Chamber and committees

The number of people admitted as a day case or inpatient with a diagnosis of endometriosis in the financial year 2017-2018 and the calendar year 2017 is shown in the following tables.

Table 1: Number of people admitted as a day case or inpatient with a diagnosis of endometriosis in financial year 2017-2018

The construction industry is a core sector of the Scottish economy, providing infrastructure to businesses across all sectors of the economy. The health of the industry is vitally important and it is encouraging to note that construction company insolvencies in Scotland decreased by 47% between 2011 and 2018, ahead of the UK figure of 29%.

We are supporting the construction sector by using all levers at our disposal to maximise investment and support economic growth - our overall infrastructure investment programme of £4 billion in 2017-18 will support around 40,000 full time equivalent jobs across Scotland.

We have delivered more than 76,500 affordable homes since 2007 and we will invest more than £3 billion to deliver at least 50,000 affordable homes over the lifetime of this Parliament.

In addition our £150 million Building Scotland Fund, as a precursor to the Scottish National Investment Bank, will support the development of new public and private housing; modern industrial and commercial space; and industry-led research and development.

If a child or young person is known to services and has an allocated social worker, there will be on-going support offered, including if specialist support is required. If a child is not known to services, a GP referral with a parent or guardian will ensure that on-going, specialist support can be provided.

Further information on young people bereavement services can be found here: https://www.mygov.scot/child-bereavement/

The Scottish Government is committed to appointing a childhood bereavement coordinator to advise on steps that can be taken to drive forward improvements in bereavement services and support.

Bereavement leaflets outlining what support is available locally are offered immediately. Police Scotland also provide a bereavement letter to family and friends following a death relating to drug use. It explains the role of the Police/Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and signposts to local support networks, including Scottish Families affected by Alcohol and Drugs (SFAD). Both Police Scotland and SFAD worked together recently to review and update this, ensuring it was more accessible and friendly.

SFAD provide a range of materials and support to those bereaved by a loved one’s death due to alcohol and/or drug use. Further information can be found on their website - https://www.sfad.org.uk/support-services/bereavement

Each local area provides different literature including Cruse Bereavement Care and SFAD booklets, signposting support in the local area.

NHS Inform provides a leaflet called ‘When someone has died’ to help people through the first few days of a bereavement, explaining what people need to do, how they may feel, and where they can go to find support. This can be found on the NHS Inform website at: https://www.nhsinform.scot/media/1503/when-someone-has-died-2016.pdf

Immediate support is offered by services in local areas and is offered in the most appropriate way depending on circumstances. Families are supported to make contact with third sector organisations such as Scottish Families affected by Alcohol and Drugs (SFAD) or Cruse bereavement Care when they are ready. When someone passes away in hospital there can also be contact from hospital chaplaincy where this is deemed appropriate to the family.

The Scottish Government fund SFAD to provide a range of materials and services, including a free helpline and counselling sessions, for those who are impacted by other people’s drug and alcohol use, including bereavement. SFAD regularly review and update their support available to families. Further information can be found at the SFAD website - https://www.sfad.org.uk/

The Scottish Government reminded public bodies in November 2017 of their biodiversity duty under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 (‘the 2004 Act’) and provided Biodiversity Duty Guidance, including reporting templates prepared by Scottish Natural Heritage that are tailored to different types and sizes of body, to help public bodies meet the requirement to report every 3 years on their contribution to the biodiversity duty. The Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform will shortly be writing to those public bodies who have not so far provided a report for the period to ‎1 January 2018, reminding them of the requirements of the 2004 Act and the availability of the guidance and reporting templates.

There are NHS menopause clinics in Dumfries & Galloway, Fife, Grampian, Lothian, and Tayside. In other areas Health Boards provide menopause care through general practice and specialist referral if needed.

Health Boards are investigating menopause clinic activity on my request, and I will write to you separately to supply the information held by them. However, there is not necessarily direct comparability between Health Board services, and any data supplied might not include services provided in a primary care setting. The SPIRE system will improve the information available on activities in primary care.

The Scottish Government, through Forestry Commission Scotland, sits on the Steering Committee for the Action Oak Partnership. The initiative is a long-term drive to help protect the UK’s oaks for future generations to enjoy, which was officially launched at the 2018 Chelsea Flower Show by The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The Scottish Government and Forestry Commission Scotland provided support to the UK Animal and Plant Health Agency to launch the initiative, including a range of communication materials.

The Scottish Government’s involvement in the development of the Action Oak Partnership has helped ensure the recognition of Scotland’s internationally important Atlantic Oakwoods. It has also been actively involved in the promotion of Action Oak to stakeholders, and is planning to host an event at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh later this year.

More widely, tackling tree health threats remains a top priority for the Scottish Government, as evidenced by our enhanced funding since 2014. In 2017-18 we invested nearly £900K in tree health science, monitoring and statutory actions to enable swift and effective management of tree pests and diseases relevant to Scotland.

Skills Development Scotland gathers information by Occupational Groupings rather than by sector.

Modern Apprenticeship uptake broken down by (a) ethnicity and (b) disability by Occupational groupings is detailed in the following tables:

MA Starts by Equality Characteristic and Occupational Grouping

The Scottish Government is committed to improving diagnosis and treatment for Endometriosis. We expect people with endometriosis to be able to receive the care and treatment they need as locally as possible with access to specialist support where needed.

A working Group led by The Chief Medical Officer looked at early diagnosis and treatment of Endometriosis and concluded that Scotland would benefit from a third Specialist Endometriosis Centre, to fully meet the needs of patients across Scotland.

Two of these specialist endometriosis centres are in operation in Aberdeen and Edinburgh, providing multidisciplinary, high quality and person centred treatment for the management of all grades of endometriosis.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde are leading on the development of the third centre following approval of the business case. Progress includes appointment of a Clinical Lead for the service and on-going actions to develop clinical pathways/ referral criteria.