Scottish Government
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Public Health Bill

A Bill to modernise Scotland's public health legislation was published last week.

The Scottish Government's Public Health etc (Scotland) Bill will comprehensively modernise Scotland's public health legislation which dates back to 1889, ensuring that organisations responsible for protecting public health are better equipped to protect Scotland from the threat of infectious diseases and contamination.

Minister for Public Health Shona Robison, said:

"The provisions in this Bill are vital for the future protection of the health of the people of Scotland.

"This is a major piece of legislation which will ensure that appropriate measures are in place to safeguard the public from existing and emerging threats to public health.

"The strengthening of the current legislation will ensure that Scotland has the necessary powers to protect its citizens from the global spread of disease and contamination, the consequences of which we know can be significant.

"In a world that is increasingly accessible, largely due to the ease of overseas travel, this is an issue facing every country. We must endeavour to ensure that modern day Scotland has the necessary legislative powers in place to deal with the wide ranging threats and challenges we face in the 21st century.

"In 2003 there was a SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak which spread from the Far East to Canada and resulted in 774 deaths in 26 countries. We are also seeing the threat of old but re-emerging infections such as TB (tuberculosis).

"The proposals in the Bill have been subject to extensive consultation with a wide range of stakeholders with broad support from them that new public health legislation is long overdue."

The Public Health etc (Scotland) Bill will bring public health legislation into line with many other countries and ensure full compliance with the International Health Regulations 2005 which broaden the scope of action beyond infectious diseases to those caused by contamination (biological, chemical and radiological).

The Bill will also include a statutory duty for the provision of mortuaries and amendments to the statutory nuisance regime of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, similar to the statutory nuisance regime in place in England and Wales.

Dr Harry Burns, Chief Medical Officer, said:

"Our Public Health legislation needs to be modernised to address the threats we face in a modern day world. That could be from issues as wide ranging as pandemic flu to bio terrorism.

"Our preparedness to protect the public will be strengthened by this legislation. It gives clear and transparent roles and responsibilities for health protection."

Key provisions in the Bill include:

* Clarifying the roles and responsibilities of Scottish Ministers, health boards and local authorities for public health protection purposes
* Setting out notification arrangements for infectious diseases, organisms and health risk states
* Updating and strengthening existing powers of health boards to extend the exclusion of people from school and work, where there is a risk to public health, to a wider range of settings
* Introducing new powers to quarantine people in defined circumstances and where there is significant risk to public health, on order from a sheriff, while maintaining personal safeguards
* Updating existing powers to remove and detain in hospital a person suffering from a serious infectious disease or who has been contaminated, where there is a significant risk to public health, on order from a sheriff
* Updating existing powers to require a person to have the least intrusive or invasive medical examination possible to achieve the public health outcome, without consent, in defined circumstances and where there is significant risk to public health, on order from a sheriff
* Introducing a new power to require a person to be disinfected, disinfested or decontaminated, in defined circumstances and where there is significant risk to public health, on order from a sheriff
* (All of the above powers would only be exercised where the person does not accept constraints voluntarily, posing a significant risk to public health).
* Introducing a flexible regulation-making power to prevent, protect against and control the spread of disease and contamination which will give effect to international obligations and recommendations

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