Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-34315

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to review the current legal framework for abortion law.

The Scottish Government believes that all women in Scotland should have access to abortion services, available free from stigma.

In the 2023 Programme for Government, the Scottish Government committed to undertake a review of the law on abortion to ensure that it is first and foremost a healthcare matter. That review is now underway.

As part of the review, the Scottish Government has convened an expert group chaired by Professor Anna Glasier, the Scottish Government’s Women’s Health Champion. The expert group is reviewing the existing law on abortion in Scotland and will produce a report for the Scottish Government this Summer.. If the group considers that the law could be changed for the better, the report will include recommendations for reform.

The Scottish Government will consider the expert group’s report and take into account views of other stakeholders and other relevant considerations too. Any proposals for changes to abortion law would be subject to a public consultation.

Details of the expert group, including minutes of their meetings are published on the Scottish Government website here: Abortion Law Review Expert Group - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

Question reference: S6W-34317

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) clinic pilot project has had, and how many people it has supported through its services to date.

The SCAD pilot clinic has received 82 referrals with 57 patients seen to date. The remainder of patients currently referred will be seen by the end of July 2025.

An evaluation report will be requested by end of May 2025 to assess impact. The project team have advised that the first year of the pilot demonstrated a change in diagnosis for 20% of patients and 60% were able to have their medication reduced. Referrer and patient feedback is collected after completion of care episodes.

Question reference: S6W-34299

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has allocated any funding for a national campaign to promote taking a vitamin D supplement during winter months.

The Scottish Government supports and works closely with Food Standards Scotland, who have previously run national campaigns over winter months to raise awareness of vitamin D and encourage people to take a daily vitamin D supplement to maintain bone and muscle health.

Since April 2017, Scottish Government has provided free Healthy Start vitamins for women for the whole of their pregnancy. These were developed to meet their nutritional needs, and include vitamins C, D and Folic Acid. Since Jan 2021, Health Boards have provided free vitamin D to all breastfeeding mothers and children under three years.

Question reference: S6W-34956

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 13 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards achieving the aims of the Personality Disorder Improvement Programme.

Question reference: S6W-34297

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 12 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32799 by Neil Gray on 14 January 2025, whether it will consider commissioning a formal evaluation of the Softer Landing, Safe Care initiative by the end of 2025, in order to improve data on international medical graduates across NHS Scotland.

The Softer Landing, Safe Care initiative was introduced in 2021. The programme is part of a coordinated offer that sits alongside the training pathway and is devolved for implementation at local board level. International Medical Graduates (IMGs), like other trainees, feedback their experience through established quality assurance processes such as the Scottish Training Survey. As such, the Scottish Government does not formally assess the initiative, and there are no plans in place at the moment for an evaluation.

Question reference: S6W-34311

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 10 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it is raising awareness and understanding of uterine cancer as the most common gynaecological cancer.

Our most recent Detect Cancer Earlier campaign – Be The Early Bird – first launched on March 2023, aiming to reduce fear of cancer and empower those with possible symptoms to act early. Following successful independent evaluation, the campaign re-ran in September 2023 and August 2024 to prompt health-seeking behaviour.

In parallel, a Detect Cancer Earlier roadshow visited communities across Scotland in March and September 2024 to reinforce key messages, with further activity planned for March 2025.

We continue to work with NHS Scotland to ensure that the NHS Inform website provides cancer information that best meets patient needs, including symptoms and treatments for uterine cancer.

Question reference: S6W-34312

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 10 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it plans to do to tackle the reported rising number of uterine cancer diagnoses.

The rise in reported number of uterine cancer diagnoses can largely be attributed to an increasing ageing population and is in-line with a long-term trend of increasing number of uterine cancer diagnoses over time. It is encouraging to see that the majority of cases diagnosed in Scotland (64%) were found at the earliest stage (Stage I) where there is a greater chance of positive outcomes.

Obesity is one of the single largest modifiable risk factors for uterine cancer. We have published our Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan setting out ambitious and wide-ranging actions to deliver our vision of a Scotland where everyone eats well and has a healthy weight, reducing their cancer risk.

Question reference: S6W-34781

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how the increase in funding for alcohol and drugs policy announced in its 2025-26 Budget revision will help to address the need to “increase focus and funding for tackling alcohol-related harm”, as set out in the Audit Scotland report on alcohol and drug services.

Question reference: S6W-34589

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 6 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made on delivering each of the recommendations of the Independent Review of Audiology Services in Scotland, in particular, recommendations 52, 53 and 54.

Question reference: S6O-04291

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it will do to address any difficulties with recruitment and retention in local government due to the reported declining value of pay.

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