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Research and survey evidence shows that interventions such as targeted training, awareness raising and work with employers to provide menopause-related advice are effective in improving women's experience of dealing with the menopause at work and reducing the stigma associated with it. We also know that this stigma can be compounded if women work in a male dominated workplace.

The Scottish Government is therefore developing action that will be included in the Gender Pay Gap Action plan, due to be published by the end of 2018 and the Older People's Framework which will be published by the end of March 2019.

The Scottish Government welcomes the STUC Women's Committee report Menopause and the Workplace and the awareness it raises of women’s experiences of dealing with the menopause at work. The policy suggestions included, such as opportunities for flexible working, reasonable adjustments and the development of advice & awareness raising are helpful and will inform the action that the Government takes on this issue via our Fair Work agenda.

The Scottish Government looks forward to receiving the STUC Women’s Committee's best practice information and policy model once it is completed and to working with the Women’s Committee on this very important issue.

The Scottish Government continues to develop its understanding of the impact of the menopause on women workers. Research reviews such as the UK Government’s Department of Education report: The Effects of Menopause Transition on Women’s Economic Participation in the UK published in July 2017, provides a review of existing research on the impact of the menopause on women in employment.

Also the report to the UK Government: A New Vision for Older Workers: Retain, Retrain, Recruit by Dr Ros Altman CBE, Business Champion for Older Workers (2015), highlighted some of the main issues that women faced. This report was based on discussions within the established UK Business Taskforce, findings from conversations with employers, employees and jobseekers, information gathering meetings and the available research.

The STUC Women’s Committee’s recent survey has also helped greatly by giving access to women’s experience of the menopause in the workplace.

The Scottish Government is working with stakeholder partners such as the Scottish Women’s Convention who will hold a conference in early 2019, funded by the Scottish Government to explore this issue further.

Patients do not need to prove their identity to register with a general practice.

The Scottish Government published Patient Registration guidance on 26 September 2018 confirming that patients do not require proof of identity to register with a practice.

This information is not centrally held. Practices must keep a written record of refusals of patient applications and of the reasons for them and must make this record available to their Health Board on request.

While patients do not need to prove their ID to register with a general practice, this has not always been well understood by all practices. The Scottish Government published Patient Registration guidance on 26 September 2018 confirming that patients do not require proof of identity to register with a practice.

Health Environmental Services (HES) provides clinical waste management services to 18 Health Boards that covers collection through to disposal of waste.

We do not hold details of the contracts which individual NHS Boards have with HES, including value of the contract.

A National Once for Scotland tender is currently underway and being managed by NHS National Services Scotland.

The tobacco control action plan – Raising Scotland’s Tobacco-free Generation – published in June 2018 includes a commitment by the Scottish Government to improving the advice on e-cigarette use as part of support given to smokers who choose to make quit attempts using these products.

We will work with health professionals, academics, representative groups and others to develop guidance for health professionals and other relevant service providers so that they can offer basic advice on e-cigarette use as part of their support for smokers who choose to make quit attempts using e-cigarettes.

In Scotland in 2017 we published our own consensus statement on electronic cigarettes to clarify perceptions among health professionals and the general public on the potential harms and benefits of using e-cigarettes. The consensus statement is aimed at both health professionals and the general public.

This states that there is now agreement based on the current evidence that vaping e-cigarettes are definitely less harmful than smoking tobacco products. Although most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is addictive, vaping carries less risk than smoking tobacco. Thus, it would be a good thing if smokers used them instead of tobacco.

A link to the statement is as follows.- http://www.healthscotland.scot/media/1576/e-cigarettes-consensus-statement_sep-2017.pdf .

There has been a significant decrease in the number of children who are exposed to second-hand smoke in their own home. It is very reassuring to see that parents and carers are still protecting children from the harms of smoking in the home.

One of our priorities will be to keep up momentum on protecting them from associated harms.

The Scottish Government recognises the continued importance of awareness-raising campaigns in support of our current strategy. It is clear that our smoke-free homes campaign (Take it right outside) has raised awareness of second-hand smoke in enclosed spaces and has contributed to the keeping second hand smoke exposure levels low.

Current data indicates that the target to reduce the percentage of children exposed to smoke at home to 6% by 2020 was met in 2015 and 2017. Figures will continue to be examined in future years to assess adherence to the target.

The Scottish Government is raising awareness amongst prescribers about the relative effectiveness of varenicline compared to traditional nicotine replacement therapies. The percentage of smoking cessation service users being prescribed varenicline rose to 19% in 2017-18. The Scottish Government expects this percentage to rise further in future years.

NHS Public Health teams are working within Health Boards to improve clinical confidence in varenicline, which has now been cleared for use by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

People are offered a wide range of approaches and products for smoking cessation. The level of varenicline use will reflect in part that people are currently preferring other methods, such as nicotine replacement. Public Health teams are working within the Boards to improve clinical confidence in varenicline, which had been associated with potential harm by the Medicines Health Regulatory Association in 2008. Subsequent clinical research has demonstrated that varenicline is safe to use for many people wanting to stop smoking. It is anticipated that the use of varenicline will continue to increase.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring consistency in local smoking policies on vaping on hospital grounds. We are currently consulting with NHS Boards in order to reach a consensus on whether vaping should be allowed on hospital grounds through a consistent national approach.