- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its commitment to improve access to abortion services, whether it will provide a surgical service for women seeking an abortion in their second trimester of pregnancy and, if so, when it will do so.
Answer
As a priority, the Scottish Government is working with Health Boards and other key stakeholders to ensure that all patients can access abortion services up to the legal gestational limit within Scotland. A new Task and Finish Group is now being set up by the NHS Scotland Planning and Delivery Board to agree the best way to implement a service(s) for patients seeking an abortion between 20-24 weeks.
The Task and Finish Group will recommend to the Planning and Delivery Board the best option(s) for that service. As part of this work, they will consider whether any service(s) provided should offer surgical or medical abortions.
The Scottish Government is also taking forward work to improve surgical abortion provision across Scotland and remains committed to providing funding to support staff training to allow Health Boards to provide later stage abortions.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that women seeking an abortion are able to access their legal right to a surgical procedure, in light of reports that some are having to travel to England for this.
Answer
The Scottish Government expects Health Boards to offer patients a clinically appropriate abortion method. The 2022 Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) Sexual Health Standards set out that patients should have access to information on both medical and surgical abortion to enable them to make an informed choice of abortion method. The Scottish Government’s 2021 Women’s Health Plan had an aim that ‘all women will have a choice about how and where they access abortion care’.
While most Health Boards can offer surgical abortions to a certain gestation, the Scottish Government is working with the Scottish Abortion Care Providers network, the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to improve access for clinicians to surgical abortion training at all gestations. The Scottish Government has also committed to pay for training for any clinician who wishes to provide later stage abortions.
The Women’s Health Champion has been discussing with Health Board Chief Executives issues around contraception and abortion, including ensuring access to early surgical abortion. The Scottish Government will soon be presenting information gathered from Health Boards to Chief Executives to help inform discussions about where surgical abortion provision could be increased.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that women seeking an abortion are informed of all the treatment options that they are legally entitled to.
Answer
The 2022 Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) Sexual Health Standards set out that patients should have access to information on both medical and surgical abortion to enable an informed choice of abortion method.
Information on available methods of abortion is available on the NHS Inform website and the websites of individual Health Boards. The Scottish Government continues to work with Scottish Abortion Care Providers (SACP) to improve the information provided to patients, both in written patient information and the information shared during consultations with healthcare staff.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 28 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it has engaged with the construction sector in East Ayrshire to determine the demand for roof slating and tiling apprenticeship opportunities in the area, in light of reports that the National Federation of Roofing Contractors was unable to get a course re-established at Ayrshire College because it did not meet the requirement set out in the final report of the Skills Delivery Landscape Review, Fit for the Future: developing a post-school learning system to fuel economic transformation, that “to use resources to best effect, and to ensure funding and provision can be aligned to need (not just demand), then there must be a clear articulation of the areas that are a national priority”.
Answer
Skills Development Scotland has operational responsibility for delivery of apprenticeships in Scotland, including assessment of demand. There are currently 3 different pathways linked to the roofing sector (embedded within Modern Apprenticeship Construction frameworks).
Ayrshire college, as with all of Scotland’s colleges, is responsible for its own course provision and operational decisions. Scotland’s colleges work with the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to ensure that education provision meets local and regional requirements. SFC has delivered on various asks from the college sector to help invest funds more effectively, including giving colleges a more flexible way to invest in vital changes to curriculums so they can meet local and national skills needs.
The Scottish Government funding for apprenticeships prioritises Construction frameworks. The construction and related occupational grouping accounted for the highest number of Modern Apprenticeship (MA) starts and MAs in training in 2023-24. MA allocations are also informed by consultation with employers through demand statements from Sector Skills Organisations and bodies, Industry Leadership Groups, Skills Investment Plans, and Regional Skills Assessments.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 28 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that apprentices have equitable access to learning opportunities, and what its response is to reports that some roofing apprentices in East Ayrshire have a two-hour journey to and from college for training.
Answer
We are committed to ensuring that apprentices have equitable access to learning opportunities regardless of their background or circumstances. This commitment is reflected through various policies and initiatives aimed at promoting equality, diversity and inclusion.
Recognising the challenges apprentices in remote and rural areas face, the government remains committed to working with training providers, employers and local authorities to improve accessibility. While apprentices in East Ayrshire do not qualify for the rural uplift supplement, we acknowledge that travel costs can be a barrier for young people. To support them we continue to offer free bus travel for those under 22 years of age, to encourage the early adoption of bus travel and to expand access to social, education and employment opportunities, including apprenticeships.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 24 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many applicants there were for health visitor training in 2024; what percentage were accepted onto a training programme, and how many completed their training.
Answer
This information is not held by the Scottish Government and is a matter for Higher Education Institutes and NHS Boards.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 22 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its commitment in 2021 to do so, by what date it will publish a public consultation on ending the use of pig farrowing crates.
Answer
The proposed consultation on phasing out the use farrowing crates for pigs was originally intended to have been delivered jointly across all UK administrations. However, progress on a number of important pieces of animal welfare legislation have been significantly delayed or has ceased due to delays in UK Government timetabling, such as the Kept Animals Bill.
Regardless, the Scottish Government is pressing ahead on improving the welfare of all animals in Scotland, including pigs. This included updating and publishing the Scottish Government’s Guidance for the Welfare of Pigs.
We continue to listen and work with the industry and stakeholders on how best to achieve improvements in animal welfare as well as monitoring industry information to allow us to determine how to ensure best practice is delivered, and remain committed to consulting on ending farrowing crate use.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 22 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to support pig farmers who wish to replace conventional farrowing crates with free farrowing systems.
Answer
The Scottish Government funds research into farm animal welfare research at Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), including the development of alternative farrowing systems enabling producers to make informed decisions when they are considering options for renewing their existing infrastructure. Within Scotland there is already a significant level of free farrowing units where sows are able to nest in hutches outdoors and farrow naturally.
The Scottish Government will continue to listen and work with the industry and stakeholders to find ways for producers to transition towards implementing improved animal welfare methods and practices.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 22 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the UK Government regarding working jointly towards ending the use of pig farrowing crates.
Answer
The Scottish Government continues to engage with the UK Government and the other devolved administrations to discuss animal welfare improvements and remains committed to consulting on phasing out the use of farrowing crates.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 April 2025
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 23 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to protect the ongoing viability of local and regional museums and galleries.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 23 April 2025
