Current status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-38735 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 1 July 2025, what its response is to the new research on the welfare benefits system and premenstrual dysphoric disorder published in the report, Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder: The Welfare State: Recommendations for Reform.
As the report sets out, Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) has a huge impact on the welfare of many in Scotland. We therefore welcome this report and will take its recommendations into account as we develop the next phase of the Scottish Government’s Women’s Health Plan.
We have already established a dedicated working group and action has been taken to raise awareness and support better understanding of PMDD among healthcare professionals. This work sits alongside our ongoing commitment to deliver a social security system with dignity, fairness and respect at its core.
In contrast to the UK Government, the Scottish Government is committed to protecting and enhancing social security benefits. We will carefully consider the report’s findings alongside the recommendations made by the Independent Review of Adult Disability Payment, which we have committed to respond to by January 2026.