Chamber and committees

This is a reserved area and guidance is produced by the Home Office.

The recent HMICS Inspection of firearms licensing compliments the significant progress made in Scotland in improving the effectiveness of‎ suitability assessments in relation to an applicants medical history. It further recognises the joint working betweenThe CMO/Police Scotland Guidance, “GPs Information Sharing Requirements between Police and General Practitioners (GPs) for Grant and Renewal of Firearms/Shotgun Certificates”, was updated in Scotland on 29 March 2016 (see following link).

http://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/cmo/CMO(2016)07.pdf

This highlighted the updated process for firearms/shotgun licensing in Great Britain, which is the responsibility of the Home Office. The review of the process, including pilots, considered the concerns raised by BMA UK about gaps in the previous process, as well as a number of firearms licensing issues raised in a critical report by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC) in August 2015, which included concerns about the sharing of information between GPs and the Police.

The new information sharing arrangements in Scotland were agreed with the BMA UK, RCGP UK, shooting organisations, Police Scotland, Information Commissioners Office, and others.

The Scottish Government are aware that discussions are on-going at a UK level between the Home Office and stakeholders regarding the process of firearms/shotgun certification.

The Scottish Government is funding a national managed clinical network (MCN) on perinatal mental health, which is the first MCN covering mental health in Scotland.

A core remit of the MCN is to determine what training midwives, health visitors, primary care and mental health professionals require in order to meet the needs of the women they see.

The MCN is working closely with NHS Education for Scotland to develop a core curriculum for perinatal mental health and will also make recommendations around how training should be implemented.

Our Health and Social Care Delivery Plan, published in December 2016, sets out our aim for Scotland to provide high quality services with a focus on prevention, early intervention and supported self-management. The plan sits alongside our National Clinical Strategy, which evidenced the need to change the way services are delivered in order to continue to meet the healthcare needs of our population, setting out the framework for developing health services in Scotland for the next 10-20 years.

Within this context a Lymphoedema Short Life Working Group (SLWG) was established to consider improvements in lymphodema care in Scotland.

The Group focussed work on developing an integrated care pathway informed by a tiered model of care and support for people to self-manage. A significant outcome of The SLWG was the production of a proposal for the development of a SIGN Guideline, for the diagnosis, assessment and management of primary and secondary lymphoedema. SIGN are currently considering the proposal for a good practice working guide, and next steps will be considered when the outcome is known.

This data is not centrally held by the Scottish Government.

This data is not centrally held by the Scottish Government.

Good perinatal mental health care is vitally important in improving outcomes for mothers and their young children. This is why we’ve funded a national Managed Clinical Network (MCN) on perinatal mental health. The MCN brings together specialists on perinatal mental health, nursing, maternity, and infant mental health.

The Network is currently taking forward its workplan, which includes:

•  assessing current provision across all levels of service delivery in Scotland, and;
•  in the longer term, ensuring all women, their infants, and families, have equity of access to the perinatal mental health services they need across all of Scotland.

To reflect the fact it is multi-disciplinary in nature, we are funding the Perinatal Managed Clinical Network at £173,000 per year, which is more than double the normal cost of an MCN.

We want all our children and young people to behave in a respectful manner towards their peers and staff and no teacher should have to suffer abuse. Our refreshed guidance on preventing and managing schools exclusions, published last year, includes guidance on managing challenging behaviour.

We also published the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research 2016 in December 2017. This is based on the views of head teachers, teachers and support staff at both primary and secondary schools across Scotland. The research found that the majority of pupils are well behaved and a credit to their school.

The Coastal Communities Fund (CCF) is a scheme that we have inherited from the UK Government as part of the overall funding settlement agreed in the Fiscal Framework. The CCF is currently a competitive scheme with no guarantee of success and we understand that some coastal parts of Scotland have not so far received any CCF funding.

I am currently considering what the best way forward is in future and in the meantime I have committed to supporting the current projects through to completion.

We are maintaining the expanded Small Business Bonus Scheme, removing the rates burden for 100,000 premises and, as announced in the draft budget, we will continue to fund the most competitive business rates relief package anywhere in the UK.

We are delivering a record £2.4 billion investment in enterprise and skills and £600 million to broadband. Spending on business research and development in Scotland has topped £1 billion for the first time ever, and there has been a 10.1% growth in Business Enterprise Research and Development spend for Scotland versus 3.3% for the UK.

Finally, we are on course to deliver the new South of Scotland Enterprise Agency. In advance of the legislative process, we are putting in place an interim economic partnership so the area benefits from a new approach. In our draft budget on 14 December, we set out plans for £10m to support the additional activities driving forward inclusive growth and supporting communities across the region.