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It is the responsibility of local authorities to have in place clear arrangements for the management and monitoring of care packages. Decisions about individual cases are for local authorities to make, within the requirements of the law.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise, I have asked its Chief Executive, Adrian Gillespie to respond to you directly.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise, I have asked its Chief Executive, Adrian Gillespie to respond to you directly.

Endometriosis is a priority in the Women’s Health Plan and will continue to be so. The ongoing action we will take to support those living with endometriosis will be set out in the next phase of the Plan, which is expected to be published in January 2026.

In schools, menstrual health and wellbeing education is a key part of relationships, sexual health and parenthood (RSHP) education. RSHP education is an integral part of the health and wellbeing area of the Scottish curriculum, Curriculum for Excellence. Learning about RSHP education begins early on in primary school and continues right up to S4-S6.

Education Scotland have a summary of RSHP teaching resources on their website, providing age and stage appropriate learning activities on RSHP education for use in all education settings and aligned to Curriculum for Excellence. This resource includes learning activities on menstruation from second level (P5 to P7), with endometriosis introduced at third/fourth level (S1 to S3).

This online RSHP teaching resource was subject to review and refresh in 2023. Teachers continue to access the resource regularly.

The Housing Emergency Action Plan delivers new and enhanced actions, including committing to deliver up to £4.9 billion of investment over the coming four-years - with homes delivered through a mixture of public and privately leveraged investment.

These interventions are supporting local authorities to deliver their housing and homelessness services. It is essential that those who are at risk of homelessness are able to access housing and support when they need it most. The plan centres on three priorities, which are closely aligned with the vision in Scotland’s homelessness strategy:

• Ending children living in unsuitable accommodation – as a vital part of the Scottish Government’s determination to eradicate child poverty;
• Supporting the housing needs of vulnerable communities, including women and children experiencing domestic abuse and people with the most acute experiences of homelessness; and
• Building our future – invest extensively in affordable homes whilst working to create the optimum conditions for wider investment to be made in our housing sector with confidence and certainty.

Housing to 2040 remains our key overarching strategy that sets out a vision and roadmap to ensuring everyone has a safe, good quality and affordable home by 2040. That has not changed, and in these challenging times, the formal governance we have established through the Housing to 2040 Strategic Board provides important critical and strategic oversight to support sector-wide delivery of the Housing to 2040 strategy and the Housing Emergency Action Plan.

The key benefits and intended outcome of investment in new vessels is continuation of ferry services, improved reliability and additional capacity for island communities and businesses over their operating life. As Procuring Authority, CMAL consider the approach to vessel and other procurement in line with legislation and guidance. This requires appropriate consideration of community benefits depending on the product or service being procured, ensuring transparency and non-discrimination.

CMAL have confirmed that the overall scoring for the NIFS Freight flex vessels is weighted 70% on quality and 30% on cost. As part of the quality element, 3% of the score relates to community benefits, while wider social value considerations, such as fair work and environmental matters, were tested at SPD stage. As Procuring Authority, CMAL consider this to be appropriate and proportionate for this contract at ITT stage which has attracted interest only from international markets.

As this is an operational matter, I have asked Stephen Pathirana, Chief Executive of SPPA, to write to you on this issue.

LFASS is an area-based payment under article 31 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 focuses on providing financial support to farmers operating in areas that face natural or other specific constraints.

The eligibility is contained within The Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2010 which were developed and approved by the European Union at that time.

The importance of supporting our producers on our most constrained land is very well understood. We are committed to a thriving rural Scotland, and we are working with all stakeholders to ensure that our remote communities, and those producing in areas of constraint, are supported through the new framework.

Thousands of farmers in rural areas will begin receiving LFASS payments totalling more than £56m this week. This highlights our continuing commitment to investing in rural Scotland and supporting our iconic livestock sector.

Scottish Government remains fully committed to co-developing the future payment framework of the four-tier support system. We will work with our farmers, crofters and stakeholders to ensure any changes to LFA support continue to deliver stability and investment.

All the 2024 LFASS payment calculations were, in part, based on historic data.

Part of the payment calculation includes values based on a historic year, which stem from farming activity at that time.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested. A&E activity data is collected and published by Public Health Scotland. These statistics show the number of people attending A&E services, how long they are waiting and performance against the 4-hour access standard. The published data does not differentiate patients who were treated on trolleys.

As detailed in response to S6W-41997 on 9 December 2025, A&E activity data published by Public Health Scotland does not differentiate patients who were treated on trolleys. It is important to highlight that patients frequently spend time in a trolleyed area while undergoing assessment and treatment within our Emergency Departments in line with clinical need. In respect of patients being cared for in non-standard patient areas while awaiting admission to an inpatient bed, we are in active discussions with PHS regarding the feasibility of a national data collection however, our absolute focus is on addressing the cause of the conditions which lead to care in non-standard areas.

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.