Scottish Public Affairs Update – December 2024

It was another busy year on the policy and public affairs front for BPS in Scotland – here's a snapshot of activity.

BPS Scottish Policy Group goes from strength to strength

Many thanks to members of our policy group for sharing their views and expertise on a range of issues throughout the year – from contributing to Scottish Government consultation responses to representing BPS on external working groups and attending Scottish Parliament Cross Party Groups. 

With members across BPS Scottish Divisions (Clinical, Counselling, Education, Forensic, Health, Neuropsychology) and the BPS Scotland Branch Committee, our policy group quarterly meetings cover a range of pressing education, health and justice policy issues for the psychology profession in Scotland. Recent items on the agenda have included the Scottish Budget, Mental Health Law Reform, Assisted Dying and plans for a BPS Scottish Parliament election manifesto.

For further information and for BPS members interested in becoming involved in the work of the policy group, please contact [email protected].

Scottish Government

Consultation responses

With member colleagues across specialisms, BPS responded to the Scottish Government consultations on weighty issues throughout 2024:

• BPS Response - Children's hearings system redesign (Scottish Government)
• BPS Response - Scottish Government AWIA updates
• BPS Response - 'Moving On' from Care into Adulthood (Scottish Government Consultation)
• BPS Response - Restricting promotions of food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt
• BPS Response - Ending Conversion Practices in Scotland
• BPS Response - Scottish Government Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill consultation

Scottish Government/COSLA Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy

BPS has continued to engage on the strategy and associated delivery plan, including via our membership of Scotland's Mental Health Partnership (SMHP), which has a seat on the Mental Health and Wellbeing Leadership Board. We await detailed progress updates on the strategy's delivery plan 2023-25 actions, including those relating to forensic mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity; and various strands of work in relation to taking trauma-informed approaches.

Through ongoing engagement with the government, we will continue to ensure that the voice of the psychology profession is heard throughout the strategy implementation phase and will soon be sharing views on what we think should feature in the next/second iteration of the strategy's Delivery Plan.

Scottish Budget

On 4 December, Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government Shona Robison presented the Scottish Budget: 2025-26 to the Scottish Parliament.

Headline announcements included:

• £21bn for health and social care – a stated increase of £2bn for frontline NHS boards.
• £200m to reduce waiting lists and delayed discharges.
• Mental health funding to rise by £3m in the 2025-26 budget. 

The latter, however, comes after earlier in-year fiscal reductions to the Scottish Government's budget announced in September 2024, which reduced the overall mental health budget for 2024-25 by £18.8m (from £290m to £271.2m). The 2025-26 budget document uses the figures after the in-year cuts as a baseline rather than the budget set for this year, so we await clarity on the final figures.

BPS will continue to assess the full details behind the headlines and monitor developments over the coming weeks. The 2025-26 budget will follow the standard Parliamentary budget approval process from December 2024 (draft budget presented to parliament) to February 2025 (stage 3 approval). The SNP does not have a majority in the Scottish Parliament, so will need the support of other parties to pass its budget.

BPS gains a new seat at the policy table

In May 2024, BPS was delighted to join the newly established Scottish Government Psychological Therapies Care & Practice Forum. Led by Lynne Taylor, the Scottish Government's Principal Psychology Advisor, it brings a range of organisations whose members deliver psychological therapies together to discuss current and emerging issues of relevance.

Scottish Government Mental Health Capacity Reform Programme/Mental Health Law Reform 

BPS continues to engage with the Scottish Government as its mental health capacity reform programme progresses. Throughout 2024, BPS member representatives participated in Scottish Government workshops addressing the definition and scope of "mental disorder" in the Mental Health Act; and we submitted a BPS response to Adults with Incapacity bill consultation.

BPS looks forward to engaging further as the government takes forward its reform work around Supported Decision Making and Reducing Coercion. We also continue to share insight on associated issues via our seat on the Advisory Group of the Mental Welfare Commission.

Learning Disabilities and Neurodivergence

We kicked off 2024 with an article from BPS in Scotland members featured in the January/February 2024 neurodivergence special edition of The Psychologist: A neuroaffirming approach in Scotland. 

Later in the year, we established a Task & Finish Group – comprising members with expertise in the area – to inform our BPS response to the Learning Disability, Autism & Neurodivergence (LDAN) Bill Consultation.

