Chamber and committees

There are no current or planned future requirements for CCTV in psychiatric hospitals in Scotland to include sound.

Menopause care and support is a top priority in our Women’s Health Plan, which was published on 20 August 2021, and runs until 2024. There are no plans to review the Women’s Health Plan or the menopause ambitions within it before this time.

The 10 menopause actions set out in the Plan aim to ensure that women have timely access to menopause support and services; healthcare professionals are aware of the impact of medical or surgical treatments to induce menopause and all women have access to a healthcare professional with an interest in menopause through primary care.

An update on the progress made since the publication of Plan on the menopause actions is outlined in the Women’s Health Plan: A Report on Progress , published on 26 January 2023.

The Scottish Government does not hold this data.

It is important that women are provided with consistent information and care when they seek help with menopause symptoms, be it through primary or specialist care.

Through the delivery of the Women’s Health Plan , we want to ensure that all women have timely access to menopause support and services when required, and more information about the progress we have made on delivering this action can be found in our Women’s Health Plan: A Report on Progress .

Through the Women’s Health Plan we are working to improve collection and use of data, including qualitative evidence of women’s lived experiences to inform service design and improve healthcare services and women’s care and experiences.

The remit of the Women’s Health Champion , Professor Anna Glasier, is to drive change and share best practice and innovation in the improvement of health services and health outcomes for women.

Professor Glasier is working with partners in the NHS and across the public and third sectors to drive forward the ambitions, aims and actions in the Women’s Health Plan .

Professor Glasier’s particular priorities were set out in the recently published report on progress and include specialist menopause services, menstrual health with a focus on endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome, and heart health.

Professor Glasier recently published her first quarterly blog , highlighting her initial work and priorities for the months ahead.

Any requests should be directed to [email protected] .

The Scottish Government-led Lyme Disease Awareness Raising Group has met regularly since being set up following a Ministerial round table event held in June 2021.

The meetings are informal and provide members with the opportunity to share information and to collaborate on ideas of how best to raise awareness of Lyme disease. The Group have met 4 times, most recently on 16 March 2023.

The group co-designed the Scottish Government led Lyme Disease awareness raising campaign which ran in July 2022, and were most recently involved in the 2023 campaign which has seen posters and information cards in all community pharmacies across Scotland throughout May. The group were also involved in the proposal to run a follow up campaign, which will see posters in GP practices, libraries and leisure centres in the summer.

I refer the member to the answer to S6W-15158 on 13 March 2023. 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

Invasive non-native species (INNS) are one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss. They require a strong partnership approach over the long term to ensure their effective control.

The draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy contains a Priority Action to ‘Implement a Scottish Plan for invasive non-native species surveillance, prevention and control’. This Plan will be produced in collaboration with public bodies and other stakeholders, and will identify detailed actions and targets.

Public bodies will continue to produce operational business plans which set out their priorities and plans to address invasive species. The Scottish Government will continue to provide support to tackling invasive species. The Nature restoration Fund recently provided £2 million to the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative . In 2022-23 Forestry and Land Scotland received £1.3 m for rhododendron control. This is targeted at long-term control at landscape scale in collaboration with the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest and other land managers.

In the new draft Biodiversity Strategy, we are committed to developing a Biodiversity Investment Plan to mobilise public, private and philanthropic funds to close the estimated £8 billion finance gap over the coming decade identified by the Green Finance Institute as required for biodiversity restoration in Scotland. This is in line with the Global Biodiversity Framework Target 19, which recognises the need for ongoing blended funding to restore biodiversity from a range of sources, including green investment.

• Our Interim Principles for Responsible Investment in Natural Capital set out our aim to develop markets that also deliver benefits for local communities and wider society, in line with Scotland’s Just Transition principles and land reform objectives.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the Fracture Liaison Service audit and, following the completion of a scoping exercise currently being undertaken by Public Health Scotland, will provide funding. The Scottish Government has advised the Royal Osteoporosis Society that the funding we are able to offer may be up to £150,000 for the first year, but the exact level of funding and the timescale of reporting are expected to be finalised soon.

A total of £85.9m has been awarded to bus operators to support the purchase of new battery electric buses through rounds of the Scottish Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme and the Scottish Zero Emission Challenge Fund, and 26 of these new buses have space for transporting bikes.

Phase 2 of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund launched on 15 May 2023 notes that our support for the purchase of new buses and coaches will be, where appropriate, conditional on space being available for bike transport.

As outlined in response to question S6W-14224 on 24 January 2023 it remains a priority for the Scottish Government to ensure the important work undertaken by Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels continues. NatureScot, Scottish Forestry and Forestry and Land Scotland are currently providing core funding for the roles of the Grey Squirrel Officers (GSOs) as part of the Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels partnership project.

The Scottish Government and partners will continue to be involved in discussions on taking forward the work currently being undertaken by Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels.

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