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We are jointly funding a £250,000 endometriosis research project with the charity Wellbeing of Women. The research project, which will primarily be run by researchers at The University of Edinburgh, will look at the drug dichloroacetate in the management of endometriosis-associated pain.

Additionally, in January 2023 our Chief Scientist Office announced funding for the ENDOCAN project, led by researchers at The University of Edinburgh. Through a large scale UK-wide trial, the research will investigate whether a cannabinoid can reduce endometriosis-associated pain. Funding of £299,509 has been committed to this 30 month project.

The Chief Scientist Office also invited applications to the Applied Health Research Programmes Funding in March this year. Applicants will be informed of the outcome in December 2023.

The Scottish Cancer Registry does not capture whether a cancer was detected following presentation at an Accident & Emergency (A&E) department. The details in the Scottish Cancer Registry and the lack of clinical information included in the A&E attendance data leaves the relationship between cancer diagnosis and A&E attendance uncertain.

Public Health Scotland completed a study to describe emergency and non-emergency routes to cancer diagnosis in the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. A decision on whether to include an expanded list of cancers in the emergency vs. non-emergency routes to cancer diagnosis reporting will be made ahead of a planned publication in March 2024. However, this would be using the emergency/non-emergency definitions and so presentation at A&E would not specifically be defined as a route to diagnosis.

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to introduce such a register. We are working with Local Authorities, Health Boards and other public sector partners to understand the extent to which RAAC is present in buildings and any actions necessary in response.

Clyde Metro will be transformational for the region. It is likely to be a programme which will be delivered over a number of years, with the scale and capital costs required making it one of the largest programme of works Scotland will have ever seen.

It is too early to comment on the longer term funding of Clyde Metro, however, it is envisaged that the funding model for implementation of Clyde Metro will be determined as part of the next stage of development.

Core funding to support the delivery of school-age education, including the technologies curriculum (which includes craft and making), is provided via the block grant to local authorities. In addition, the Scottish Government supports the removal of core curriculum charges for all primary and secondary pupils. The Government has committed £8 million to this policy in this financial year, helping to ensure that families do not have to meet the costs of resources and materials for practical lessons, including for all art materials.

Curriculum for Excellence provides a broad framework within which schools can deliver teaching and learning which best meets the needs of their pupils, and therefore there are no plans to specify time allocations on craft making. The Government recognises the significance of learning craft skills as part of the wider technologies curriculum, with “craft, design, engineering and graphics” referenced as one of six key “organisers” in the technologies Experience and Outcomes.

In October 2022, we announced that further Scottish Government funding of £8m was being made available to recruit allied health professionals and midwives from overseas for the first time alongside nurses whereas the £4.5m funding in 2021 for international recruitment was provided solely for registered nurses.

I am pleased to advise that between October 2022 and 30 September 2023, a total of 109 AHPs have been recruited from overseas and are in posts across NHS Scotland, with further arrivals expected as we continue to support international recruitment. The Scottish Government does not hold data centrally relating to the AHP professions recruited to, that information is held by employing health boards.

Local authorities are responsible for the provision of local waste services and are, therefore, best placed to comment on their readiness to comply with the ban on sending biodegradable municipal waste to landfill in 2025.

We continue to provide procurement support to help local authorities that need it to secure contracts in preparation for the forthcoming ban. As part of this support, Zero Waste Scotland is working with local authorities to provide technical, legal and procurement advice on their contracts.

Through this support, we understand that 22 local authorities have contracts in place for 2025 that comply with the landfill ban, these are: Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, City of Edinburgh, City of Glasgow, Dundee City, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Fife, Highland, Midlothian, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Orkney, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, Scottish Borders, Shetland, and South Lanarkshire.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22317 on 7 November 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 .

The Scottish Government has significantly expanded AHP training, recruiting 335 Scottish-domiciled students each year for paramedic education programs from 2023 to 2026, and 25 students for specialist prosthetics and orthotics education programs each year from 2022 to 2026. With a substantial investment of £45 million recurrently for the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS), and an additional £5 million, 317 staff are being recruited, including clinicians for an integrated clinical hub, enhancing triage and reducing emergency response needs. Additionally, £4.5 million is allocated to train 225 more MSK practitioners in Primary Care, and £1.2 million enhances Reporting Radiography training by 30 spaces.

As part of the Scottish Government's commitment to a sustainable healthcare workforce, efforts include creating opportunities for AHP career advancement. Key features of the AHP Education and Workforce Policy Review, are being implemented through an ongoing plan, demonstrating a comprehensive approach to fostering the growth and advancement of the AHP workforce.

Exceptions to the Treatment Time Guarantee, as set out by The Patient Rights (Treatment Time Guarantee) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 are as follows:

• Assisted reproduction.

• Obstetrics services

• Organ, tissue, or cell transplantation, whether from living or deceased donor.

Over 2.8 million inpatients and day cases have benefited from the 12-weeks treatment target since it was introduced.