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That is great. Thank you. As I have said, your answers have been full and comprehensive, but perhaps some of them have been outwith the scope of what the committee is scrutinising.

I will reiterate and re-emphasise this question: what, if any, impact will the bill and the simplification process for a GRC have on sports organisations?

With regard to the reduction in the minimum age for obtaining a gender recognition certificate from 18 to 16, which we have already touched on, some quite polarised views have been expressed on the competency of the young person in that respect and whether parental consent should be involved. I would be interested in hearing your views on that.

I am really interested in seeing and taking note of how support and guidance for young people will develop. Ellie, do you want to respond to the same question?

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on the motion, with the caveat that everything that I will highlight has hard-working staff behind it; I acknowledge them and everything that they have done throughout the Covid pandemic.

Since forming a Government, the SNP has built a strong record of delivering high standards of care across the country. That is driven by our ethos of compassion, dignity and respect, which is at the centre of everything that we do on health and social care.

That was firmly outlined when Shona Robison brought forward the new health and social care standards for Scotland in 2017. Traditionally, health and social care has involved those who require support being taken out of their homes and placed in unfamiliar settings. However, as we have moved forward with the integration of health and social care, we have ensured that person-centred care and support is at the heart of everything that we do. That has led to more people being able to receive support in the comfort of their own homes. By doing that, we are continuing to improve outcomes for people who require care while utilising the best technology that we have access to.

By scaling up our services through the £1 billion NHS recovery plan, we can tackle the pressures on our NHS. We are providing general practices and their patients with support from a range of healthcare professionals in the community, and we will recruit 1,500 more staff over the next five years for our national treatment centres, alongside 1,000 community mental health staff. We are increasing primary care investment by more than 25 per cent to support GPs, dentists and pharmacists, and we are investing more than £400 million to create a network of 10 national treatment centres across Scotland.

I was really pleased to see record investment from the Scottish Government across our health and social care sector, with £18 billion going to fund health and social care. That will go a long way in supporting people to access the support that they need while ensuring that carers who work in the sector are paid more, which is a key aspect that underpins the service.

Investment in our services and our population is key to Scotland’s recovery from the pandemic. More than ever, we realise the fragility of our mental health as well as our physical health. In part of my constituency, the Aberdeenshire health and social care partnership has moved progressively to develop a hospital at home policy. The health and social care partnership recognised that it had an ageing population and that, in order to have a system that supported the delivery of a long-term, sustainable service, a fundamental shift in thinking—progressive thinking—was required.

The opportunity to develop a hospital at home service presented itself when NHS Grampian undertook a whole-system redesign, which included the transfer of resource from acute to community services. That change meant that acute geriatricians could be aligned to manage patients within the community. Alongside the redesign was the acknowledgment that our population is better served when we receive care, whenever possible, in our communities. That has been at the forefront of the Government’s record in health and social care.

Before the introduction of the hospital at home service, various community models were already in place in Aberdeenshire. Those included community hospitals, virtual community wards and a multidisciplinary approach, so the concept of managing patients within the community was already well established in the health and social care partnership. The hospital at home service was the next logical step.

In the context of our response to Covid-19, we have benefited from strong relationships with local authorities and the NHS. That enabled us to take a swift and cohesive approach that ensured that our residents and staff had the protections and support that they needed to stay safe.

Operation home 1st, as it is known, became the next phase in the health and social care response to Covid-19 across NHS Grampian. The partnership involved all three health and social care partnerships and the acute sector, and it harnessed the strong collaborative working and the whole-system approach that were adopted across all sectors during the response phase. That innovative and person-first principle, in which place-based care is of paramount importance, embodies a framework in which we can create the right environment for keeping people at home safely, reduce hospital admissions when an alternative intervention is possible and ensure that people who need care in hospital do not need to stay there for longer.

A key focus is directing support towards prevention, and there is an increased community focus to improve outcomes for all, not least elderly people. That prioritises the goal of home first for all care, which will ensure that the system remains flexible and agile enough to respond to any surges in demand and that the whole person—their circumstances and support—is considered. That model of best practice can be reflected across Scotland in a national service.

I am sure that I am not the only carer in the chamber or the only person to have experienced a loved one receive care. In that respect, choice is an absolute necessity. The option to stay at home must be a right. For many people, there is no place like home, and I am glad that that sentiment is embedded in policy for a progressive approach to healthcare for all.

One million pounds to help exports hardly seems like fair compensation, given the utter havoc that the Tories’ hard Brexit has wrought on the fishing and seafood industries. They were completely ignored during the negotiations that brought about the trade and co-operation agreement, and it now seems likely that the Tories will, once again, throw our fishers and those in the seafood industry under the bus in a trade war with the EU. Does the cabinet secretary share my view that, if that happens, it will put beyond any doubt the UK Government’s disinterest and the contempt that it has for Scotland’s seafood sector?

Labour shortages that have been caused by Brexit and accentuated by the Covid pandemic have badly affected businesses across the food and farming sectors, and they could cause what has been described as “permanent damage”. Do you agree that, if that issue is not resolved swiftly, it threatens to shrink the sectors permanently?

You will be aware that that issue has been raised in the UK Parliament’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. The Government received requests for help from the farming sector and, as is stated on the UK Parliament’s website, labour shortages

“took a toll on food security, the welfare of animals and the mental health of those who work in the industry”.

It says:

“The Committee was frustrated by the reluctance of”

the Westminster

“Government to engage with the industry over labour shortages. Despite valiant attempts by the industry, Ministers failed to understand the issues and even sought to pass the blame onto the sector.”

Can the secretary of state provide any reassurances that swift action will be taken there?

Have you done any reviews to find out whether European seasonal agricultural labourers have been put off coming to work in the UK because they have to apply for a work scheme? Has that contributed to the drop in the number of agricultural workers?

—and that they should just get better-paying jobs or increase their working hours. This is really important and topical. People are facing hard choices. Do you agree with those comments? What more can we do across our Governments to help to support those people? What can you do in your position with regard to food security?

My question is on the topic of food security. Earlier you touched on the cost of living crisis, which is driving up poverty. You said that unemployment is low, but poverty is running through the homes of working people, so there is a disconnect there. Inflation is set to be at its highest for 40 years and fuel prices are soaring. Food prices are being described as “apocalyptic”, and Justin King, the former boss of Sainsbury’s, has pinpointed Britain’s exit from the European Union as the cause of the cost of living pressures that are being felt by British shoppers amid a rise in the cost of food. Mr King believes that the trade problems between the UK and Europe since Brexit, and the Northern Ireland protocol, are playing roles in that.

People are suffering, Mr Eustice. Many of your colleagues have made comments that have invalidated and, frankly, patronised the struggle that people are having in their daily lives. Comments have been made that imply that people are less educated about cooking and getting access to fresh food—

What engagement have you had with the Scottish Government in that regard? What practical support is the UK Government giving to the fishing industry to get over this period? As you say, some things are looking better, but that is in relation to a very low bar; compared with where things started, we are still not back to where they were, and things are not where it was promised they would be. From the engagement that I have had, I would certainly not say that people in the industry are seeing things picking up and being as positive as you say they are.

What engagement have you had with the Scottish Government? Is interaction taking place, and what practical support can you give?