BPS will continue to ensure that the Scottish Government and Parliamentarians hear the expert voice of psychologists on learning disability and neurodivergence issues throughout 2025 and beyond, including responding to the draft provisions for the LDAN Bill when published.

Scottish Government Programme for Government 2024-25

On 4 September, the Scottish government published its Programme for Government 2024-25, setting out its actions for the coming year and the legislative programme for the next parliamentary year. Commitments included:

• £120m of extra funding for NHS Boards to support improvements in mental health services and treatments. This is also intended to meet the national standard for CAMHS waiting times and clear backlogs by December 2025. 
• Reduce delayed discharges and variation in practice across different parts of Scotland. 
• Reduce workload and hours, bringing forward progress towards a 36-hour week for Agenda for Change staff.
• Implement protections on learning time. 
• Support for families affected by drug and alcohol use – including early intervention for young people at risk, reducing stigma, integrating mental health support, and funding specialist residential rehabilitation services for families and perinatal women.
• Reform the Victim Notification Scheme to operate in a more trauma-informed and person-centred way; and introduce training on trauma for staff across the justice system.
• Hold an independent review of sentencing and penal policy, looking at how both imprisonment and community interventions are used, to reduce reoffending.
• Support education authorities and schools to reduce absence and improve attendance.

On the legislative front, the Scottish Government intends to introduce 14 new Bills, including:

• Adults with Incapacity: The Bill will be a first step to update and modernise the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 in line with developing thinking and international standards on human rights.
• Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews: This will introduce measures that modernise criminal justice processes and provide a legislative framework for Scotland's first national multi-agency Domestic Homicide and Suicide Review model.
• Misogyny: The bill will create new offences related to misogynistic conduct, providing new powers to hold to account perpetrators who harm women and reinforce barriers to an equal society.
• Post-School Education Reform: The bill will reform the post-school funding body landscape.
• Prisoners: The bill will propose changes to the release process for prisoners.

The government will also publish the aforementioned draft provisions for a Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill; and continue to develop proposals for Human Rights and Ending Conversion Practices. 

Throughout 2025, BPS will keep members updated on all developments and opportunities to share the views of our profession, as proposals and legislation take shape.

Scottish Parliament

Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill

In April, BPS received mention in the Criminal Justice Committee Stage 1 Report (p136), in relation to the Bill's proposal to provide automatic statutory protection for the anonymity of complainers in sexual and related offence cases:

A point was made in the written submission [here] from the British Psychological Society that "The rights and freedoms of victims are affected should their name become released into the public domain. This can lead to social stigma, re-traumatising as well as act as a barrier to justice."

BPS continues to monitor developments as the Bill progresses.

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill

BPS submitted a response to the Scottish Parliament Health, Social Care and Sport Committee's call for views on the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill. Our response focused on the potential implications for healthcare professionals should the bill proceed, covering capacity assessments, conscientious objection and safeguards for healthcare professionals.

Scottish Ministers will have a free vote on the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill at Stage 1 of the Parliamentary process; and the Scottish Government will be maintaining a neutral position on the Bill at this Stage.

BPS will keep members updated as the Bill progresses.

Scottish Parliament Cross-Party Groups (CPGs)

In 2024, BPS was represented at various Cross-Party Group meetings, including CPG Autism, CPG Mental Health, CPG on Improving Scotland's Health and CPG on Substance Use.

Looking ahead

We will return from the festive break with a full programme of work, from monitoring legislative developments to responding to consultations – including the forthcoming Scottish Government consultation on its new strategy for long-term conditions, expected January 2025.

We will also continue to highlight the valuable role psychologists play as part of our Psychology Matters campaign. This ongoing programme of work showcases the impact of psychology on the world, through the voices and stories of our members.

With the next Scottish Parliament elections taking place no later than May 2026, we will be working with members across BPS Divisions in Scotland from early 2025 to write a BPS manifesto.

Thank you

Many thanks to the BPS members in Scotland, whose valuable time, insight and expertise has informed all our responses and wider engagement with policy influencers in 2024 – and will continue to do so in 2025. We couldn't do this without you!

Contact

To find out more about our policy and public affairs work in Scotland, view the Scottish Public Affairs Updates on our website or contact June Deasy, Senior Public Affairs Adviser in Scotland ([email protected])