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Council tax is a local tax and responsibility for collection and enforcement rests with individual local authorities. Ministers are encouraging local government to adopt the best practice in debt assistance and collection identified in the Collaborative Council Tax Collection Guide, published jointly by Stepchange and The Improvement Service, whilst the Council Tax Reduction Scheme means nobody should have to meet a council tax liability they cannot be expected to afford.

I met with The Educational Institute of Scotland Further Education Lecturers Association (EIS-FELA) on 10 May to discuss, among other things, the £46 million reduction in funding for colleges and universities.

The Scottish Government encourages wide use of the PickUpMyPeriod app to highlight where free period products are available both within and outwith the scope of the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act 2021.

Any organisation that offers publicly accessible free period product pick-up points can request, through the app or myperiod.org.uk website, to be listed as a location. This includes non-public authority facilities, a number of which are already included as locations on the map.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-18105 on 5 June 2023. The Scottish Government expects all NHS Boards in Scotland to take note of the Scottish Health Technologies Group (SHTG) recommendations, published on 23 March 2023, and take steps to ensure that any woman who requires access to placental growth factor (PlGF) based tests as part of her maternity care can do so. We wrote to NHS Boards on 23 March, immediately following publication of the SHTG guidance, and will write to NHS Boards again in June, to understand how implementation of PlGF testing is progressing.

NHS Boards are expected to work towards implementation of PlGF-based testing locally, as decisions on which of the four recommended PlGF-based tests to use will depend on local factors, including analyser availability, geography and cost. The SHTG guidance is clear in its economic evaluation that use of PlGF-based testing can drive cost savings as well as improving outcomes for women and their babies, particularly where a diagnosis of preterm pre-eclampsia is less clear.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Scottish Government is fully committed to supporting Gillian Mackay MSP's Abortion Services Safe Access Zones (Scotland) Bill. To this end, the First Minister met with Ms Mackay during his first full week in office to recommit his unwavering support.

In addition, I have continued the regular series of meetings with Ms Mackay and her team established by Maree Todd, when Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health and Sport. During these meetings, Ms Mackay and I share progress updates and explore any additional areas where Scottish Government support would be useful.

A Safe Access Zones Bill team within Scottish Government has been working closely with Ms Mackay to progress the Bill, including supporting a programme of stakeholder engagement and key aspects of policy development.

Implementation of placental growth factor (PLGF)-based tests for pre-eclampsia does not feature in the Women’s Health Plan . Professor Anna Glasier OBE, Women’s Health Champion has not, therefore, met with NHS Scotland, the Scottish Perinatal Network, patient groups or the diagnostics sector to discuss this. Professor Glasier set out her initial priorities in our Women’s Health Plan Report on Progress and has met with various stakeholders on a number of other areas of women’s health, mainly related to the priorities of the Women’s Health Plan.

The Scottish Government expects all NHS Boards in Scotland to take note of the Scottish Health Technologies Group (SHTG) recommendations, published on 23 March 2023, and take steps to ensure that any woman who requires access to placental growth factor (PlGF) based tests as part of her maternity care can do so. We wrote to NHS Boards on 23 March, immediately following publication of the SHTG guidance, and will write to NHS Boards again in June, to understand how implementation of PlGF testing is progressing.

As with the development of all new trade arrangements, the Scottish Government has sought to engage with the UK Government at Ministerial and official level throughout the negotiation process for accession to the CPTPP to ensure that Scottish interests are identified and taken into account.

The Scottish Government’s position, as set out in the Vision for Trade, is that human rights impact assessments, including workers’ rights, should be carried out at the outset of preparations for Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations and updated throughout the process. It is disappointing that this was not undertaken prior to accession to CPTPP.

We will continue to make the case that FTAs, including CPTPP, should be used to create constructive engagement on human rights, including workers’ rights, with a view to raising standards, establishing or promoting forums for dialogue and sharing best practice.

The New Deal includes collaborative work on a Fiscal Framework for Local Government, alongside a new Partnership Agreement. Following the First Minister’s introductory meeting with COSLA President, Councillor Morrison, on 31 March, work on the Partnership Agreement has progressed at pace. The Scottish Government has also undertaken intensive collaborative work on a Fiscal Framework for local government and will continue to work with COSLA over the coming months to agree further substantial aspects of a Fiscal Framework alongside the Partnership Agreement.

The workforce short life working group set up through the Managed Service Network for Children and Young People with Cancer (MSN CYPC) last met on 5 April 2023 and will next meet on week commencing 19 June 2023.

The Managed Service Network for Children and Young People with Cancer (MSN CYPC), has not received any additional funding from Scottish Government to carry out a robust workforce review and mapping exercise of posts across the network. The exercise is being completed with support from the Scottish Cancer Network, using existing resources.