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We expect NHS Boards to follow the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidance in the diagnosis, management and treatment of Group B Streptococcus infection in pregnant women and their babies. NICE guideline NG195, Neonatal infection: antibiotics for prevention and treatment , published on 20 April 2021 and developed in partnership with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), is the most recent clinical guidance available.

All pregnant women in Scotland are provided with a copy of Ready, Steady, Baby! ( RSB!), a guide to pregnancy, labour and birth and early parenthood up to 8 weeks. RSB! is also available via the NHS Inform website and includes information on GBS . The RCOG Group B Streptococcus in pregnancy and newborn babies leaflet is also provided to women.

Litigation is ongoing and external costs will be published on a regular basis. We will publish initial data on spending in September, and on a quarterly basis thereafter, until the conclusion of the litigation.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08949 on 26 July 2022. 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 .

There are a range of options available to women who require transvaginal mesh removal surgery. A contract with Spire Healthcare, where Professor Hashim operates, was agreed earlier this year and arrangements for the first patients to travel to Bristol are underway. Furthermore, the Scottish Government can now also confirm that a contract has been agreed with Gynaecologic and Reconstructive Surgery Ltd, Missouri, USA, where Dr Veronikis operates. NHS National Services Scotland will now work closely with NHS GGC and local Health Boards to facilitate the arrangements for those who wish to travel to Bristol or to the USA for mesh removal surgery.

These additional options, alongside the potential for referral to NHS England services, complement the Complex Pelvic Mesh Removal Service in Glasgow. Despite Covid-19, we were able to introduce that service on a phased basis and a number of patients have been seen in the intervening period and have had surgeries carried out. It is expected that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde will work towards improving waiting times as services begin to open up more fully.

International science collaboration is vital in both supporting Scotland’s own research and innovation, and in ensuring Scottish expertise contributes to international research addressing global challenges such as the climate and biodiversity crises. Satellite information, including Earth Observation data, is a key resource that underpins this research, and processing it is one of the many strengths of the Scottish space sector. Over the period 2018-2021, the European Commission and European Space Agency provided 8% and 29%, respectively, of Research and Development funding for Scottish Space Companies. Maintaining access to European Programmes such as Copernicus is therefore extremely important to both Scotland’s industry and academic institutes and to the international science community as a whole.

Whilst the Copernicus Climate Change Service has an open data policy meaning data produced by it will therefore remain freely available to UK users, until an agreement on UK participation in Copernicus is finalised, the UK will not be able to participate in the parts of the Copernicus programme that are open only to EU member states. For example, UK-based businesses, academics and researchers will not be able to bid for Copernicus contracts tendered through the EU, funded through the EU’s Multi-annual Financial Framework or through any process using EU procurement rules after December 2020.

UK organisations could previously bid for Copernicus contracts tendered through ECMWF and Mercator Ocean. Until the Copernicus agreement is implemented, UK organisations cannot bid for Copernicus Services contracts except in exceptional circumstances that need to be justified to the European Commission.

The Scottish Government therefore strongly supports the UK’s continued involvement in EU programmes such as Copernicus and continues to liaise with the UK Government on EU programmes to reiterate the impacts of the continued delays.

Any decision on whether or not to introduce a new national screening programme in Scotland is guided by the recommendations of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent expert advisory group which advises all four nations of the United Kingdom on screening policy. In 2017, the UK NSC recommended against the introduction of a Group B Streptococcus (GBS) screening programme. If a recommendation is made by the UK NSC to introduce GBS screening then the Scottish Screening Committee, in consultation with medical experts in this field, will advise Scottish Ministers on the most appropriate course of action for Scotland.

The GBS3 clinical trial , run by the Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit, is looking to gather evidence on whether a universal screening programme would be both clinically and cost effective. The UK NSC will review the evidence for screening once findings from the GBS3 clinical trial are published and the Scottish Screening Committee will give careful consideration to any recommendation the NSC makes. All NHS Boards have been made aware of the opportunity to participate in the GBS3 trial.

The Scottish Government has provided £9,144,964 to Health Boards for the provision of smoking cessation services.

This funding is calculated on the basis of smoking rates and deprivation and is used to provide the free Quit Your Way service. This service includes an interactive website, offering expert advice and support to those seeking to quit tobacco products. Local support services and access to a range of free medications and products are provided to help people stop smoking.

Litigation is ongoing and external costs will be published on a regular basis. We will publish initial data on spending in September, and on a quarterly basis thereafter, until the conclusion of the litigation.

As outlined in the Programme for Government 2021 – 22 A Fairer, Greener Scotland: Programme for Government 2021-22 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) published in September 2021, the Scottish Government is committed to establishing a dignified and compassionate miscarriage service. As part of this, the Scottish Government wants to ensure that NHS Boards are able to provide dedicated facilities for women who are experiencing unexpected pregnancy complications.

This aligns with the commitments set out in Womens-Health-Plan-2021-2024 in regards to women experiencing miscarriage and unexpected pregnancy complications.

We welcome the report by ASH Scotland on smoking and mental health and aim to discuss with them details of their report findings. Smoking prevalence among those experiencing mental ill-health is higher than the national average. Finding solutions to this is an important step and one currently being considered as part of our revised Tobacco Control Action Plan.