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Thank you. That point is well made, as is the point that, although the condition is seen in men in heavy industry, women and others are affected because of such issues. We must be aware of that.

We have touched on the fact that so many people who suffered exposure to asbestos during their working life have never received any serious compensation, often due to the fact that employers would jump through hoops to claim that the cause of people’s cancer could not be proven. At a time when workers’ rights are back on the agenda in a big way, it seems appropriate to renew the call for people to be fairly compensated. Deep down, I know that we can never really compensate someone for such horrendous injuries in their workplace. However, I think that we all agree that we must push that forward and ensure that people get what they are absolutely entitled to.

As people have said, despite that knowledge, to this day, asbestos is mined in certain parts of the world and people with significant interests in the UK are profiting from that process. That is ideologically and morally wrong. In Scotland, we must be clear in our opposition to that trade and the Parliament should be vocal in condemning those practices. In Scotland, there are nearly 200 new cases of mesothelioma a year and yet we are still hearing about cases of asbestos in buildings.

In closing, as always, I thank the groups who raise these issues, such as the Clydebank Asbestos Group—it is lovely to see the group here. My dad grew up in Clydebank and I have heard many stories about the mountains of asbestos that were around in his childhood. I also thank the Scottish Mesothelioma Network for keeping the debate alive. We have a collective responsibility to maintain a focus on the issue, so I thank Marie McNair for bringing it to the chamber.

The response from local communities to storms last year and earlier this year was admirable, and it is vital that communities be included in the development of all future local resilience plans. Will the Scottish Government work with local people, local businesses, many of which are very small in the south of Scotland, and councils to ensure that local small business economies do not face long-term adverse impacts of storms in the future, thus protecting local businesses and rural economy jobs?

To ask the Scottish Government what preparations have been made to protect the economy of rural communities in areas like South Scotland from a repeat of the storms experienced last year. (S6O-01300)

Child poverty figures and indeed some of the estimated figures in Scotland highlight the true scale of the problem facing thousands of families across the country. I want to back up my colleague Pam Duncan-Glancy and say that I find those on the Government front bench quite self-congratulatory on this. We need to be much stricter with ourselves in this Parliament in relation to how serious the issue is and we should be talking about the things that need to happen.

The minister has not mentioned the priority groups affected by child poverty. There are far too many children living in poverty in Scotland today, but inequalities mean that disabled children and those from ethnic minority backgrounds or lone-parent families, for example, need extra support, and that has not been addressed. Can the minister set out a clear strategy to support those children and families?

I absolutely condemn the policies of the current Conservative UK Government. It was interesting that Dr Walsh said at a previous meeting that if we had a change in Government at UK level, that would make an enormous difference to what we could do, including as a devolved nation. However, it is important that we in this committee talk about what we can do in Scotland. I absolutely welcome your commitment to do everything that we can, and I assure you that I will do my very best to hold you to that.

I will talk a little bit about the evidence that Claire Sweeney, from Public Health Scotland, gave to the committee. If you do not mind, I will read out a few points that she made. She said:

“although we have talked about a lot of the challenges that we are facing in Scotland, the big message that I want to emphasise and get across is that we can do a lot about inequality. There are lots of levers and opportunities in Scotland to address it. It is by no means something that is intractable that we cannot address; we can address it.”

She went on to say:

“Given the millions of pounds that the public sector spends in Scotland every year, there is a huge opportunity to use that money to good effect, and we see many ... things”

that we could do in Scotland. She said:

“For example, we hold public bodies to account for financial and access targets, but we do not hold public leaders to account as strongly ... That is something really clear and tangible that could be done.”

She also said that she

“would like budgets and spend across Scotland to be more closely aligned to impact”,

on things such as

“reducing inequality and child poverty”.

and stated:

“It is about the early years, access to education and training, having good and fair work, having a good and affordable standard of living and having healthy communities in place so that people have access to green space, good transport”.

