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The Women’s Health Leads meet together as a Network on a quarterly basis. The Network enables the Leads to identify common challenges and exchange ideas on innovation and best practice, along with discussions on progress to implement the Women’s Health Plan.

Earlier this year, the Network identified access to long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) as a subject that would benefit from a national approach and in response, the LARC Short Life Working Group was established. Chaired by Professor Anna Glasier, Women’s Health Champion, the group is working to identify and take forward actions to address current challenges in access to LARC methods of contraception.

The Women’s Health Champion quarterly blog provides an update on the Network: Health and Social Care Women's Health Champion Archives - Health and Social Care (blogs.gov.scot) .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22410 on 7 November 2023. We are working with health boards to understand how best to achieve national consistency so that patients undergoing home dialysis are protected from the impact of high electricity prices, wherever they live. I expect to provide a further update on this in the coming weeks. 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 .

As Minister with lead responsibility for Occupational Health, as part of the Health & Social Care portfolio, I responded on 20th November 2023 to the proposal submitted by the Scottish Occupational Health Action Group (SOHAG).

Many of the drivers of ill-health, and particularly ill-health in the workplace, are wider societal factors and I am clear that a cross-government response is required to address both the social determinants of health, as well as improving people’s experiences at work. Occupational health has a key role to play as part of the range of interventions that support fair and healthier work places.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS sold the former remand institution site at Longriggend and its landholdings on 2 October 2003. The sale included the former remand centre car park and the social club site.

In the 2022 – 2023 cohort, there have been 25 teachers who have achieved the Dyslexia and Inclusive Practice programme. An award ceremony will be held on 11December 2023 in Stirling at Dyslexia Scotland’s Offices.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission publish estimates and forecasts of the number of people receiving payments for Child Winter Heating Assistance. The Scottish Fiscal Commission do not publish estimates and forecasts for the number of people receiving payments by area within Scotland. In their May 2023 publication it was forecast that a total of 29,000 people will receive payments in the financial year 2023-24.

Social Security Scotland publish statistics for the number of historic payments for Child Winter Heating Assistance by Local Authority. Statistics for 2023-24 are not yet available.

Table 1: Number of payments for Child Winter Heating Assistance made in Winter 2022-23 by Local Authority area

The Scottish House Condition Survey provides a snapshot of the Scottish housing stock in each survey year including the construction age and built form of Scottish domestic buildings. Within this it provides estimates of the number of dwellings with a prepayment meter for gas or electricity.

The 2022 SHCS returned to full in-home surveying in April 2022, and we expect to publish the key findings as National Statistics in February 2024 which will include updated figures for dwellings with prepayment meters.

The National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care, for the first time, will combine rural specific workforce and service development, with research and evaluation into one National Centre.

The Centre’s initial focus is identifying and promoting approaches that improve rural and island primary care recruitment of staff including: increasing skills of remote and rural GPs and other practitioners to ensure there is the workforce capacity to deliver care close to home, develop further support networks and career development opportunities for rural practitioners and to support development of skilled mixed workforce teams.

Work has already begun on two key pieces of work, improved support and training for remote and rural dispensing practices and developing supervisory training hubs.

A range of financial support is provided through Social Security Scotland. This includes Funeral Support Payment, a one-off payment providing support to low-income families in receipt of a qualifying benefit, including self-employed parents, for a baby stillborn after 24 weeks or who died after birth.

These families may also be eligible for Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment up to £707.25. If the parent is in receipt of Scottish Child Payment they will receive payment equivalent to the value of entitlement in the 12 weeks prior to the child’s death.

An agreement is in place between Scottish Government and COSLA that local authorities in Scotland will not charge burial or cremation fees for children aged 0-17 or stillborn babies.

Local authorities have statutory responsibility for assessing and evidencing housing need and demand, and setting out through local housing strategies and local development plans the housing requirements for their area. We have committed to delivering 110,000 high quality, energy efficient affordable homes by 2032 and work closely with a wide range of housing partners including local authorities, to ensure the delivery of homes to meet the housing needs of communities across Scotland. The Minister for Housing engages regularly with Homes for Scotland to discuss a wide range of issues and most recently met on 7 November.