Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-27801 on 24 March 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website; the search facility for which can be found at: https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

Yes. The Scottish Government remains fully committed to meeting its UNCRPD obligations. The Scottish Government’s commitment to the principles of the UNCRPD is set out in its disability action plan which was published in December 2016.

Disabled people are also entitled to the rights set out in other human rights treaties, together with the protections established as a matter of domestic law by the Human Rights Act 1998, the Scotland Act 1998 and the Equality Act 2010.

Across the Scottish Government there are numerous advisory groups, forums, partnerships, boards and task forces. We do not hold a central record of these and they will each be subject to local governance arrangements. As part of implementing open government principles, we will consider what guidance might be developed to support officials across teams to follow these principles in the context of the engagement they are undertaking.

Due to the current unprecedented circumstances the work of National Advisory Committees is being paused to enable health and social care professionals to focus on providing care, support and treatment to people in connection to COVID-19.

National Records of Scotland are responsible for publishing the annual Scottish drug related death statistics. We are currently awaiting details from them with regards to the date of publication for the 2019 statistics. A list of their forthcoming publications can be found here - https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/future-publications .

The requested information is not held centrally as ISD do not collect job type data on support staff, including hospital cleaners.

‘Necrosis’ is a broad term indicating cell death and it is not possible to identify the correct ICD-10 diagnosis codes without having additional detail.

The information regarding how much has been spent on referrals to private drug rehab facilities each year since 2007 is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

We have invested almost £800 million to tackle problem alcohol and drug use since 2008. For 2020-21 the Scottish Government is investing up to £95 million for reducing the harms from drug and alcohol use. Decisions on the configuration of local services, including residential rehabilitation, as well as the level of resource, funding allocated and referral to them are made locally across Scotland.

101 inspections have been undertaken by SEPA at hospitals across the country with respect to their on-site waste storage facilities, since the contract with Healthcare Environmental Services Ltd ended.

Inspections of off-site storage areas have also taken place but the associated figures are not held centrally.

SEPA has received 5 allegations of breaches of protocol at hospitals since the contract with Healthcare Environmental Services ended. Some of these referenced waste storage facilities at more than one hospital site.