4th Report, 2008 (Session 3)

Annual Report 2007-08

Remit and membership

Remit:

To consider and report on (a) health policy and the NHS in Scotland and other matters falling within the responsibility of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing and (b) matters relating to sport falling within the responsibility of the Minister for Communities and Sport.

Membership:
Helen Eadie
Ross Finnie (Deputy Convener)
Christine Grahame (Convener)
Rhoda Grant
Michael Matheson
Ian McKee
Mary Scanlon
Dr Richard Simpson

Committee Clerking Team:

Clerk to the Committee
Tracey White

Senior Assistant Clerk
Douglas Thornton

Assistant Clerk
David Slater

Annual Report 2007-08

The Committee reports to the Parliament as follows—

1. This report covers the work of the Committee during the parliamentary year 2007-08, from 9 May 2007 to 8 May 2008.

2. The new Health and Sport Committee set itself an ambitious work programme, agreeing to undertake inquiries into health inequalities, the balance of healthcare, mental health services and pathways into sport. It also undertook scrutiny of the Public Health etc. (Scotland) Bill, a piece of legislation aimed at protecting public health from infectious diseases, amending the law on statutory nuisances and regulating the use of sunbeds. In addition, the Committee reported to the Finance Committee on the Scottish Government’s budget for health and sport, employing an innovative approach to budget scrutiny.  It also considered a substantial workload of subordinate legislation.

Inquiries

Health inequalities
3. The Committee agreed that it would focus this inquiry on the implementation of the recommendations of the Scottish Government’s Ministerial Taskforce on Health Inequalities as they relate to cardio-vascular disease. Ahead of the publication of the taskforce’s report, the Committee heard from prominent academics working in this area and from the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland. Work on this inquiry will continue throughout the parliamentary session.  

Balance of healthcare
4. On shifting the balance of healthcare, the Committee took evidence from local health boards and community health partnerships as part of its initial scoping work and subsequently agreed to concentrate on the role of rehabilitation services in the context of the Scottish Government’s delivery framework for adult rehabilitation.  It issued an open call for evidence ahead of oral evidence-taking, provisionally scheduled for the period following the 2008 summer recess.

Mental health services
5. Having considered a number of different approaches to this inquiry, the Committee chose to examine the adequacy of mental health services for young people, with a focus on early identification and intervention. It plans to consult widely with young people, service users and providers, using a range of methods to gather views.

Pathways into sport
6. In the first phase of its pathways into sport inquiry, the Committee discussed personal pathways with Scottish sports achievers. Former Olympians, Rhona Martin, Liz McColgan and Shirley Robertson, shared their experiences from the worlds of curling, distance running and sailing. Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC player-manager, Craig Brewster, offered a perspective both as a professional footballer and coach. The Committee intends to conclude the first phase of this inquiry before the summer recess and move onto a second phase, examining policy issues in the light of these personal experiences, in the forthcoming parliamentary year.

One-off evidence sessions
7. During the year, the Committee held a number of one-off evidence sessions. These included a session with Dr Harry Burns, the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, covering a variety of public health issues; with Nicola Sturgeon MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, on the Scottish Government’s priorities; with Stewart Maxwell MSP, Minister for Communities and Sport, and others, on sportscotland’s future, and with Professor Fred Coalter and representatives of both NHS Health Scotland and sportscotland, to inform the contents of the Committee’s response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the potential legacy of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Legislation

Health and Social Care Bill
8. The Committee considered a legislative consent memorandum on the UK Health and Social Care Bill relating to the regulation of operating department practitioners, dental nurses, dental technicians, clinical dental technicians and orthodontic therapists. It took evidence from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing as well as officials; it recommended to the Parliament that the UK Parliament should consider those aspects of the Bill which cover devolved matters. At time of writing, the Bill is about to complete its Committee Stage in the House of Lords.

Public Health etc. (Scotland) Bill
9. In January 2008, the Committee undertook Stage 1 scrutiny of the Public Health etc. (Scotland) Bill, holding evidence sessions with, amongst others, Shona Robison MSP, Minister for Public Health, and bill team officials; Ken Macintosh MSP; the Sunbed Association; the Law Society of Scotland; medical professionals and academics. In order to hear a broad range of opinions on the Bill the Committee also held a round-table discussion with a variety of interested parties, including environmental health professionals.

10. As a result of this evidence, the Committee produced a wide-ranging Stage 1 report proposing a number of drafting and policy improvements to the Bill, whilst offering its support for the Bill’s general principles. In its response, the Scottish Government announced that it would lodge amendments to address most of the Committee’s concerns. The Bill passed Stage 1 on 17 April 2008 and the Committee began Stage 2 scrutiny on 7 May.

Subordinate Legislation
11. The Committee handled 52 Scottish statutory instruments this year and published 3 reports on these. The Committee took oral evidence from Scottish Government ministers and officials where appropriate.

Budget Scrutiny

12. As well as considering the overall budgets for health and sport, the Committee held a unique evidence session on the drugs and alcohol budget involving the cabinet secretaries for health, local government and justice and members of the Local Government and Communities Committee and the Justice Committee. The Committee’s report to the Finance Committee contained a number of recommendations on drugs and alcohol policy and on the budgetary information that it considered should be produced by the Scottish Government to allow more robust and transparent scrutiny of its financial plans. The Committee was also critical of the timescale for budget scrutiny. 

Petitions

13. The Committee considered a number of petitions during the year and, where possible, subsumed these into ongoing work and inquiries. There were two cases where this did not happen. The Committee agreed to a one-off evidence session on public petition PE808, relating to mental health services for deaf and deafblind people, and wrote to the Scottish Government on PE789, which calls for medical supervision of the dispensing of prescribed methadone. The Committee was consulted by the Public Petitions Committee on one further petition, relating to the availability of cancer drugs. The committees agreed that, owing to time considerations, the Public Petitions Committee should conduct an inquiry into this petition, rather than refer it to the Health and Sport Committee.

Equal Opportunities

14. Equal opportunities consideration is significant in the Committee’s work, with differential access to healthcare a key area of concern. The Committee’s inquiry into health inequalities will examine disparities in healthcare delivery across four areas: those living in deprivation, between men and women, those living in rural areas and between ethnic groups.

15. In seeking evidence to support its work in other areas, including its consideration of legislation, the Committee supplemented its open calls for evidence with targeted approaches designed to ensure the participation of a diverse range of individuals and representative organisations.

Meetings

16. During the parliamentary year (from 9 May 2007 to 8 May 2008), the Committee met 27 times. Of these meetings, 23 were partly in private. The purpose of the vast majority of private items was to consider draft Committee reports or the Committee’s work programme.