Chamber and committees

It is intended that the South of Scotland Enterprise Agency will be an executive Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) with a statutory board. Appointments will therefore be made via a process regulated by the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland and supported by the Scottish Government’s Public Appointments Team. Whilst appointments cannot be made until legislation has passed stage one of its parliamentary process, our aim is to have a Chair in place before the Agency comes into effect.

Business engagement is vital to the success of the new agency and we expect organisations such as Chambers of Commerce to play an active part in discussions to shape it. Our engagement with businesses throughout Phase 2 of the Enterprise and Skills Review demonstrated their support for the proposed agency and the opportunity it can bring for the south of Scotland. Going forward, we will continue to engage with Chambers of Commerce to ensure business perspectives are taken into account.

In line with the commitment given in the Scottish Government’s Enterprise and Skills Review, the Government intends to establish a new public body, the South of Scotland Enterprise Agency. We are planning for the new agency to become effective from 1 April 2020 and decisions on the bill timetable will be taken in the context of the Government’s overall legislative programme. In advance, we want to ensure that the South of Scotland benefits from a new approach and are working with stakeholders to put interim arrangements into place.

The recommendations of the 2015 Review of Public Health in Scotland (published in February 2016) identified the need for "a single, over-arching population health strategy for Scotland and clear priorities". This recommendation was translated into the Health and Social Care Delivery Plan (published in December 2016) as a commitment to "create a clear set of national public health priorities for Scotland as a whole". We aim to establish these national public health priorities in partnership with SOLACE and COSLA by the end of 2017.

There is currently no national waiting time treatment guarantee for accessing eating disorder services (for adults or children and adolescents).

Tackling obesity is a top priority for this Government, there are no quick fixes and it’s important we take the time to get our approach right. We will launch a wide ranging consultation this autumn which will take into account the views of stakeholders and interested parties, and thereafter publish a final strategy.

There is currently no separate national waiting time treatment guarantee for accessing eating disorder services (for adults or children and adolescents).

Clinical practice is a matter for clinicians and service delivery for Health Boards and Integration Authorities. Clinicians will use up to date clinical guidelines in providing care and treatment for eating disorders, including the recent NICE guidelines. This would also include the Recommendations for Management and Treatment of Eating Disorders in Scotland (2006); and Royal College of Psychiatrists Management of Really Sick Patients with Anorexia Nervosa under 18 (2012) and for adults (2014).

The Scottish Government has no current plans to replicate in Scotland the Access and Waiting Time Standard for Children and Young People with an Eating Disorder in England

Tackling obesity is a top priority for this Government and we will consult on our new diet and obesity strategy this year. This will propose an ambitious, coherent package of action that will start to deliver the change we need to see. It is important we take the time to get our approach right. We will therefore continue to engage closely with a wide range of stakeholders, including the food and drink industry, on their views of action most likely to secure improvement.