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The number of women and girls diagnosed with toxic shock syndrome caused by tampon use is not held centrally. Information on the number of female patients aged 16 and over who have been diagnosed with toxic shock syndrome from any cause in an inpatient setting is shown in the following table.

Number of female patients aged 16 and older who were admitted to hospital with toxic shock syndrome from any cause (ICD-10 code A48.3), Financial years 2006-07 – 2015-16.

Yes. The group will consider the provision of sanitary items in schools.

Besides Government, the membership of the group also includes the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, Association of Directors of Education in Scotland and Education Scotland.

The group agreed that the guidance will aim to:

Outline a framework for an effective toilet provision and management strategy that caters for all children and young people in our schools. The approach should be easy for schools to adopt but also ensure that children’s rights to hygienic, safe, respectful and private facilities are met.

Promote the implementation of a universal toilet provision and management strategy with the aim of maintaining a high standard of toilet provision and management practice standards in all Scottish schools.

Set a precedent for good toilet provision and management practice standards in future new build and refurbishment projects.

We will publish the new ten-year Mental Health Strategy in the coming weeks. The content of the final Strategy has been informed by careful consideration of all of the feedback the Government has received, including from individuals, organisations, and the Health And Sport Committee.

There are a number of measures in place to ensure that children and young people living in families facing homelessness or living in temporary accommodation get the support they need to make the most of the opportunities that learning provides. For example, the Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Order 2014, sets a number of standards that need to be met in temporary accommodation for households with children. This includes the proximity to the school that any child is attending.

The Scottish Government has also published guidance on Meeting the Best Interests of Children Facing Homelessness which emphasises adopting the GIRFEC approach of multi-agency working and provides guidance on particular issues face by children living in households facing homelessness. This can be accessed at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/BuiltEnvironment/Housing/homeless/futurework/homelesschildren. This makes it clear that local authorities should assess and identify factors that may impact on a child’s well-being with particular reference to education.

Further, under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2014 (as amended), local authorities are under a duty to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of children and young people for whom they are responsible.

There is support in place for young people facing financial barriers, to get the support they need to stay in education and increase their long term chances of getting a job. For example, Further Education students are able to receive a non-repayable bursary. Scottish domiciled students studying an undergraduate degree in Scotland can access paid tuition fees and a living cost support package of up to £7,625 from the Students Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS). The Education Maintenance Allowance also supports young people aged 16-19 from financially disadvantaged households to remain in post-compulsory education.

The information requested is not readily available. The recording of patients’ unique Community Health Index (CHI) number on prescriptions for the dispensing of contraceptives is not sufficiently comprehensive to allow accurate patient-based analysis.

However, some information on prescribed contraception is available in the report Prescription Cost Analysis, published annually by National Services Scotland Information Services Division (ISD) (www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Prescribing-and-Medicines/Community-Dispensing/Prescription-Cost-Analysis/).

In addition, ISD also publish the report Long Acting Reversible Methods of Contraception in Scotland, which provides information by age group and NHS board on contraceptive devices, including those supplied through sexual health clinics (www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Sexual-Health/Publications/2016-09-20/2016-09-20-LARC-Report.pdf).

During our engagement on the next Mental Health Strategy, we invited written responses on an engagement paper outlining our proposed priorities, and received nearly 600 responses.

The responses were independently analysed and a full report published online, which can be viewed at:

http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/12/1634/0

One of the groups suggested as a priority by respondents was people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

All of the feedback we received has helped shape our thinking on the forthcoming Strategy, including the evidence that shows there is a strong link between poor mental health and people experiencing housing problems and homelessness.

We will publish the Strategy in the coming weeks.

The number homeless applications where the main applicant is female is published in Table 6A of the annual publication ‘Homelessness in Scotland’.

The Scottish Government has ensured strong legal rights to housing and support for homeless households with children. This is backed by statutory guidance for local authorities published by the Scottish Government on meeting the Best Interests of Children Facing Homelessness.

The Scottish Government has strengthened the Unsuitable Accommodation Order relating to the use of temporary accommodation for homeless households with children and pregnant women and we plan to strengthen this further.

Strong rights to housing also exist for young people (16-24) assessed as homeless, unlike the rest of the UK. The Scottish Government provides funding to a range of voluntary organisations that work with young people to prevent homelessness, including those supporting mediation services to address family breakdown, the main reason for homelessness amongst young people in Scotland.

We are also continuing to provide funding to local authorities to develop the housing options approach to prevention. This will be further strengthened by the development of a training toolkit for local authorities and their partners later this year, which will include addressing homelessness amongst families with children, looked after children and young people.