Chamber and committees

Occupational health and safety legislation is reserved to the UK Government and regulation is the responsibility of the Health and Safety Executive.

Employers have a statutory duty of care to their employees to carry out occupational risk assessments and put in place appropriate mitigation measures.

The Scottish Government funds the Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives, part of NHS Health Scotland, to provide a wide range of advice for employers to promote health, safety and wellbeing in the workplace. This includes information on health and safety as well as managing a supporting sickness absence and return to work.

Compliance with the public sector equality duty is a matter for individual public bodies. The Scottish specific duties set by Scottish Ministers set a framework which helps public bodies to comply with the duty. This includes a requirement to set equality outcomes every four years and regularly publish reports on progress. Scottish Ministers also have a duty to support the better performance of the public sector equality duty which is actioned through the Scottish National Equality Improvement Project (SNEIP). As part of the SNEIP 2013-17 an event was held on 10 September 2015 on gathering and using employee data. The event was aimed at improving performance and used case studies to share learning and journeys of improvement. Progress on meeting the public sector equality duty is monitored by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The Scottish Government has interpreted this question to relate only to occupational lung health guidance specific to NHS Scotland and not wider guidelines that fall to agencies such as the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).

In diagnosing people with occupational lung conditions we expect NHS Boards to take account of relevant national and local clinical guidelines and standards, including those in Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) Guideline 153 on the management of asthma and National Institute for Health & Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard QS25.

SIGN guidelines are derived from a systematic review of the scientific literature and are designed to accelerate the translation of new knowledge into practice. SIGN updates published guideline when important new evidence is identified. Any group or individual may propose a guideline topic to SIGN and their selection process is detailed at: http://www.sign.ac.uk/about/proposal.html

The British Thoracic Society (BTS) works with its members and healthcare professionals to develop and issue guidelines regarding standards of care for people who have respiratory diseases. The updating of these guidelines are the responsibility of the appropriate reviewing body within BTS.

While policies, frameworks and resources are provided by the Scottish Government, individual NHS Boards are responsible for planning and funding services in their area and for recruiting the staff to deliver them. It is for NHS Boards to determine their workforce requirements, including provision of training and continuous professional development opportunities, based on the clinical needs and service developments in their area.

Respiratory Managed Clinical Networks (RMCN) exist in most NHS Boards in Scotland. They work to improve the respiratory health and quality of life of patients, ensuring that they have equitable access to high quality respiratory services.

The Respiratory National Advisory Group (RNAG) is an overarching group for the RMCNs to identify and discuss improvements in respiratory care and includes third sector representation.

The Scottish Government has recognised that there needs to be a staged approach to the elimination of hepatitis C. Following advice from the Hepatitis C Treatment and Therapies Group, the Scottish Government Group has set a target to reduce hepatitis C related liver failure incidence between 2015 and 2020 by 75%. This is one of the most aggressive approaches of any country in the world in relation to the elimination of hepatitis C as a serious public health concern. This target and Scotland’s approach to the management of hepatitis C is being reviewed annually by the Hepatitis C Treatment and Therapies Group and the next meeting is planned for Summer 2017.

The Air Quality in Scotland website www.scottishairquality.co.uk contains a wide range of information on air quality for all members of the general public. Specific educational resources on the website are Air Pollution Detectives, aimed at 8-11 year olds and Clear the Air aimed at 12-15 year olds.

Through the website, members of the public can also sign up to the Know and Respond service which provides voicemail, SMS or email alerts when air pollution levels are forecast to be high, along with advice on action that can be taken to minimise the impacts on health.

In addition, the Learn About Air package which is operated by SEPA includes, amongst its resources, ten mobile air quality sensors which are loaned to schools. The sensors are sited to provide information about air pollution levels during drop off and pick up times, illustrating the impacts of parked and idling vehicles outside schools.

Further information on Learn About Air can be found at www.Learnaboutair.com

Under the Environment Act 1995 and associated regulations, local authorities are required to declare Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) and develop action plans where air quality objectives are not being met. The Scottish Government provides practical and financial support to those authorities currently implementing action plans. These plans contain a wide range of measures designed to not only directly improve local air quality but also to raise awareness amongst the public of the health impacts of poor air quality.

Cleaner Air for Scotland - The Road to a Healthier Future, published in November 2015, sets out a comprehensive series of actions which are intended to deliver further air quality improvements and protect the health of all citizens of Scotland.

Under the Environment Act 1995 and associated regulations, local authorities are required to declare Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) and develop action plans where air quality objectives are not being met. The Scottish Government provides practical and financial support to those authorities currently implementing action plans.

There is no specific legislation covering indoor air quality. However the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 focuses on the health and safety of buildings, the conservation of fuel and power within buildings and sustainable development.

Under the statutory minimum tolerable standard for all housing including private lets and owner-occupied housing, homes must be substantially free from rising damp or penetrating damp.

Local authorities have a statutory duty to address any housing which falls below the tolerable standard. Section 85 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 requires local authorities to ensure that houses which do not meet the tolerable standard are closed, demolished or brought up to the tolerable standard within such period as is reasonable. Local authorities have powers to require owners (including those who rent out their properties to tenants) to carry out work needed to bring a house up to standard, and discretionary powers to provide advice and assistance to property owners where it is needed.

Private landlords also have a statutory duty to ensure that the homes they let are wind and watertight and in all other respects reasonably fit for human habitation. Private Sector tenants can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Housing and Property Chamber), who have powers to enforce landlords’ duties. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 also provided further powers for local authorities to refer cases to the Tribunal on behalf of tenants.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-08571 on 18 April 2017. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx