Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with SEPA, Scottish Water, local authorities and others to ensure that those on private water supplies are supported through the unusually dry conditions we experienced this summer. In particular, the Scottish Government agreed to provide additional funding to local authorities in order to mitigate the cost of providing emergency supplies of water.

The Scottish Government continues to monitor the water scarcity situation carefully and, as we do following any significant disruption, will carefully review the issues that arose during the summer to see what lessons can be learned. In particular we will consider how private water supplies can be made more resilient to unusual events in future.

In relation to infrastructure improvements, the Scottish Government funds a non-means tested grant of up to £800 per household to support improvements to private water supplies. Advice on the improvements required and how to access the funding should be sought from the relevant local authority. In relation to public supplies, Scottish Water continues to invest in water supplies, including in rural areas, to ensure improve the quality and resilience of services.

We are currently consulting on the investment priorities for the water industry for the period 2021-27 and welcome views on how infrastructure should be provided in rural areas. The consultation closes on 28 September 2018.

There are no plans to remove the ban on the sale of raw milk in Scotland.

Raw drinking milk (and cream) has historically been recognised as a high risk to public health due to its association with a number of food poisoning outbreaks, mainly Salmonella, Campylobacter and E. coli O157 infection, and 12 potentially associated deaths in Scotland.

To mitigate this risk mandatory pasteurisation of raw cows’ drinking milk was introduced in Scotland in 1983, and extended to drinking milk from all farmed animals in 2006. Since these controls were put in place illnesses linked to the consumption of raw milk in Scotland have virtually disappeared.

Food Standards Scotland advises Ministers on food safety matters and have confirmed that mandatory pasteurisation is consistent with the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food advice, who recommend pasteurisation as the key critical control point in the prevention of milk borne disease. It is also in line with the recommendations of the E.coli Task Force Report from 2001, commissioned after 21 people died in a major food poisoning outbreak in Wishaw in 1996, which highlighted the raw milk ban in Scotland as a positive step in protecting consumers from the risks of E.coli O157. Mandatory pasteurisation also protects the wider community, as milk borne pathogens such as E.coli O157 are known to be transmitted through person to person contact.

The most recent scientific review, published in January 2015, was conducted by experts from the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) Panel on Biological Hazards. This scientific opinion on public health risks associated with raw milk in the EU concludes that raw milk can be a source of harmful bacteria – mainly Campylobacter, Salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) - including E. coli O157 - and Listeria monocytogenes. The EFSA opinion identifies further hazards but these are not considered to be a significant risk in Scotland or the UK.

Given the historical evidence and weight of expert scientific opinion in favour of mandatory pasteurisationto protect public health, there are currently no plans to lift the ban on direct sales of raw drinking milk in Scotland. http://www.foodstandards.gov.scot/business-and-industry/industry-specific-advice/dairy

A near zero carbon building is a building that has a good standard of energy efficiency, which in the Energy Efficient Scotland Route Map we define as at least EPC C where technically feasible and cost effective, and where practicable also uses low carbon technologies, or energy from low carbon sources, to further limit the emissions associated with its use. Further information can be found in the Energy Efficient Scotland Route Map, which can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/Publications/2018/05/1462 .

A monitoring framework for Energy Efficient Scotland is being developed. Currently progress on domestic energy efficiency improvements is tracked using the Scottish House Condition Survey, which is published annually and can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/Publications/2017/12/5401 . Emissions from Scotland’s buildings are reported annually through the Scottish Green House Gas Emissions Inventory, which can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/Publications/2018/06/6601 .

The advice that has been issued since the introduction of the smoking ban in relation to Bothies has been consistent and is as follows.

Bothies are not listed under schedule 1 of the smoke-free Regulations and therefore are not covered by the legislation. Whilst it could be argued that some definitions contained in schedule 1 could perhaps capture bothies, in our view it would be stretching the interpretation particularly with regard to criminal offences.

There is of course nothing to prevent the owners or those in charge of bothies to impose their own smoke-free policies and we would encourage them to do so.

In June we published an updated Tobacco Control Action Plan seting specific actions to address health inequalities and cut smoking rates in the communities where people find it most difficult to quit. A link to the plan is attached.

http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2018/06/9483

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Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) is a rare, hereditary skin disorder affecting 1 in 250,000 people. Specialist UV protective clothing is not available on prescription for people with rare genetic skin disorders such as XP. Only drugs and devices included on the Scottish Drug Tariff can be prescribed by an appropriate health care professional.

With regards to the process, it is for the manufacturers of medicines and devices to consider submitting their products for inclusion in the Scottish Drug Tariff based on their business and commercial operations. Any medicine or device shall only be included in the Scottish Drug Tariff following an appropriate assessment including the clinical benefits and cost effectiveness.

Local prescribing formularies are put in place by the NHS Board and are based on range of issues including the local general population, prevalence, clinical decisions and appropriateness for the patient concerned.

As explained in my answer to S5W-17582 on 23 July 2018, the treatment and supervision for this condition is highly specialised and is best delivered through specialist hospital services which can provide expert advice to fit the particular needs of the patient concerned.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

The Scottish Government is investing an additional £20 million per year, for the lifetime of this Parliament, to help reduce the harms caused by alcohol and drugs. We will be writing to stakeholders in the coming weeks with details of how this investment will be allocated to support new and innovative approaches which responds to the needs of patients in a more joined up person centred way.

Rates of addiction are not recorded however data is published on problematic drug and alcohol use.

a] https://isdscotland.scot.nhs.uk/Health-Topics/Drugs-and-Alcohol-Misuse/Publications/2014-10-28/2014-10-28-Drug-Prevalence-Report.pdf

b] https://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Health/scottish-health-survey/Publications

Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships have clear responsibilities for tackling problem alcohol and drug use and promoting recovery and should collectively demonstrate progress against both national and locally relevant alcohol and drug outcomes.

The Scottish Government National Support Team take forward key projects to deliver national strategic priorities. It is also available to support capacity building and sharing of learning and good practice amongst Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) in order to promote the delivery of our national strategic priorities. Examples include:

• National data collection, and support for the use of that data to progress against core outcomes;
•  Support through implementation planning for the Drug and Alcohol Information System (DAISY), including adaptions to local delivery systems and IT infrastructure, to ensure full compliance with data entry and national reporting requirements;
• A whole population approach to addressing problem alcohol use, including Minimum Unit Pricing;
• Providing £1.326 million funding to the Scottish Drugs Forum, Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs, Crew and the Scottish Recovery Consortium to strengthening engagement with the sector in relation to policy objectives and workforce development;
•  Developing plans to reduce drug and alcohol deaths and harm.

ADPs are strongly encouraged to use the national support that is available to them as well as utilising local expertise.

The Scottish Government provides funding for sporting facilities through the National Agency for Sport, sport scotland. Since 2007, sport scotland has invested over £168m in sporting facilities across Scotland through their Sports Facilities Fund (SSF).

The facilities already in place, along with future plans, are driven by community demand and encompass all kinds of facilities rather than purely all weather pitches. The guidelines for the SFF were updated earlier this year and can be found at https://sportscotland.org.uk/funding/sport-facilities-fund/ . They now highlight that sport scotland want to support projects that clearly demonstrate an impact on one or more of their priorities for improvement. These priorities include ‘Equalities and Inclusion’, highlighting projects that “widen access, provide opportunity or remove barriers to participation in areas of socio-economic disadvantage or rural parts of Scotland” (as well as another bullet point on projects that widen access for under represented groups that share protected characteristics).

Recent examples of all weather pitches funded through SFF in the Aberdeenshire area include:

- £200,000 awarded to Westdyke Community Club in 2017 for a project to install an all weather football pitch at Lawsondale Sports Centre.

- £186,600 awarded to Aboyne Tennis Club in 2017 for a project to upgrade court surfaces and install floodlights.

- £100,000 awarded to Fetterangus Community Association in 2018 for a sports pavilion project providing good quality changing for Buchan Ladies, the local women and girls football club.

The Microsegmentation of the Autism Spectrum Report was commissioned as a recommendation of the Scottish Strategy for Autism. The Scottish Government is committed to implementing the findings and recommendations of this report, published on 22 March 2018, in partnership with Integration Joint Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships. The report is available from the following link: https://www.gov.scot/Resource/0053/00533382.pdf .

In response to the question “what the recognised qualifications are for each microsegment”. Following clarification of this question it has been established that the question is “What is the criteria for each microsegment” The criteria is explained as follows:

The eight segments have been developed from the survey data of a sample of approximately 1,000 individuals, combined with the evidence base from the literature. The criteria for each segment are as set out below. The criteria within each main segment for with or without additive risks are also explained below.

Segment 1: Asperger profile. No ID.

Criteria: Individuals who either have a diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome or who are diagnosed as having an autism spectrum disorder, with clinically normal language and intellectual development, and without severe early onset symptoms.

Segment 2: Autism/other ASD profile. No ID.

Criteria: Individuals with a diagnosis of childhood autism, atypical autism, or PDD-NOS, or autism spectrum disorder, but without intellectual disability.

Segment 3: Autism/other ASD profile. Mild ID (scores 50-70).

Criteria: Individuals with a diagnosis of childhood autism, atypical autism, or PDD-NOS, or autism spectrum disorder, with mild intellectual disability, that is, with standard scores for intelligence and adaptive functioning falling in the range 50-70.

Segment 4: Autism/other ASD profile. Moderate/severe ID (scores 50-70).

Criteria: Individuals with a diagnosis of childhood autism, atypical autism, or PDD-NOS, or autism spectrum disorder, with moderate or severe intellectual disability, that is, with standard scores for intelligence and adaptive functioning falling below 50.

Within each of the four main segments there are two divisions:

A: those who meet criteria for the profile applying to that segment, but who do not have additive risks, that is, who do not have co-occurring conditions in addition to their autism spectrum disorder.

B: those who meet criteria for the profile applying to that segment, but who do have additive risks, that is, who have one or more co-occurring conditions in addition to their autism spectrum disorder, such as ADHD, obsessive compulsive disorder or any other diagnosable mental health disorder.