Chamber and committees

The Government does not propose to publish the names of Women's Health Leads in each Health Board. These roles are not public appointments and the role will be an operational and / or clinical one, depending on local priorities and circumstances. Leads are of course accountable to their employing Health Board.

A Women’s Health Leads Network, to which each health board lead is invited, is chaired by Professor Glasier. The network meets quarterly and further such meetings are scheduled into 2024.

We continue to monitor the impact of COVID-19 and other seasonal illnesses within the population both in the community and in acute settings. This, along with other pressures, are part of our Winter Plan work which we are developing in partnership on with COSLA. This plan will seek to promote system resilience and set out the necessary actions for that local systems should take to prepare for the expected pressures.

Ministers and officials regularly meet with representatives of all NHS Boards, including NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Forth Valley, to discuss the performance and resilience of local services; including winter planning, which has been a priority since the end of last winter.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the totality of the Health and Social Care system deal with emerging pressures including any rise in COVID-19. In partnership with COSLA, we are developing the Winter Plan for 2023/24, working collaboratively with local systems and partners to ensure that the necessary steps are being taken now to support system resilience including preparations for the impact of COVID-19. This plan will be published in October. We will continue to monitor the situation in relation to COVID-19 over the course of winter and stand ready to enact the National Response Framework if needed.

Scottish Government officials regularly discuss a range of matters related to the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), including SFC governance.

SFC’s governance framework is set out by the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005 and the September 2022 Framework Document setting out ways of working between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council. The Framework Document is supplemented by the annual Letter of Guidance which sets out Ministerial priorities and expectations.

The Scottish Government regularly meets with the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to discuss a range of matters, including SFC governance.

SFC’s governance framework is set out by the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005 and the September 2022 Framework Document setting out ways of working between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council. The Framework Document is supplemented by the annual Letter of Guidance which sets out Ministerial priorities and expectations.

Scottish Government is committed to tackling the stigma around all aspects of problem substance use, including that associated with seeking support and treatment. We published our Stigma Action Plan on 12 January 2023 as part of the Cross government response to the Drug Deaths Taskforce. The founding principle of our Stigma Action Plan is that we can do more to support people affected by drugs and alcohol. We have long emphasised that drug dependency is a health condition and now is time to put that into practice. The stigma action plan outlines how we will turn principles into action by developing a voluntary accreditation scheme to tackle structural stigma; and implementing a national programme of activity to challenge social stigma. We will co-design the programme and accreditation scheme with people with lived, living and family experience. We will procure partners to take on the ongoing administration and delivery of the accreditation scheme and national programme.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20393 on 14 September 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of biodiversity and nature restoration, and the urgent need for action at home and abroad to tackle the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. This is why our Global Affairs Framework makes clear that Scotland will play its full role, engaging with international networks on biodiversity protection and nature restoration to make positive contributions and cooperate with others.

Our biodiversity strategy sets out our vision to be nature-positive, halting biodiversity loss by 2030 and reversing declines by 2045. Achieving these goals will require significant efforts and – as part of these – we will continue to implement our international obligations, engage with international partners to cooperate and share best practice, and actively participate in multilateral fora where possible.