Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not provide such guidance to local authorities, but has allocated funding of over £305,000 (2015-16) to the Scottish Disability Equality Forum to work with and support access panels across Scotland to strengthen the voice of disabled people at a local level.

The Scottish Government published statutory guidance in August 2011 and since then Glasgow City Council and Fife Council have made substantive representations regarding HMO licence legislation and guidance.

Glasgow City Council and Fife Council have expressed concerns about the guidance relating to the overprovision of HMO licences.

The Scottish Government published statutory guidance in 2011 on the exercise of a local authority’s functions in relation to HMO licensing and local authorities must have regard to this. It has no plans at present to review guidance or the legislation.

The Scottish Government publishes annual statistics relating to HMOs in Scotland, including information on licences revoked or suspended each year. This can be found on the Scottish Government webpages at:

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/HSfS/HousesMultipleOccupation

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

It is for local authorities in granting HMO licences to set the standards required in their area in respect of HMOs. Failure by the HMO owner or agent to comply with obligations to owners of neighbouring properties may result in action being taken against them by the local authority under housing, nuisance or building standards legislation.

Through the Hepatitis C Action Plan the Scottish Government invested in the training of NHS staff around hepatitis C. In response to action point 3 of the action plan, NHS Education Scotland (NES) developed Hepatitis C Workforce Education Development: An Outline of Requirements in 2010. The purpose of this document was to support NHS boards in building action plans for facilitating, delivering and evaluating workforce education development for staff. NES also published A Route to Enhanced Competence in Hepatitis C in 2010, which provided staff and their supervisor/manager with a structured approach to assessing, demonstrating and developing their ability to carry out their role in delivering hepatitis C services. NES continues to provide a range of educational materials on blood borne viruses.

In addition the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidance Network has produced clinical guidance on the management of hepatitis C, which was most recently updated in 2013, which also covers primary care.

Throughout the life of the Hepatitis C Action Plan there was a significant increase in testing for hepatitis C within primary care, reflecting an increasing knowledge and awareness of the infection by GP practices.

There has been significant reform to the welfare system by the UK Government since the publication of the first Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework document. HIV Scotland and Hepatitis Scotland published a joint report in 2014 on the impact of welfare reform on people living with HIV and hepatitis in Scotland. The report concluded: “the welfare reforms being implemented at a UK level are not appropriate in a Scottish context, and not at all suitable for people with blood borne viruses. The reforms are causing significant uncertainty and anxiety, worsening the mental and physical health of people in grave need, and adding to the burden carried by specialist services that are already stretched and oversubscribed.”

In 2011 the Hepatitis C Action Plan was superseded by the Sexual Heath and Blood Borne Virus Framework (2011-15). This framework is currently being updated and the new document will be published in summer 2015. This document will be an update to the existing framework rather than a replacement. In the process of updating the framework we have consulted with, and sought input from, third sector organisations who work directly with patients. The Scottish Government continues to fund and support Hepatitis Scotland as the Scottish national third sector organisation for viral hepatitis. Hepatitis Scotland serves as the voice of people affected by hepatitis and is involved in the work of the framework through a variety of routes, including membership of ministerial and executive groups. The Scottish Government has also received input and feedback from the Hepatitis C Trust, the UK national charity for hepatitis C which is founded and run by people with personal experience of hepatitis C, and from Waverley Care, a Scottish charity delivering services to individuals affected by hepatitis C and HIV.