Chamber and committees

There has been no national formal assessment of contraceptive availability and choice however the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that people across Scotland have timely access to contraception, and to information which allows them to make informed decisions about their own sexual and reproductive health. This is recognised as a priority in our Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus (SHBBV) Action Plan 2023-26, and we have allocated multi-year funding to a range of projects in both community and NHS settings that will help to deliver this goal. The projects include exploring the delivery of more sexual and reproductive health care (including contraception) through community pharmacies, developing information resources, and expanding access to post-partum and post-abortion contraception. Details of these projects were published alongside the SHBBV Action Plan on 28 November 2023.

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

A report recently published by Public Health Scotland on 5 May confirmed that uptake for bowel screening continues to exceed the Healthcare Improvement Scotland standard of 60%. The Scottish Government is aware that continued work is required to improve uptake, and to make the process as straightforward as possible for individuals to complete.

Education and accessible information is one strand of this work. Both the online NHS Inform bowel screening content and the leaflets issued with bowel screening kits have been revised to respond to user feedback on clarity and accessibility. In addition, both the Scottish Government and the NHS will use Bowel Cancer Awareness Month in April to further raise awareness of the importance of bowel screening.

Increasing uptake requires supporting education efforts with a relentless focus on reducing inequalities. The Equity in Screening Strategy was published last year, with a vision for equitable access across the full screening pathway, including in the bowel screening programme. This, in combination with a new Equity in Screening Network, will help NHS Boards to find effective ways to address inequalities in uptake, and increase participation in the bowel screening programme.

Since 2017, the Scottish Government has provided £1 million funding annually to address screening inequalities. Part of this fund has been distributed to NHS Boards, allowing them to support initiatives catering to their specific populations. The remainder of the screening inequalities fund was used for national initiatives, such as the development of the Screening Intelligence Platform (ScIP). This will provide an efficient, single point of access to linkable data from all of the National Screening Programmes, including bowel screening. This will therefore help to inform and support the work of public sector bodies to increase participation in bowel screening.

We are clear in our expectations that all women, at all times, receive high-quality and person-centred maternity care tailored to their needs, with quality and safety for mothers and babies central to decision-making. To understand the quality and safety of maternity care and identify where improvement should be made, we are closely following data published by Public Health Scotland (PHS). Occurrences of third- and fourth-degree perineal tears (also referred to as obstetric anal sphincter injury (OASI)), a leading cause of faecal incontinence following childbirth are recorded by PHS as part of its Maternity Inpatient and Day Case - Scottish Morbidity Record (SMR02) dataset and can be viewed via its Scottish Pregnancy, Births and Neonatal Dashboard .

We are also aware of the research and evidence endorsed by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Midwives on obstetric anal sphincter injury and recognise that further work is required to improve care for women who experience incontinence including follow-up care and specialist care. Obstetric anal sphincter injury is on the agenda at various meetings bringing together senior leaders in Scotland’s maternity care.

Community youth work remains an important pillar of local authority provision, including in schools. The Scottish Government utilises a Block Grant system, affording local authorities significant autonomy in allocating financial resources, including those designated for youth work in schools. This approach empowers councils to prioritise local needs and tailor services accordingly, while fulfilling mandatory obligations and adhering to nationally-agreed priorities. Transparency is ensured through annually-published breakdowns of spending on the Scottish Government website, though there is no statutory obligation for youth work activity to be recorded or monitored by local authorities, third sector organisations or voluntary organisations.

An independent review of Community Learning and Development (CLD), encompassing youth work, was launched in December 2023 and is expected to conclude in June 2024. This review aims to assess the impact of CLD on learners across Scotland, providing valuable insights for the future.

Community youth work remains an important pillar of local authority provision. The Scottish Government utilises a Block Grant system, affording local authorities significant autonomy in allocating financial resources, including those designated for youth work. This approach empowers councils to prioritise local needs and tailor services accordingly, while fulfilling mandatory obligations and adhering to nationally-agreed priorities. Transparency is ensured through annually-published breakdowns of spending on the Scottish Government website.

Furthermore, an independent review of Community Learning and Development (CLD), encompassing youth work, was launched in December 2023 and is expected to conclude in June 2024. This review aims to assess the impact of CLD on learners across Scotland, providing valuable insights for the future.

The Scottish Government and COSLA committed to the provision of suicide bereavement support across Scotland in their Creating Hope Together action plan ( 2022-25). The bereavement support service is a core element of our approach to ensuring everyone affected by suicide is able to access high quality, compassionate, appropriate and timely support.

Since August 2021 we have funded bereavement support service pilots in NHS Ayrshire and Arran and NHS Highland. Over 2023-24 we have worked with partners to design and plan the roll-out of the service, drawing on the positive evaluation of the pilots. Expansion of the bereavement support service will begin from 2024-25, working closely with local partners. Further details will be confirmed as soon as possible.

The information that has been requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The information that has been requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government works closely with NHS Education for Scotland who are the national body that are responsible for advanced practice across the Allied Health Professions (AHPs) including physiotherapy.

The NHS Education for Scotland Multiprofessional Advanced Practice Toolkit aims to facilitate the professional development of advanced practitioners and provides easy to navigate links to useful information across four pillars of practice.

Although not profession specific, advancing practice and the promotion of AHP career pathways is a key focus of the AHP Education and Workforce Policy Review intended outcomes. The review’s work is being taken forward through an ongoing delivery plan that aims to adopt a comprehensive approach to fostering the growth and advancement of the AHP workforce.