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The Scottish Government continues to work closely with the steering group, made up of Disabled People’s Organisations, to co-design the new Disability Equality strategy. The group met several times in 2022 and are focused on developing responses to the challenges and obstacles disabled people face.

The group last met in April 2023 and a further meeting is planned for June 2023. It is anticipated that the strategy will be published on the conclusion of the co-design process.

Our current focus with the Disabled People’s Organisations is the development of an Immediate Priorities Plan that will respond to the negative impact of the cost of living crisis on disabled people. This plan will be published in the Summer. A publication date for the Disability Equality Strategy will be determined following the work on the Immediate Priorities Plan.

Table 1 below provides the gross teaching funding allocations per Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) place in college in cash and real terms (2022-23 prices), since 2007-08. Please note that data between the periods of 2007-08 to 2012-13 and 2013-14 to 2022-23 are not directly comparable due to a change in methodology of how FTEs in college were calculated.

Modern Apprenticeship statistics are published on the Skills Development Scotland (SDS) website at Modern Apprenticeships | Skills Development Scotland . Year-end statistics for 2022/23 are expected to be published in May 2023.

The proportion of individuals who completed their apprenticeship, known in the published reports below as ‘achievement rate’, are published by SDS at the following links:

Foundation Apprenticeships - https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/50223/foundation-apprenticeship-report-2022-published-version.pdf

Modern Apprenticeships - https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/49237/modern-apprenticeship-statistics-quarter-4-2021-22.pdf

Graduate Apprenticeships - https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/49924/graduate-apprenticeship-annual-report-2022-final.pdf

Earlier years data can be found in older publications.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17036 on 4 May 2023. 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

No testosterone products are currently licensed in the UK for use in women. We are aware that some NHS menopause specialists are following prescribing advice from the British Menopause Society (BMS) and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and prescribing testosterone off-label (out with the terms of its current licence) for individual women who are experiencing a loss of libido during menopause.

The decision to prescribe a medicine, and which medicine to prescribe, is entirely for the clinician in charge of an individual’s care, having considered the individual’s clinical condition and any associated safety considerations. This includes prescribing a medicine off-label.

Glasgow Prestwick Airport periodically receives expressions of interest regarding purchase of the Airport. The management team at Glasgow Prestwick Airport follow due process in reviewing proposals to ensure that offers are credible and provide value for money.

It is important that we safeguard the integrity of confidential and commercial discussions to avoid any detrimental impact on any negotiations, therefore further disclosure would not be possible.

We have committed to updating Parliament at the appropriate time on the sale of Glasgow Prestwick Airport.

Ear syringing is no longer the recommended procedure for clinicians due to concerns about uncontrolled water pressure. Instead NICE recommends that patients should be asked to self-administer with ear drops first and follow up care should be irrigation or suction.

Formerly most ear wax management procedures were carried out in GP practices. The new GP contract, introduced in 2018, committed Health Boards to set up Community Treatment and Care (CTAC) services to shift workload away from GP practices to NHS Board employed staff so that GP practices could focus on what only they can do. CTAC has been defined in GP contract regulations as including phlebotomy, chronic disease monitoring, the collection of biometric information, attending to minor injuries, changing dressings, suture removal and ear syringing. The Scottish Government has confirmed to Health Boards that CTAC services should cover ear wax management generally.

The process of transfer was underway when many practices stopped administering syringing, irrigation or suction as treatments in March 2020 amid concerns that they might be Aerosol Generating Procedures that could spread COVID-19. Despite this, and other constraints, implementation of the new GP contract continued throughout the pandemic. There are now 3,220 whole time equivalent healthcare professionals in multi-disciplinary teams supporting practices with CTAC and pharmacotherapy services as well as delivering the childhood and seasonal vaccination programmes but we are aware that gaps in delivery remain.

Scottish Government officials are now working with Health Boards to collect and review the data on the workforce and financial resources required to fully deliver these services to inform consideration of the potential for additional investment in 2023-24. We will then look to ensure that all Health Boards have appropriate communications regarding local pathways for ear wax management and other transferred services.

Circularity Scotland advise that only the very largest producers (those making more than 10 million units per year) are required to underwrite costs. As Circularity Scotland is a private company, contractual arrangements they have with their members, including any payments as part of their producer agreement, is a matter for them and it would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to intervene in such commercial arrangements between private companies.

As Circularity Scotland is a private company, support arrangements they have with their members is a matter for them and it would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to intervene in such commercial arrangements between private companies. Only the very largest producers (those making more than 10 million units per year) are required to underwrite costs. We are grateful to all businesses for the investment they have made in preparing for the launch of the deposit return scheme and this investment will be important for the success of the scheme when it launches on 1 March.

A number of discussions were held with those involved in the scheme in the weeks prior to the announcement including Circularity Scotland and business groups. To reach a decision on the next steps for the Deposit Return Scheme Scottish Government officials also provided advice to the First Minister and Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity.