Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-23435

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of NHS contraceptive education, and what importance it places on the provision of such education in (a) community and (b) NHS settings.

There has been no national formal assessment of contraceptive education 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 recently published Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus (SHBBV) Action Plan, 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 developing new information resources, such as a national sexual health microsite on NHS Inform, as well as supporting staff training and development around contraception. Details of these projects were published alongside the SHBBV Action Plan on 28 November 2023.

Question reference: S6W-23434

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much NHS Scotland has spent on contraceptive education in (a) community settings and (b) NHS settings, such as maternity wards and clinics, in each of the past five years.

Question reference: S6W-23444

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the use of NHS Inform by the public, broken down by socioeconomic background.

Neither the Scottish Government nor NHS 24 currently hold that information due to the anonymous nature of NHS inform which doesn’t ask for, or collect, any personal information.

However, working with NHS 24 we are in the process of developing a formal review of NHS inform, recognising it as a national asset that is currently visited over 10 million times per month to ensure that it continues to meet future requirements and continues to support improved choice and access to services.

As part of this review work, we will engage with the public and take an evidence-based approach and commence a robust Equality Impact Assessment to ensure the service is inclusive.

Question reference: S6W-23438

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what commitment it will make to increasing the availability of long-acting reversible contraception.

Question reference: S6O-02863

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what value it places on the role of trade unions in delivering and sustaining a wellbeing economy.

Question reference: S6O-02786

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jackson Carlaw (on behalf of the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body) on 23 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body when it will make a decision on the Staff Cost Provision uprating for the financial year 2024-25.

Question reference: S6O-02800

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work of the Food Security Unit in relation to the monitoring of food system resilience.

Question reference: S6T-01639

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that stagnating workforce numbers, amongst other factors, are contributing to increased pressure on midwifery services.

Question reference: S6W-22435

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government by what stage of pregnancy it expects women to have had a face-to-face meeting with their named midwife.

The antenatal booking appointment is usually the first contact point between the primary or named midwife and pregnant women. We expect all women to have an initial assessment of their health, obstetric and social needs completed, and be offered appropriate screening referrals and other care options by the 12th full week of pregnancy.

The Scottish Government Local Delivery Plan standard for early access to antenatal care states that at least 80% of pregnant women in each Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintile will have booked for antenatal care by the 12th week of gestation. This standard has been met or exceeded consistently since 2013-14. Public Health Scotland published its latest annual statistical report on antenatal booking, Antenatal Booking in Scotland , in March 2023, which shows that 92.8% of pregnancies were booked by 12 weeks in the year ending 31 December 2022.

Question reference: S6W-22004

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to address the rise, reported by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), in the number of women travelling to England to access abortion services pre-20-weeks' gestation, in light of its commitment to provide NHS abortion services within Scotland and the Women's Health Plan progress report stating that all mainland NHS boards in Scotland are now able to deliver services up to 20 weeks' gestation.

All mainland Health Boards now offer abortions for all patients up to at least 20 weeks’ gestation in line with the recommendations in the 2022 Healthcare Improvement Scotland Sexual Health Standards.

The abortion statistics for England and Wales show that from January to June 2022, 19 patients resident in Scotland were treated in England or Wales who were over 20 weeks’ gestation and 5 patients who were between 13 and 19 weeks’ gestation. It is not possible to confirm how many of those patients sought treatment in England or Wales by choice and how many were referred there by their Health Board.

We understand that there will be rare occasions where waiting times mean that women under 20 weeks’ gestation are required to travel to England as they would not be able to access the service in Scotland before 20 weeks. We are working with BPAS to seek data on this, but the majority of patients needing to travel are over 20 weeks.

We continue to encourage Health Boards to ensure that patients close to 20 weeks’ gestation are prioritised for appointments.

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