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We are committed to ensuring those living with endometriosis are able to access the best possible care and support and that they benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

That is why endometriosis is one of the key priorities in the Women’s Health Plan and will continue to be so.

Information about the progress to date against each of the priorities in the Women’s Health Plan can be found in the Women’s Health Plan Final Report.

In line with Professor Muir’s recommendation, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education in Scotland is to be staffed by civil servants.

The Chief Inspector, and staff working on the inspection functions (or supporting these) will be employed by the Scottish Government, in line with other HM inspector(ate)s.

The figures below relate to Endometriosis research funding directly awarded following a competitive independent review process either through Chief Scientist Office’s (CSO) project funding committees, or fellowship funding panels.

This includes the 2022 Scottish Government collaboration with Wellbeing of Women on a £250,000 research call. The research is primarily being run by researchers at The University of Edinburgh and will look at a non-hormonal drug in the management of endometriosis-associated pain.

Most awards are multi-year. The figures below relate to the year in which the funding was committed rather than a breakdown by year of the spend profile for individual projects or fellowships

2007 0

2008 0

2009 0

2010 0

2011 0

2012 £110,198

2013 0

2014 0

2015 £27,639

2016 0

2017 0

2018 £162,651

2019 £30,000

2020 0

2021 0

2022 £394,510

2023 £349,999

2024 £623,028

Full details of CSO’s direct research funding awards are available from the CSO website Funded Research – Chief Scientist Office

The Scottish Government provides baseline funding to NHS Boards, which Boards use to best meet the healthcare needs of their resident population. Funding is not ring-fenced for the treatment of endometriosis. It is not therefore possible to identify funding allocated specifically for endometriosis.

Through the Women’s Health Plan, a range of funding has been provided for resources and research related to improving endometriosis care.

The Scottish Government collaborated with Wellbeing of Women on a £250,000 research call in 2022. The research is primarily being run by researchers at The University of Edinburgh and will look at a non-hormonal drug in the management of endometriosis-associated pain.

The Chief Scientist Office announced funding of £299,509 for the 30 month ENDOCAN project in January 2023, 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.

The Scottish Government also provided £24,000 of funding in August 2023 to Endometriosis UK to deliver a project creating new resources to support people with endometriosis.

The Scottish Government collaborated with Wellbeing of Women on a £250,000 research call in April 2022. The research is primarily being run by researchers at The University of Edinburgh and will look at a non-hormonal drug in the management of endometriosis-associated pain.

The research will be funded over 3 years with the research findings expected to be disseminated in December 2025.

In January 2023 the Chief Scientist Office announced funding of £299,509 for the 30 month 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.

Recruitment for the study is due to start in August 2025 in NHS Lothian and NHS Grampian. More information can be found on the research being undertaken by The University of Edinburgh can be found on their website.

The Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) has continued to support the Women’s Health Plan through their dedicated lived experience programme, including a Women’s Health Lived Experience Stakeholder Group, to help us continue our conversation with women, and ensure women are meaningfully involved in decision making and priority setting going forward.

More information can be found in the ALLIANCE Final Report on Women’s Health Plan.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-30034 on 3 October 2024. 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

We have confirmed that the replacement of the Belford Hospital is a strategic priority, and the 2025-26 Draft Budget has provided the necessary funding to allow the development of the business case to restart. NHS Highland is responsible for the delivery of the project and should therefore be able to provide information on the timeframe for the project in due course.

The BSc Paramedic Science course launched in 2020 with the first cohort of paramedic students graduating in 2023, and the most recent cohort graduating in September 2024. Data for the last five academic years is therefore not available as only two cohorts have completed the three-year degree programme. Data for the 2020 intake who graduated in 2023 is the only publicly available data at this time and this is outlined in the following table:

Scottish Government engages regularly with UK Government and the other devolved governments at both Ministerial and Official levels through the Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, a four nations horticultural peat group and ad hoc correspondence. Through these channels, all legislative and non-legislative options for sales restrictions on peat are currently being explored.