The Scottish Parliament

Question reference: S6W-35652

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 20 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on what progress has been made on the roll-out of smart meters across Scotland, and what steps it (a) can take and (b) is taking to ensure equitable access for consumers in rural and remote areas.

As a reserved matter, the Scottish Government has no powers over the smart-meter roll out and does not hold information on its progress. The UK Government publishes quarterly statistics on the smart meter roll out which are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/smart-meters-in-great-britain-quarterly-update-september-2024

The UK Government has made a commitment that all households will be offered a smart meter upgrade by the end of this year. However, many in Scotland, particularly those in our rural and island communities, face ongoing difficulties with smart meter connectivity, wiring or a lack of engineers, thus preventing them from upgrading or causing metering issues when they do.

Since the start of the smart meter roll out in January 2022, the Scottish Government has engaged regularly with the UK Government and Ofgem to ensure all smart meter users across Scotland have full network access.

While telecommunications is reserved to the UK Government, we have proactively addressed poor network coverage through digital infrastructure programmes such as Reaching 100% and the Scottish 4G Infill (S4GI) programme. We have delivered 55 mobile masts in rural and island areas, all of which are available on an open access basis and could potentially be used to site smart meter radio infrastructure.

However, the Data Communications Company (DCC) controls the digital energy infrastructure for Great Britain, and collects and shares smart meter data with energy suppliers via the Wide Area Network (WAN). In establishing how best to collect this data, the DCC took the decision that in the “north” region of Great Britain, including Scotland, the use of long range radio would allow signals to travel further across hills and mountains, reaching more rural communities more easily. It is clear that this does not always work in practice and many households and businesses are unable to install a working smart meter.

On 8 January, I wrote to the UK Minister for Energy Consumers, Dr Miatta Fahnbulleh, calling for the UK Government to take steps to allow the DCC to use mobile technology to provide a signal to homes in Scotland. In her response, Minister Fahnbulleh advised that the DCC is currently undertaking work to develop technical solutions to overcome the connectivity issues that currently prevent some consumers from accessing the WAN.

Further, on 10 March, I reiterated my view to Ofgem that an update to the DCC license conditions would provide enduring protection to consumers given the pace at which technical solutions are likely to change and the potential for meters to become unfit for purpose through no fault of the consumer.

Fit-for-purpose smart meters provide numerous benefits to consumers including real time usage data which can help consumers cut their energy usage and save money. It is therefore critical that the UK Government, Ofgem, and the DCC work together to urgently resolve these issues.

Question reference: S6F-03924

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2025

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is marking Endometriosis Awareness Month.

Question reference: S6O-04475

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what recent assessment it has made of the resources given to the Legislation team.

Question reference: S6O-04443

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps Historic Environment Scotland is taking to ensure that women have access to a safe working environment.

Question reference: S6W-35425

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 10 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it is giving to the reported community concerns regarding the culling of feral goats in the Scottish Borders, and whether a form of protected status is a potential option to preserve their existence.

Question reference: S6O-04344

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the application of equalities legislation, what its position is on the provision of single-sex spaces in public sector buildings, including hospitals.

Question reference: S6W-33813

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32166 by Jenni Minto on 23 December 2024, how it plans to enhance the role of primary care providers in the early identification and management of endometriosis, and whether there are any plans to provide GPs and other primary care professionals with more targeted training or guidelines to help identify endometriosis symptoms early in the process.

The Endometriosis Care Pathway for NHS Scotland supports healthcare professionals, including those in primary care, to provide a holistic approach and timely care for those with endometriosis and endometriosis-like symptoms. The pathway advises healthcare professionals to suspect endometriosis in women who present with one or more endometriosis-like symptom (including in young women aged 16 and under) NHS Boards should be taking steps to implement the pathway.

To support health care professionals to improve their knowledge and understanding of endometriosis NHS Education for Scotland (NES) has launched an e-learning module on menstrual health available on Turas Learn. It is open access to anyone working in NHS Scotland and is in particular aimed at those working in primary care.

