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Improving access for women to appropriate support, speedy diagnosis and best treatment for endometriosis is one of the priorities set out in the Women’s Health Plan for 2021-24.

The Endometriosis Pathway for Scotland, created by the Modernising Patient Pathways Programme, was approved in January 2023 and has been shared in draft format with NHS Boards. The pathway, which is adapted from NICE guidelines, provides a streamlined, integrated pathway across primary, secondary and tertiary care that aims to provide a holistic approach and timely care for those with endometriosis and endometriosis-like symptoms. The pathway will be uploaded to the Centre for Sustainable Delivery’s (CfSD) website in the near future, at which point it will be formally shared widely across NHS Scotland.

In addition, to improve access to the most accurate and relevant information on endometriosis, we have updated the NHS Inform endometriosis page. This includes a link to the NICE Guidelines, to ensure the public are aware of current national guidelines.

Information relating to the design of the water systems for both The Baird Family Hospital and The ANCHOR Centre was submitted to Scottish Water in December 2022 and notification was received on 28th February 2023, confirming that the application complied with the guidelines in the current edition of Water for Scotland. The design of the water systems is in line with the principles of relevant guidance, including Scottish Health Technical Memorandum (SHTM) 04-01 Water Safety for Healthcare Premises (Part A relates to design, installation and testing). The design also meets requirements set out in the Scottish Water Byelaws; Water Supply Regulations; HSE Approved Code of Practice (L8) and relevant British Standards.

The design of the water system was also subject to an interim design review by NHS Scotland Assure and a series of observations were made by the review team which were addressed by the design team as part of the close out process for the interim review.

Furthermore, no new health facility in Scotland can open until NHS Scotland Assure have indicated that they are satisfied with the facility; this includes checking the safety of drinking water. The Baird Family Hospital and The ANCHOR Centre will be subject to this extensive process of review, prior to it opening to patients.

The Scottish Government provides local authorities with funding to allow them to deliver their statutory duty to ensure all eligible children can access 1140 hours of high-quality funded early learning and childcare. Scottish Government officials have spoken to Glasgow City Council regarding the closure of Rising Stars, and the Council's early years team is supporting families with children who attend these settings to discuss suitable alternatives - including through one-to-one support where required.

Ministers and Scottish Government officials regularly meet with representatives of all Health Boards, including NHS Highland, NHS Orkney and NHS Shetland, to discuss matters of importance to local people.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering the grade separation of Sheriffhall roundabout, as part of its £300 million commitment to the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.

Following publication of the draft Orders and Environmental Statement, Transport Scotland received a significant number of objections to the proposed scheme. Although Transport Scotland engaged widely with objectors, it was unable to resolve all objections. In view of this, a Public Local Inquiry was held from 31 January to 8 February 2023. As with all trunk road projects this is the appropriate statutory forum for considering objections received and not withdrawn. The independent Reporter is now giving detailed consideration to all evidence before making recommendations to the Scottish Ministers for a decision.

Construction of the proposed scheme can only commence if it is approved under the relevant statutory authorisation process and thereafter a timetable for its progress can be set.

The 2025 target date for completion of the full programme represented an ambitious challenge. It was reliant on the timely and positive outcome of a range of factors such as completing public and stakeholder consultation; statutory approval processes; sufficiency of market capacity; supply chain availability and availability of funding, all of which have been significantly impacted by Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. As I confirmed to Parliament on 8 February 2023, this has made the 2025 date unachievable.

Transport Scotland is urgently considering a range of different options to provide Ministers advice on the most efficient way in which to dual the remaining sections. Work to determine the most suitable procurement options for these sections is a complex exercise which looks at a number of factors including how the project can be delivered most efficiently by the industry, whilst minimising disruption to road users and helping to support economic recovery post-COVID. This work is expected to conclude in Autumn 2023 and I will provide an update on a new timescale for completion to the Scottish Parliament at that time.

Circularity Scotland (CSL) are a private non-profit organisation and are therefore not subject to public procurement requirements. An extensive tender process was carried out by Circularity Scotland over a period of around 12 months before appointing a waste collection provider. Decisions regarding their contracts are for them – this is entirely appropriate for a scheme that has industry responsibility at its heart.

We are currently considering next steps to recognise those affected by historical adoption practices.

In the meantime, we have commissioned a scoping study of the support services available in Scotland for people affected by historical adoption practices. This will help us understand where services need to be improved or enhanced to better meet the needs and expectations of those affected by historical adoption. The research started in January and will take approximately 8 months.

Last year the Scottish Government committed funding of around £145,000 to provide specialist support and counselling, and we have now agreed a proposal to establish a peer support group to be delivered through the charity, Health In Mind. The planning and implementation of this support service has begun and is informed by people affected by historical adoption.

Circularity Scotland (CSL) are a private non-profit organisation and are therefore not subject to public procurement requirements. Decisions regarding their contracts are for them – this is entirely appropriate for a scheme that has industry responsibility at its heart. CSL carried out an extensive tender process over a period of around 12 months before appointing Biffa to be the scheme’s official logistics service provider.

This is a complex repair of an expansive structure that is trafficked by approximately 150,000 vehicles on a daily basis. Although temporary works are well underway, the final design for the permanent repairs is yet to be completed, which will then inform the overall project cost estimate.

The latest phase (propping works of the structure) includes a trial repair which is programmed for Summer 2023. The findings from that trial are key to the next stages as they influence the options for the final design and hence the total costs.