Seòmar agus comataidhean

I agree with Gillian Mackay entirely that it is the young people who we have to put at the centre of this, and we have to ensure that they get the support that they need. I am pleased that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Sandyford are still providing that support to young people and their families through a multidisciplinary team.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone living with diabetes can access clinically appropriate, safe, effective and person-centred healthcare treatment and support. The implementation of the diabetes improvement plan is overseen by the Scottish diabetes group. Delivery is under way on work on improving diabetes education, prevention of foot ulceration, in-patient care and supporting people with diabetes during and after pregnancy. A key commitment in the plan is to increase access to diabetes technology. Since 2021, the Scottish Government has provided £19 million of additional funding to national health service boards to support that commitment.

I sympathise with the situation that Sarah Boyack’s constituents find themselves in. I am happy to meet her and her constituents to hear directly about how the situation is impacting them, and to continue discussions with the clinical leads, as we do on a regular basis.

As Meghan Gallacher pointed out, it is a long report but very much worth reading. It is very accessible and I encourage as many people as possible to read it. We—the Scottish Government, our officials and our senior clinicians—are all looking at what the report contains and we will give an initial view on that as soon as possible.

I note that behind every headline there are children, parents, carers and clinicians who are all impacted. I agree with Bill Kidd and reiterate the Government’s absolute commitment to improving the lives of trans people living in Scotland. In order to improve access to and delivery of gender identity healthcare in Scotland, we have invested more than £2.8 million since December 2022, of which £2.2 million is being allocated directly to NHS health boards with gender identity clinics to support local improvement work—in particular, to address waiting times and service capacity.

As I said, we are working with Healthcare Improvement Scotland to develop national standards for gender identity healthcare and we are supporting NHS National Education Scotland to develop new training materials for staff.

Between 2016 and 2022, we invested £29.6 million specifically for diabetes technologies. That was in addition to baseline funding to NHS boards. In 2023, we also invested £350,000 to pilot a national on-boarding pathway to support the roll-out across Scotland. That funding supports people—including more than 1,700 children—who live with type 1 diabetes to access life-changing technologies, such as insulin pumps.

We know that there is a lot more that we can do to increase access to diabetes technology, and we continue to work with key stakeholders to determine the best way to do that and how to fund it.

We are working closely with NHS boards on the way in which they choose to spend their money. I am also working closely with my officials to see what else we can do from a Government perspective.

I am just winding up—sorry.

One such fellowship is centred on researching novel therapies for brain tumours. We have recently established a collaboration with the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission to fund neurology fellowships in Scotland. The aim is to train clinicians to appreciate the breadth of comprehensive brain tumour management and to equip them with research skills to lead the high-impact practice-changing clinical trials of the future.

I reiterate to members and to people who are watching the Scottish Government’s continuing commitment to improving survival rates for children, young people and adults who are diagnosed with brain tumours. It is by working together and collaborating that we will achieve that. I thank all those who give their boundless energy to raising awareness and who do the work that we know must continue through research, earlier diagnosis and safe and timely treatment.

I remember clearly when the ban on smoking in enclosed places came into force. The strength of that legislation was that it was the result of cross-party agreement, and Stewart Maxwell of the SNP was also involved in the process. How we work together is also one of our strengths with regard to this bill. We have been working with the Administrations in London, Cardiff and Belfast, so I feel very positive about that. We have also had great support from our chief medical officers to ensure that we are doing the right thing.

More details will be provided in the LCM when it is laid before Parliament. A lot of the work that we have done in preparing for the bill has involved young people at different stages—for example, I referred to the Children’s Parliament. We have to remember that the future of our children, and the need to ensure that they have the healthier lifestyle that they want, is at the heart of the legislation.

I am sorry to hear about the effects that vaping has had on that young person; I have heard of similar situations in my constituency. Children and young people may not fully understand the risks and implications of using vaping devices or be able to make informed decisions. Our “Take hold” campaign is terribly important in that regard, as it is directed at parents and carers, and it aims to provide advice and helps them to understand the risks relating to vaping addictions. I met some fathers who were discussing with me the conversations that they feel that they need to have with their children about vaping. That is one of the areas of work that we are doing that will help with that.