Seòmar agus comataidhean

I am delighted to announce the publication today (Wednesday 2 March) of the Scottish Government’s Vision for Agriculture which sets out the principles and values we will put at the heart of a robust and coherent framework to underpin Scotland’s future agriculture support regime from 2025 onwards.

We are committed to transform how we support farming and food production in Scotland to become a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture.

Scotland will have a support framework that delivers climate mitigation and adaptation, nature restoration and high quality food production. Farming, crofting and land management will continue to play an important role in maintaining thriving rural and island communities, not least through the opportunities that change will create. Land management in Scotland will change as we tackle the twin biodiversity and climate crises which will present challenges and opportunities for farmers and crofters, building on their traditional leadership role in land management and stewardship.

In acknowledgement of the reliance that urban Scotland will have on rural communities and businesses to help deliver on our climate change targets and low carbon, net zero ambitions, we will support this change to ensure farmers, crofters and local communities can capitalise on the benefits and that there is a Just Transition.

The Vision is available at https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781804351154 where it sets out the principles, values and objectives. The Vision also outlines the approach to the National Test Programme which is being developed with and alongside members of the Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board (ARIOB).

We are fully committed to taking action to prevent deaths from non-communicable disease. Work is underway to deliver a range of measures to target harmful health behaviours such as smoking, unhealthy diet and obesity and alcohol misuse.

• We published our out of home action plan in September last year.
• On 03 Feb 2022 we launched our consultation to introduce regulations on the domestic advertising of e-cigarettes.
• We are taking a range of actions to reduce alcohol-related harms including consulting on potential restrictions on alcohol advertising this year, reviewing the level of the minimum unit price and improving health information on product labels.
• Our Programme for Government committed to introduce a Public Health Bill that includes restrictions on unhealthier food and drink promotions during the course of this parliament. Government officials are working on this and other policy proposals for the Bill and will be consulting on them throughout 2022. We will continue to engage stakeholders as proposals develop.
• We are undertaking a range of work to ensure that weight management, alcohol treatment, and smoking cessation services can be accessed when needed.

Where national guidance, including in the form of Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN), does not exist, as in this case, NHS Boards develop guidance using up to date evidence, including NICE guidelines through their existing Board governance structures.

We would expect the information in the updated NICE guideline, NG207, to be used by NHS Boards to assist pregnant women when making decisions about induction of labour.

The Scottish Government published the Initial Plan Framework, the next step in the Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind for Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas Decarbonisation (INTOG) process on 22 February 2022. This document includes the consultation analysis. Individual responses to the consultation, where permitted, will be published on the Scottish Government website.

The latest available statistics on NHS Waiting Times published up to 31 December 2021 can be accessed using the link below: https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/nhs-waiting-times-stage-of-treatment/

The Scottish Government want all victims to have the confidence to report sexual crimes, including those that may have happened some time ago. A Scottish Government led Governance Group has now been established, comprising key stakeholder interests, to enable progress and detailed consideration of the recommendations within Lord Justice Clerk’s Review Group report on improving the management of sexual offence cases.

We remain absolutely committed to improving the justice system to respond better to the needs of survivors in Scotland and it is hoped that this work will go some way to addressing any barriers to reporting.

The creation of Police Scotland has transformed the way rape and other sexual crimes are investigated in Scotland allowing far greater consistency of approach, including the training of police officers and use of specialist officers.

The Scottish Government also recognises the key role that advocacy services play in helping victims come forward and engage with the justice process, like those provided by Rape Crisis Scotland, which is why we fully fund the RCS National Advocacy Project.

Violence against women and girls is a devastating violation of human rights and any increase in reports of these types of crimes is concerning.

The Scottish Government has taken robust action to help justice agencies tackle sexual offending by improving and making much clearer the operation of our sexual offence laws, providing the necessary funding to support law enforcement efforts to deal with sexual offending and encouraging more victims of recent and historical cases to come forward so that justice can be achieved.

Our Programme for Government committed to legislating for a statutory right to lifelong anonymity for complainers in sexual offence cases, and a Scottish Government led Governance Group has now been established, comprising key stakeholder interests, to enable progress and detailed consideration of the recommendations within Lord Justice Clerk’s Review Group report on improving the management of sexual offence cases.

Our £100 million three-year commitment to tackling violence against women and girls includes a new Delivering Equally Safe Fund which will direct £38 million to frontline services over the next two years.

The information requested is not held centrally. We expect all NHS Boards to follow all relevant guidelines in order to avoid unnecessary wastage in medication.

The Scottish Government recognises that inappropriate inhaler technique can lead to medicine wastage and impaired control of a person’s asthma. Review of inhaler technique should form part of a medication review between the individual and their medical professional. This is an important recommendation in the current Scottish Government Quality Prescribing for Respiratory guide and the planned update to this guidance will continue to reinforce this message. As part of the medication review, the appropriateness of the inhalers should be reviewed, which has been shown to reduce wastage and improved treatment.

Group antenatal classes were able to resume from 31 July 2020. Current guidance for delivery of maternity and neonatal services throughout the Covid-19 pandemic states that antenatal and postnatal group sessions can continue virtually or in person, subject to local risk assessment in NHS Boards.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) delivering maternity and neonatal services through the pandemic: beyond Level Zero - guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Parliament unanimously backed the Transvaginal Mesh Removal (Cost Reimbursement) (Scotland) Bill on 25 January 2022. The Bill will now proceed to Royal Assent with the reimbursement scheme opening as soon as practically possible thereafter.

The Bill focussed solely on reimbursement for the removal of mesh that was inserted transvaginally for Stress Urinary Incontinence and Pelvic Organ Prolapse, the two procedures that, in Scotland, have been subject to a halt since September 2018. This is in light of the specific circumstances surrounding transvaginal mesh removal, as set out in the Policy Memorandum that accompanies the Bill. There are therefore no plans to extend the reimbursement scheme to include mesh used in other sites such as hernia repair.