Chamber and committees

To support delivery of the HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan the Scottish Government has allocated funding of £93,588 over three years to NHS Education for Scotland to develop education and training materials which will raise awareness, knowledge and understanding of HIV and reduce stigma amongst non-HIV specialist healthcare staff.

To expand and enhance this work, we are currently assessing bids for a workforce education project for health and social care staff to raise awareness of HIV, improve support and reduce stigma across these key settings. We expect to be able to announce the outcome of this process soon.

Scottish Government officials will work with project leads to ensure that the resources developed are appropriately tailored and targeted to key professional groups, including mental health practitioners.

The Scottish Government has not provided any advice to GPs regarding women who have been potentially exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES).

The regulation for the licensing, safety and efficacy of medicines is reserved to the UK Government and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. They are responsible for investigating any safety concerns regarding the licensing of diethylstilbestrol (DES). Scottish Government officials meet regularly with the MHRA to discuss known medicine safety issues and to agree required actions.

The most recent guidance published by the Department of Health, which also applies in Scotland, advises that daughters of individuals exposed to DES in utero are at an increased risk of clear cell cancer of the cervix and vagina but no other forms of cervical cancer and that local arrangements should be made for the follow up of individuals who are DES daughters and have the stigmata of DES exposure. This would usually be via annual colposcopy.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-31648 on 4 December 2024. 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 has not had any discussions with the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding women who have been potentially exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES).

The regulation for the licensing, safety and efficacy of medicines is reserved to the UK Government and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. They are responsible for investigating any safety concerns regarding licensing of diethylstilbestrol (DES). Scottish Government officials meet regularly with the MHRA to discuss known medicine safety issues and to agree required actions.

The Scottish Government’s HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan sets out our approach to ensuring that people living with HIV have equitable access to high quality care and treatment to support them to live well.

We are aware of the recent HIV Outcomes Beyond the Virus report and will be working with the HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Implementation Group and the Scottish Health Protection Network’s HIV Clinical Leads Group to consider its recommendations and ensure that psychological support for adults living with HIV meets the high standards we would expect.

The Scottish Government is also providing NHS Education for Scotland with around £30 million in 2024-25 to deliver multidisciplinary education, training and workforce expansion for staff supporting adult and children’s mental health and psychological wellbeing. In September 2023, the Scottish Government published the National Specification for Psychological Therapies and Interventions and the Core Standards for Mental Health. These set out the standards to which we expect psychological therapies and mental health services to be delivered, including appropriate staffing.

Applications relating to the construction and/or operation of a generating station which may require section 36 consent, are considered on a case-by-case basis in line with legislation, which includes the Electricity Act 1989, and in some cases, the Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017. The benefits and impacts of any proposal, such as they are material to an application, are particular to each case.

The proposed reforms are about making the consideration and determination process more efficient, not making it easier for projects to get consent or to reduce the overall quality of decision-making in the consenting process.

Scottish Forestry are a key stakeholder in the consenting process.

The ‘Verity House Agreement’ and the ‘New Deal for Business’ have set out how the Scottish Government intends to work collaboratively with local authorities and others to deliver a just transition to net zero.

The reform process launched by this consultation creates an opportunity to re-set the expectations on the bodies providing essential support to the application process, taking account of their views, suggestions and their specific circumstances.

The Scottish Government is committed to early and meaningful community consultation. It is important that communities and stakeholders are appropriately engaged throughout the pre application and application journey.

As noted in the answer provided for S6W-31574 on 4 December 2024, resourcing requirements for the Energy Consents Unit are kept under review, with a view to addressing the expected intake of applications.

Introducing fees for pre-application activities will allow the Energy Consents Unit to be adequately resourced to administer any increases in pre-application activities.

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

Scottish Government officials have worked closely with UK Government counterparts to demonstrate the challenges that are faced by all stakeholders in the process.

We are seeking views and any further evidence from stakeholders on the proposals contained in the consultation and these fill inform the decision on the next steps.