Further training resources have also been provided through the Women’s Health Masterclass on endometriosis which provided information on diagnosis, treatment and current research on endometriosis, raising awareness of the Pathway with attendees. The resources from this event are also available on Turas Learn.

Additionally, we are have funded the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) to develop new training resources on endometriosis for members, which will be available in the coming months.

Question reference: S6W-33802

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32176 by Jenni Minto on 23 December 2024, what percentage of women with endometriosis have reported improved pain management outcomes since the introduction of the Women’s Health Plan, and what actions are being taken to address any disparities in access to pain management services across different NHS boards.

Data on pain management outcomes for women with endometriosis is not held by Scottish Government.

Endometriosis is one of the key priorities in the Women’s Health Plan and will continue to be so. We are committed to ensuring those living with endometriosis are able to access the best possible care and support and that they benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

We are committed to our ambition to improve the quality of life and wellbeing for people with chronic pain. The updated Implementation Plan for the Scottish Government’s Pain Management Service Delivery Framework, published in November 2023, has 18 actions to improve care and support for people living with chronic pain.

In November 2024, we launched our national chronic pain knowledge hub and learning toolkit, available to all NHS Scotland Health and Care staff to deepen their understanding of chronic pain.

In addition, we have also funded Endometriosis UK to produce a booklet and two webinars on self-management tips for managing endometriosis pain.

Endometriosis UK also operate a free, confidential helpline run by trained volunteers who have a personal experience of endometriosis and have expanded their helpline provision by launching a new nurse-led helpline on 28 January 2025 providing further sources of support.

Question reference: S6W-33814

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32165 by Jenni Minto on 23 December 2024, what specific support mechanisms are being implemented for women who experience prolonged delays in diagnosis beyond the general advice on NHS Inform.

Through the actions set out in our Women’s Health Plan we have taken steps to support both women and health professionals to learn more about endometriosis, the symptoms and treatment options to support earlier identification and minimise time to diagnosis.

The NHS Inform endometriosis page acknowledges the importance of emotional support and provides links to local peer-to-peer support groups.

There are also national helplines including 111, Breathing Space and The Samaritans.

In addition, we have also funded Endometriosis UK to produce a booklet and two webinars on self-management tips for managing endometriosis pain.

Endometriosis UK also operate a free, confidential helpline run by trained volunteers who have a personal experience of endometriosis. Endometriosis UK have also expanded their helpline provision by launching a new nurse-led helpline on 28 January 2025

Endometriosis is one of the key priorities in the Women’s Health Plan and will continue to be so. We are committed to ensuring those living with endometriosis are able to access the best possible care and support and that they benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

Question reference: S6W-33807

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32157 by Jenni Minto on 23 December 2024, what specific metrics or indicators are being used to track the success of initiatives within the Women’s Health Plan for endometriosis care.

Information about the progress to date against each of the priorities in the Women’s Health Plan can be found in the Women’s Health Plan Final Report.

As we move into the next phase of the Women’s Health Plan, we will consider how best to monitor and evaluate progress over time, which includes engagement with women who have lived experience of endometriosis.

As set out in the Women’s Health Plan, we know that there is a lack of data on women’s health – including endometriosis. Improving data has been one of the key priorities of the first phase of the women’s health plan, to understand the data that are available, the gaps and how we might address them.

The recently published data landscape review sets out a range of publicly available data on the health of women in Scotland and highlights where there are gaps which need to be addressed, including endometriosis. This is just the start of our work to improve women’s health data. Further work will be undertaken to explore the data sources and gaps in more detail.

Election 2026

Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Filter your results Hide all filters

Question reference: S6W-35652

Answer

Question reference: S6F-03924

Answer

Question reference: S6O-04475

Answer

Question reference: S6O-04443

Answer

Question reference: S6W-35425

Answer

Question reference: S6O-04344

Answer

Question reference: S6W-33813

Answer

Question reference: S6W-33802

Answer

Question reference: S6W-33814

Answer

Question reference: S6W-33807

Answer