Current status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it plans to take to address and improve fertility and reproduction rates in Glasgow, in light of reports suggesting that the city has the fifth lowest in the UK.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and Health Boards across Scotland, provide access to fertility services for those within their population who may be unable or finding it difficult to conceive.
Falling birth rates are a demographic trend replicated across many high-income countries, with significant future implications for our economies, communities and public services.
The Family Friendly Nation strand of our 2021 Population Strategy sets out our ambition to ensure Scotland is the ideal place to raise a family, and to support people to have the number of children they wish to have. We are clear that it is not for government to attach value judgements to different families.
In delivering this Strategy, during 2024 the Ministerial Population Taskforce undertook new analytical work to further explore family friendly policies internationally. This was presented to the Taskforce in December 2024 and next steps are now being undertaken to scope their application within the Scottish policy context.