Seòmar agus comataidhean

We welcome the 4 key recommendations in the report from Endometriosis UK and work is already underway to implement each of these.

Diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis must improve and that is why the Scottish Government has made it a priority in the Women’s Health Plan. We are committed to improving access for women to appropriate support, diagnosis and the best treatment for endometriosis.

The first meeting of the Women’s Health Plan Implementation Programme Board took place on the 25 January and will ensure progress of the Women’s Health Plan is achieved at pace and implemented effectively. The Scottish Government will also publish a Women’s Health implementation plan by Spring this year, which will set out more detail around how the actions will be implemented. The report from Endometriosis UK will help inform our implementation plan.

We initially asked that only those with an essential need to travel by bus should apply due to the high rates of COVID-19 cases. This was intended to help minimise pressure on local councils, also impacted by the current situation with the pandemic, which are responsible for processing applications and responding to enquiries. With restrictions now easing, we are now in a position to encourage all young people to apply.

When the application process for travel cards was launched we asked that only those with an essential need to travel by bus apply. It was for individuals to decide whether their journeys were essential in the light of Scottish Government and Transport Scotland guidance. With restrictions now easing, we are now in a position to encourage all young people to apply.

As we move into a different phase of the pandemic, we are looking to actively encourage everyone who is eligible to apply and will be launching a national marketing campaign in the coming weeks.

We have worked very closely with partners including the SFRS throughout the legislative process and they fully welcome any measures that support fire prevention.

We initially asked that only those with an essential need to travel by bus should apply due to the high rates of COVID-19 cases. This was intended to help minimise pressure on local councils, also impacted by the current situation with the pandemic, which are responsible for processing applications and responding to enquiries. With restrictions now easing, we are now in a position to encourage all young people to apply.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05860 on 7 February 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

Local authorities are independent corporate bodies with their own powers and responsibilities and are entirely separate from the Scottish Government. As long as they act lawfully, it is up to each local authority how it manages its day-to-day business and decision making processes. The Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently.

New regulations, which came into force on 9 November 2020, require Scottish public bodies from November 2022 to report on how they will align spending plans and use of resources to contribute to delivering their emissions reduction targets.

It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

Scottish Government guidance ‘Visiting in Maternity and Neonatal Settings During COVID 19 Pandemic’ is intended to support maternity and neonatal units in developing local guidance for visiting. It sets out that, as a minimum, women may have one supportive person accompanying them to all antenatal appointments, and one additional visitor (adult or child) may also attend subject to local risk assessments and physical distancing. In the event of an active outbreak management scenario, Boards may restrict visiting to essential visits only, which would allowone supportive person to accompany a pregnant mother to the booking scan, 20 week scan and any emergency appointments. These additional restrictions should be time-limited during management of an active outbreak.

The Scottish Government would encourage pregnant mothers to discuss any individual requirements with their midwife who will be able to advise further on local policy.

The consultation phase of ScotRail’s review on ticket office opening hours closed on 2 February. Transport Focus, the independent watchdog for transport users, is in the process of collating responses in order to produce a report of the consultation outputs. It would not be prudent for Scottish Ministers to prejudge the outcomes of that process prior to the Transport Focus report being published.