Seòmar agus comataidhean

Do you mind if I come in? I really appreciate the information that you have given us. Given the financial pressures of the post-pandemic backlog, do you think that the potential transformation into a national care service can realistically be done with a single-year settlement, or do we need a multiyear settlement? Are there other things that we need to do to achieve that?

I want to ask one of the other witnesses about how the settlements happen. The boards are telling us that they foresee problems in meeting their current requirements. Would having a different approach be helpful?

I have a final question. Professor Ulph mentioned the use of technology.

Something that is repeatedly brought up with the committee is digital—our digital capacity, the ability to speak to each other and the investment that is needed. Is Government doing enough to support health boards with that?

Thank you very much.

As others have done, I take the opportunity to thank Gillian Mackay for bringing the debate to the chamber. It is a really important issue, as members have mentioned.

As we have heard today, there is willingness across the chamber to make progress on a response to the issue, with purpose. I therefore hope that the Government will outline soon how it will do that, and that it will consider using some Government time for a debate on the matter so that we can have a more in-depth discussion.

It is right that we talk of the serious environmental impacts of single-use vapes. They have created a throwaway culture, which, as we have heard, is damaging our environment and our efforts to tackle the climate emergency.

I will not restate all the effects that members have put across so well so far today, as I know that time is marching towards the start of the chamber’s afternoon sitting. I will, however, use a small amount of the time that we have to talk about something that has been mentioned, including in the motion; the concerningly high rate of use among our young people. Sheila Duffy of ASH Scotland has said that single-use vapes are

“creating addiction among young people, including very young children in primary and lower secondary schools, where we haven’t seen much of an issue with tobacco.”

That is a really concerning statement.

The content of vapes is such that they are becoming addictive for people of an age at which tobacco addiction is generally unheard of. That has been exacerbated by the facts that the products are easy to access, are bright, colourful and catch the eye—as we have heard from other members—and, compared with similar products, can be cheap. That brings together the health and environmental impacts of single-use vapes.

I have been trying to ascertain the number of people presenting to hospital addiction services or other health services with complications that are linked to vaping. It has become very apparent that there might need to be some discussion between Government and the health boards to consider having a separate logging option for health concerns or complications relating to vapes, because it is really difficult to find out what the figures for that are. It would be useful for us to separate smoking from vapes, as other members have mentioned.

I know that we are tight for time, so I will conclude. It has been a very worthwhile debate, and there have been many reasonable suggestions from members of the various parties across the chamber. It is clear that we need to deal with the environmental impact. I look forward to the minister's contribution. I understand that we are having an environment debate and that she has responsibility for the environmental impacts. However—to pick up on Stephanie Callaghan’s point—I would like to know what the Government will do now and how we can work across the UK, because some commitments have been made by the UK Government. Will the minister work on a cross-portfolio basis to see whether there is something that we can do about recording the damage from and impacts of vaping and e-cigarettes, particularly in respect of single-use vapes?

I have met midwives across the South Scotland region and what is clear to me is that there is now significant pressure on midwifery professionals’ ability to deliver regular high-quality community-based services to those most in need. It is the Government’s lack of a proper education and workforce strategy for midwives and its inability to support rural health boards with high numbers of vacancies that are contributing to those pressures. Will the Government accept that fact and set out in full the action that it can take that will ensure that midwives are supported to provide community-based services in areas that are most in need?

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to invest in community midwifery services to ensure that they are consistently delivered in areas of need rather than in centralised, and often hard-to-access, locations. (S6O-02502)

I have one more tiny question. I am interested in the daily mile. How much commitment is there across Scotland to the daily mile? Is it is still a priority?

That is excellent. My second question was to be on engagement with trade unions, so I am really pleased to hear what you have said. Obviously, I have been liaising with them myself.

My final question is on the link between the staffing legislation and the Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland Bill. We managed to lodge some amendments on that at stage 2, so a result should be that both work together. What discussions or thoughts have you had on that?

Minister, I think that we all agree that with the right policies we could halve childhood obesity in Scotland by 2030. I would like to understand why we are going into another consultation process. Given the evidence that we have, why cannot we consider legislation? Has pressure been put on you and the Government not to introduce primary legislation in the area? We know that we could change outcomes for a large part of the population.