Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has no current plans to discuss with the UK Government the licensing of testosterone treatments for perimenopause or menopause for use in Scotland. As noted in the answer to question S6W-18294, on 14 June 2023, regulations for the licensing, safety and efficacy of medicines are currently reserved to the UK Government and are the responsibility of the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). For a medicine to be routinely prescribed, it firstly needs to receive a licence from the MHRA. It is the responsibility of individual pharmaceutical companies to apply to the MHRA for a marketing authorisation (licence). Whether to submit an application to the MHRA is a decision made by a pharmaceutical company. The application process requires a company to provide data demonstrating the quality, safety and efficacy of the medicine.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research’s (NIHR’s) Health Technology and Assessment Programme (HTA) is considering several research applications against the call ‘Testosterone for the treatment of menopause symptoms beyond altered sexual function’. Any applications will be considered by the HTA funding committee in mid-November, with final outcomes known early December 2023. This should help identify any substantive new evidence on the use of testosterone to support pharmaceutical companies in applying to the MHRA for a licence.

The Scottish Government is supportive of the NIHR’s backing for this important research and will monitor the outcomes from the programme.

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

Local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of their staff. This includes providing a complement of teachers which best meets the needs of each of their schools and its pupils within the resources available.

While teachers are employed by local authorities, the Scottish Government is taking strong action to protect increased teacher numbers – supporting councils with an additional £145.5 million in this year’s budget, which assures funding for local authorities and removes this as a barrier to employing staff on permanent contracts.

Over the past 10 years the number of teachers in permanent posts has remained stable at over 80%.

Victims have a legal right to request certain information about cases they are involved in. This includes information about the decision of the court in imposing a sentence in a relevant case and information about any appeal decisions made relating to a sentence in a relevant case. Further information on how victims can request such information can be found on the Scottish Sentencing Council website .

Specifically about the process of appealing sentences, the offender themselves or the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service can appeal the sentence imposed. The offender can appeal a sentence on the basis it is excessive while the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service can appeal on a point of law or on the basis of undue leniency. Victims do not have a right to appeal sentences.

In many cases, the Victim Information and Advice (VIA) Service within Crown Office can provide direct support to victims including helping understand how the criminal justice process operates such as sentencing in cases and appeals from sentencing. Where a victim has concern about a sentence, victims are able to make representations to the Crown Office indicating they consider a sentence in a particular case is unduly lenient and these representations will be considered.

Separate from the Crown Office, Victim Support Scotland offer free, independent and confidential advice to all people impacted by crime. This can be done in person, on the phone or online. Their staff and volunteers are available to support and guide victims through the criminal justice process including helping understand how sentencing operates and sentence appeal processes. On occasions, people may be referred to specialist agencies where this may be needed.

There is no recommended minimum distance between onshore wind turbines and residential properties. Policy 11 of National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) makes clear that potential impacts on communities, nature and other receptors will be important considerations in the decision-making process. Additionally, the policy requires that project design and mitigation will demonstrate how impacts on communities and individual dwellings, including residential amenity, visual impact, noise and shadow flicker will be addressed. All applications are subject to site-specific assessments.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested. The most recent Cancer Waiting Times Data from 1 January – 31 March 2023, published on the Public Health Scotland website, can be found at the following link - Cancer waiting times - 1 January to 31 March 2023 - Cancer waiting times - Publications - Public Health Scotland . Here you will find information on the median waiting times from referral to first treatment or from decision to treat to first treatment, split up by Health Board and Cancer Type.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested. The most recent Cancer Waiting Times Data from 1 January – 31 March 2023, published on the Public Health Scotland website, can be found at the following link - Cancer waiting times - 1 January to 31 March 2023 - Cancer waiting times - Publications - Public Health Scotland . Here you will find information on the median waiting times from referral to first treatment or from decision to treat to first treatment, split up by Health Board and Cancer Type.

There is clear guidance in place on prescribing and administering prescription medicine for healthcare professionals working in prisons and police custody settings. Guidance for clinicians working in prisons can be found in The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) ‘Safer Prescribing in Prison Guidance for clinicians’. Guidance for clinicians working in police custody can be found in the Faculty of Forensic & Legal Medicine’s ‘ Safe and Secure Administration of Medication in Police Custody’.

From July 2022 to June 2023 there has been nine Scottish Government public health broadcasting campaigns that have used Linear TV, Broadcast Video on Demand and/or Radio.

The gross media spend that the Scottish Government has spent on public health broadcasting campaigns from July 2022 to June 2023 is £1,606,708. Broadcasting campaigns are defined as those which have used Linear TV, Broadcast Video on Demand or Radio as part of their media schedule.

Since the introduction of the STEM bursary scheme, 371 STEM bursaries have been awarded to bursary applicants in the last three years. 11 of these bursaries were awarded to applicants in Aberdeenshire.