Government website at https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-mission-local-impact-draft-infrastructure-investment-plan-scotland-202122-202526/ .

This draft Infrastructure Investment Plan details around £24 billion of major projects and large programmes that are ready to be confirmed now. Across Lothian region, our future investment will target improvements in Education, including four new schools that have already been confirmed under the Learning Estate Investment Programme, the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City (ESESC) Deal including improvements to the Sheriffhall roundabout, and investment in healthcare facilities, including the Edinburgh Cancer Centre and Livingston Elective Care Centre. Also as part of the ESESC Deal the Scottish Government will support regional housing delivery through working with local authorities to unlock key strategic sites; these include Edinburgh’s Granton Waterfront (City of Edinburgh Council), Blindwells (East Lothian Council), Shawfair (Midlothian Council) and Calderwood and Winchburgh (West Lothian Council).

Scottish Ministers have received 56 letters or emails concerning Spaces for People projects in Edinburgh which cover a range of issues.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering improvements to Sheriffhall as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.

Following publication of draft Orders for the scheme, a significant number of representations, including objections, were received. As with all trunk road schemes, it is only right that those affected have an opportunity to express their views and this is a statutory obligation that cannot be ignored.

Transport Scotland is currently negotiating with objectors to try and resolve objections where possible. However, should Transport Scotland be unsuccessful in removing all objections, then a public local inquiry may be required. As with all trunk road projects this is the appropriate statutory forum for considering objections received and not withdrawn.

Delivery of the scheme itself can only commence if it is approved under the relevant

statutory procedures and thereafter a timetable for its progress can be set.