Chamber and committees

The Chamber Desk processes all items that it receives in as timely a manner as possible. However, a number of factors can impact Chamber Desk processing times in any given week. Priority has to be given to Chamber Business, and to the processing of oral questions, motions and amendments for debate. The demand on Chamber Desk services can also vary, and the volume of items submitted for processing can fluctuate. In recent weeks, relatively high numbers of written questions have been submitted, which may have affected the turnaround time for some items. However, members are reminded that, if they have a motion that may be time sensitive, they can request that Chamber Desk expedite it. Where possible, Chamber Desk will endeavour to do this.

Work volumes and workflows are kept under review and adjustments are made to resource allocation where necessary.

The Scottish Government, Scotland Development International and the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership’s activities focus on three markets: Scotland, Rest of UK, and International. Small and independent distilleries are represented in all these activities, including support to attend trade fairs in these markets. Additionally, the Scottish Government’s Vision for Trade and Scotland: a Trading Nation export strategy set out our ambitions to increase market access and reduce trade barriers which is central to an improved trading environment. Domestically, funding provided by the Scottish Government to the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership’s “Sustaining Scotland. Supplying the World” food and drink strategy can help businesses to leverage these opportunities.

The sector provides employment opportunities in some of the most rural communities and can bring visitors from Scotland and around the world, to these areas. The Deputy First Minister recently opened the Cabrach distillery which is focused on community development and regeneration which the government was proud to support through Just Transition funding. We will continue to work with the sector on projects that deliver community benefits, and support our climate ambitions and the economic prosperity of Scotland.

The Scottish Government, as well as the whisky industry itself, takes the protection of Scotch Whisky seriously. Scotch Whisky is defined in UK law through the Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 which provide comprehensive protection covering the making, bottling, labelling and promotion of Scotch Whisky. Scotch Whisky also benefits from Geographical Indication and is protected by such under UK and EU law, and in other markets across the world. The Geographical Indication scheme is verified by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and any breaches are enforced by the relevant food authorities across the UK.

The use of traditional methods is what makes Scotch Whisky unique and the methods that must be used, including the types of stills and ageing requirements, are set out in law. In addition to this the Scottish Government provides funding to support delivery of Scotland’s food and drink strategy “Sustaining Scotland Supplying the World” which aims to safeguard and grow Scotland’s food and drink industry. The strategy is led by the Scotland Food & Drink partnership and contains activity to help businesses develop and retain skills as well as driving innovation capacity and capability.

The Scottish Government’s understanding of regional trade flows in seafood is informed by a range of sources. Primary data relating to the seafood industry including fisheries, aquaculture, processing, trade, and retail statistics is either collected by the Scottish Government (for example, Scotland’s Sea Fisheries Statistics), collected by relevant UK Government Departments (for example HM Revenue & Custom’s international trade statistics or the Office for National Statistic’s Living Costs and Food Survey), or collected by industry bodies (for example Seafish’s Processing Sector Survey). Relevant HMRC datasets that are of particular relevance include the Overseas Trade Statistics (OTS) and Regional Trade Statistics (RTS) publications.

The member should also note ongoing research as part of the Scottish Government’s Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture (ENRA) 2022-27 research programme which includes a project focused on understanding Scottish food supply chains, including seafood. The project aims to develop a better understanding of seafood being produced in Scotland, what is imported and exported, and how that relates to what we eat and what we should be eating in terms of recommended amounts of seafood consumption.

These various sources all inform Scottish Government’s approach to the seafood industry and seafood trade.

In relation to Producer Organisations (POs), Scottish Government officials had sought to co-operate with the UK Government in a review of POs. The previous UK government administration had committed to a review of POs (and the retained EU regulations that enabled them) however this did not come about. Given, the pan UK nature of POs (which are governed by guidance developed by the four UK administrations), there are benefits to a joint review. Scottish Government officials will explore the potential for a joint-review with the new UK Government administration in the first instance.

In relation to Quota Management Groups, the Scottish Government is conducting a review of these organisations (which are a Scottish Government initiative and only have remit in Scotland). This review will be published in the coming months.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-33850 on 31 January 2025. 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 Menopause and Menstrual Health Workplace Policy, launched on 31 October 2023, is for NHS Scotland. There are 22 NHS Scotland Boards, who have all adopted this policy (each being separate employers). There are 124,032.8 whole time equivalent (WTE) female staff working across NHS Scotland and women represent 77.1% of the NHS Scotland workforce as of September 2024.

A campaign report evaluating the campaign on Endometriosis for young people in Scotland was provided by Young Scot in April 2023 which measured young people’s engagement with the campaign.

High engagement was achieved across the campaign webpages through social media and paid marketing:

• 2.3 million impressions which is the number of times a user sees a piece of content, regardless of whether they interact with it;
• 56,000 social media engagements which represents number of people interacting with the social media accounts and content; and
• 84,000 video views which reflects the number of times the video content was watched.

With regard to ensuring menstrual health, including endometriosis is included in the school curriculum, I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-30034, on 3 October 2024, and S6W-32189, on 23 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