Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-32637 on 9 November 2020.

In addition to the links to learning activities in the previous answer, there is a learning activity in the senior phase that includes learning on the menopause that can be found at Human Fertility and Reproduction (Senior Phase Activity Plan) Feb 2022 (rshp.scot) .

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 has commissioned NHS Education for Scotland to create a bespoke training package and framework which is focussed on menopause and menstrual health for general practice and others working in Primary Care.

Through the recent establishment of the National Menstrual Health Clinical Network there is provision of access to peer support, expert clinical advice, training and sharing of best practice for clinicians with an interest in menstrual health, including those in primary care teams.

We are jointly funding a £250,000 endometriosis research project with the charity Wellbeing of Women. The research project, which will primarily be run by researchers at The University of Edinburgh, will look at the drug dichloroacetate in the management of endometriosis-associated pain.

Additionally, in January 2023 our Chief Scientist Office announced funding for the ENDOCAN project, led by researchers at The University of Edinburgh. Through a large scale UK-wide trial, the research will investigate whether a cannabinoid can reduce endometriosis-associated pain. Funding of £299,509 has been committed to this 30 month project.

The Chief Scientist Office also invited applications to the Applied Health Research Programmes Funding in March this year. Applicants will be informed of the outcome in December 2023.

The Scottish Government’s International Network of offices regularly support and create opportunities across the culture sector, making links for the sector within the territories in which they are based and ensuring that cultural activity is central to their presence.

The Scottish Government is also currently scoping promotional opportunities across the cultural sector as part of our work to develop our new International Culture Strategy.

The strategy was announced in 2023-24 Programme for Government. It will set out how we will support the culture sector’s international ambitions and ensure that barriers to achieving those ambitions are addressed. We expect to publish the new strategy by the end of March 2024.

We recognise that international activities such as touring are vital to many creative professionals. The Scottish Government therefore continues to call on the UK Government and EU to negotiate an extensive and generous mobility agreement that would allow creative professionals to continue to move freely between the UK and EU.

We continue to work with our partners to minimise the barriers to international working, in addition to providing support to Arts Infopoint UK, a mobility scheme which provides a practical source of information on artist mobility.

The Endometriosis Referral Care Pathway for Scotland was published by the Centre for Sustainable Delivery in January 2023 and distributed to NHS Scotland Boards.

We will continue to work with the Centre for Sustainable Delivery to support implementation of the pathway through the National Gynaecology Specialty Delivery Group.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring we have a comprehensive and high quality free school meal programme and we regularly work with other nations to ensure good practice is shared.

We have no plans at this stage to join the School Meals Coalition. For over a decade, Scotland has been actively involved with International School Meals Day which provides us with the opportunity to promote school meal uptake in Scotland and to showcase Scotland's model of school food provision and food education on the international stage.

To date 63 countries are engaged with International School Meals Day, each sharing their knowledge and experience of supporting children and young people to access balanced and nutritious school lunches to support their healthy growth and development.

The Scottish Government’s Fair Work Action Plan sets out actions to promote fair and inclusive workplaces across Scotland. We are committed to using all levers at our disposal to extend Fair Work conditionality with clear standards and minimum requirements to cover all forms of Scottish Government support within the limits of devolved competence.

The Scottish Government expects the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to continue promoting the Fair Work principles and to monitor adherence across the college sector, as outlined in the Ministerial letter of guidance issued to the SFC on 1 June 2023.

The Scottish Government is aware the School Meals Coalition Global Summit took place in Paris on 18 and 19 October 2023, but as non-members did not attend.

From April 2021 to the end of September 2023, the Heat in Buildings Programme has spent £340m, with an additional estimated spend of £163m over the remainder of this financial year.

• The programme forecasts are showing an increased demand that supports a continuing increase in capital support across the range of schemes offered by the HiBs programme. Final outturn will be based on actual demand for schemes and final budget allocations for 24-25 and beyond.
• We are continuing to make long term commitments to funding – for example, we have recently re-procured the Warmer Homes Scotland successor scheme at a contract value of £700 million over the next 5 years.

The budgets allocated are as follows: