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That was the subject of my next question. Would NHS directors welcome that across the board?

I have one final question. If the bill progresses, is there a particular amendment or part that should be prioritised and worked on at this stage?

Do you mean that some of how we deliver that should be in the bill?

I have one last question, which is possibly for Julie Murray, who I see wants to come in anyway. I will ask my question and that will give you a chance to respond to it.

Some of the evidence that we have taken so far is about how much could be done now. Even if we progress the bill to the next stage, is there an urgency to some of the work that we should be doing?

I have a couple of questions on quite specific issues. I am interested in what has become known as Anne’s law. We have discussed with other witnesses whether we are able to implement that now or whether we need to wait for the bill. What are your views on how we might implement it?

Could you describe that in a few sentences? I know that it is complex, but what could we do now to ensure that that redress is provided?

That is lovely—thank you.

That is excellent. We are at stage 2 of the bill process and we have proposed amendments from the Government. Would any of the witnesses prioritise any of those amendments or suggest anything that is missing or that the committee should pick up on in its scrutiny process?

That is great—thank you.

There is another thing that you have already touched on. I am interested to know about children’s and justice services. Do you wish to say anything in addition to your written submission about where we go with that if the bill progresses?

I thank Tess White for bringing this important issue to the chamber. I, too, welcome it being Scottish women and girls in sport week.

I understand that many people feel strongly about the topic, which is why it requires the attention of Parliament and should come to the chamber floor for debate. In my speech, I want to try as much as I can to show that I believe in a sports provision that is fair, safe and allows everyone to have an opportunity to compete and enjoy a whole variety of sports. I also want to describe my constituents’ views as far as I can.

I am contacted regularly about the issue by constituents and people outside my South Scotland region who are on both sides of the debate. Primarily, the feedback that I receive is that a great number of women feel that their voices are not being heard when it comes to sport and the inclusion of women in sport. I think that we can all agree that that is not acceptable. We have to hear those voices, and it is our responsibility in the chamber to ensure that that happens.

I do not profess to have all the answers, but I can say with certainty that there is a need for more research and for individual sports to be allowed more time to make decisions on how we discuss the matter and make progress. We cannot rush into altering the fundamentals of competition without carrying out due diligence. Millions of people take sporting competition very seriously, either actively or as spectators, and it would be remiss of the Parliament to simply dismiss women’s concerns about transgender people’s engagement in sport. We have to take time to listen and to learn.

We all surely agree that sport must be safe and as fair as possible. That is what we teach children from a very young age, and it is the spirit of, for example, the Commonwealth games, which will be coming back to Scotland in a couple of years. Transparency and a logical approach to fairness and harm avoidance are required.

As others have mentioned, the Equality Act 2010 includes an exemption that allows us to act in relation to sport. Sports leaders have also made comments that have been referenced by members. The performance director of British Cycling has said that this could be

“the single biggest issue for Olympic sport.”

In athletics, Seb Coe has said that the issue is making women’s sport “very fragile”. It is therefore very important that we make progress.

When I speak to constituents, overall, they accept that there are some cases in which someone who has transitioned could compete alongside others of their gender, but we should be clear about what that should look like. When it comes to high-impact sports and ones that feature frequent contact, there are legitimate concerns about long-term health effects and a blanket approach being taken. As we have heard, in sport, someone who has experienced puberty as a male has a significant natural advantage, so much more consideration has to be given to those cases.

Let us not forget that it took many decades to get the public to take women’s sport, including women’s athletics, seriously. We owe a debt to the women who built those foundations, so we should be serious when making decisions about what we do.

As I said, I do not pretend to have the answers, but, as parliamentarians, we must listen to the experts and be open minded when concerns are raised. We cannot have a knee-jerk reaction. It is not good enough to make political points. I hope that, by our speaking up today, some people out there will understand that parliamentarians are listening and that we can take action on the issue.