Finally, she noted that

“There is a lot of agreement on what can be done”,

and that we in Scotland need to

“mobilise the rest of the system”—[Official Report, Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, 31 May 2022; c 13-14.]

to do that.

It is. That work is very exciting and there is plenty to work towards. However, I think that Claire Sweeney was saying that, to get the full power behind it, the Government needs to be stronger in pushing public leaders. It would be good to have some kind of commitment from the minister on that. I think that we all agree that we need to push the people at the top to really see this as a priority so that all those things are brought to the fore.

I am interested in that cross-departmental Government working, and I would be interested to know whether you have any examples of having done that well. You mentioned transport as being particularly important in rural areas.

I am also interested to know whether you can commit to asking the Deputy First Minister to give us some kind of plan, because it is key that the ministerial departments work closely together. Perhaps some kind of plan about how he sees the next year would be helpful, particularly in the remit of health inequalities.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I am not sure whether my vote registered. The app says that there was an error. I would have voted yes.

To ask the First Minister when the Scottish Government plans to appoint a women’s health champion, in light of the appointment of a women’s health ambassador for England. (S6F-01264)

I thank Douglas Lumsden for bringing another important sports debate to the chamber. I echo the comments of colleagues and, on behalf of Scottish Labour, I pay tribute to all of those involved in Scottish Rugby for their efforts and successes during the past year, particularly given the adverse impact that the pandemic had on team sport in Scotland. It is great to see that rugby in Scotland is looking as strong as ever.

I will begin my speech by focusing on the successes of the Scottish women’s rugby team, which qualified for the women’s rugby world cup that will take place in New Zealand later this year. That is a significant success for a multitude of reasons. First and foremost, it is the first time that the team has qualified for 12 years, which is a magnificent feat, and I know from this debate that the whole Parliament wishes the team well in its group stage fixtures against host nation New Zealand, Australia and Wales.

Qualification also has significance for the future of women’s rugby and women’s sport more generally. Like other sports, rugby has been a male-dominated scene for years, but by playing in the most prestigious of competitions and representing our nation, its elite female athletes will be role models to many young women and girls who might have an interest in sport. It is crucial that we show support through increasing public awareness and other means when the tournament arrives later in the year. Brian Whittle’s points about it being seen and visible in order to encourage people to take part were well made.

Given that we are marking success, I will mention another south of Scotland team, Ayrshire Bulls men’s rugby side, which had national success in the Scottish premiership in 2021 and before the pandemic. It is important to have strong voices for rugby in our own areas, and I am proud that we have that in Ayrshire. I am sure that it encourages local young people who aspire to be rugby players to take that on and be successful.

That said, as with other sports, we know that not everyone plays rugby in order to become a professional and play at the highest of levels; it can also be about enjoying outdoor activity with friends, learning new skills and keeping fit. It is therefore absolutely right that the motion highlights the value of the players, supporters, coaches and volunteers who, more widely, make community rugby and sport what it is. Without those coaches and volunteers, many weekly training sessions and matches across the country would not go ahead. It is therefore really important that we recognise them. I have a football referee in the team that I work with, and he said that I should also mention how tough the referee’s job is and say that we support referees as well.

Many contributing factors make community sport work to the benefit of our physical and mental health, and it is right that we pay tribute to everybody who gives their own time. That said, we must not lose sight of the fact that sport is inaccessible for many and that rugby, football and tennis clubs might be unaffordable for many. I hope that the minister will take that point on board. Jackie Dunbar’s point was also well made—it is important that sport is accessible and affordable for all.

It is right that we have today’s debate to recognise the progress and success of Scottish rugby at the highest level, but also to recognise the importance and influence of rugby at the grass-roots level. As the motion states, admirable organisations such as the School of Hard Knocks use sport to overcome some of the challenges that are faced by the most vulnerable in our communities. However, we need more from the Government and more intervention to focus our efforts on making sport affordable and accessible. I take the opportunity, once again, to pay tribute to the Scottish rugby teams and wish them well for 2022-23.