Seòmar agus comataidhean

It has been a pleasure to listen to the debate so far. I congratulate Rachael Hamilton on securing it and attracting so many members to take part.

I was struck by Emma Roddick’s observation that it is good to have this debate outwith endo awareness month. We have to continue to do that. If anyone is listening who has an interest because they live with endo, whether or not it is diagnosed, it is important that they do not just feel encouraged but see that we are determined to take action.

Like other members, I welcome the women’s health plan, which is a positive development in Scotland that I hope will represent a real breakthrough. My party campaigned for such a plan. We now need to consider how we will achieve the important ambition of reducing the waiting time for diagnosis from around eight and a half years to 12 months by the end of this parliamentary session.

When the minister responds, I hope that she will be able to give us a little more detail and reassurance in that regard, because none of us wants to build up people’s hopes and expectations, only for them to continue to be disappointed throughout their lives. That is key.

I have been reflecting on some of the things that I was involved with during endo awareness month in March last year. Evelyn Tweed shared a personal story about being told as a young woman—a teenager—just to get pregnant. That reminded me that I tweeted that it is appalling that women are still being told to get pregnant as a way of treating their endometriosis, after hearing, on BBC Radio Scotland, young women in their 20s share their experience of that happening.

It is good that Dr Sandesh Gulhane is taking part in the debate. He will probably want to share what he has heard tonight with general practitioner and clinician colleagues. We have first-class endometriosis specialists and clinicians in Scotland, but we are not cascading the knowledge and good practice enough and, too often, women and other people who experience endometriosis, including trans and non-binary people, are just not believed.

That brings me to a point that other members made about menstrual health and wellbeing education. I know from correspondence that I had with Jeane Freeman and others in Government that the Government takes the view that it cannot mandate things on the curriculum. However, we have to get serious about working with schools to ensure that young people have all the information and tools that they need at an early age.

I join Rachael Hamilton in paying tribute to Sir David Amess for all that he did in Parliament to shine a light on endometriosis. The all-party parliamentary group does important work. I am the chair of the Scottish Parliament’s cross-party group on women’s health, and I hope that we can continue to work together. It was Kenny Gibson—who gave us a pocket history of previous debates in this Parliament—who encouraged me to set up the cross-party group on women’s health, and I thank him. I hope that more men will get involved.

We should focus on the things that we get right in Scotland. Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act 2021 receiving royal assent and making it on to the statute book. I thank everyone who lives with endometriosis for sharing their experience in the context of the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Bill, which was about not just ensuring that we improve access to period products, but sharing people’s stories so that we can get it right in the workplace, in education settings and here, in the Parliament.

I encourage my MSP colleagues to become endometriosis-friendly employees, as I have done. It is really easy to do and they can take this important conversation into their constituencies or regions. They can get in touch with Endometriosis UK, which will tell them how to sign up.

I again thank Rachael Hamilton. It is great that everyone has taken part in tonight’s debate. I hope that we will hear from the minister that there is a plan to put these important ambitions into practice.

I thank the First Minister for her response. Paul Harley from Coatbridge has been missing since 2014, but there has been a potential sighting of him and, in today’s Daily Record, his son Paul has sent the message to his dad that, “It’s never too late to come home”.

It is important that the missing and their loved ones are supported. The charity Missing People is working hard to reunite more families this Christmas. Will the First Minister help to get the message out that the charity’s trained helpline staff can be reached by a call or text on 116 000? Will the Scottish Government do everything that it can to support the charity’s mission, which is for every missing child and adult and every loved one left behind to find help, hope and a safe way to reconnect?

To ask the First Minister how many missing person investigations have been carried out in 2021. (S6F-00633)

I welcome the statement, because constituents in my region are very concerned about the environmental and health impacts that are being discussed. Almost 17 million cubic metres of sewage was pumped into Hamilton waste water treatment works alone between 2016 and 2020, so it is a big concern locally. I have asked the minister this before and she was asked again by a colleague today: will she agree to bring in binding targets?

Wet wipes were mentioned in relation to plastic pollution, but will she commit to bringing in a ban on plastic-based wet wipes in the near future?

Thank you, Professor Bell. We are making everyone hungry, and it is almost lunch time. As someone who has been a vegetarian for almost 30 years, I can say that it is a lot easier to be a veggie now, but I have not gone fully vegan.

It is very interesting to see some of the recommendations for the Climate Assembly from the Children’s Parliament. There is a shift there. Can you say more about what the Scottish Government should and could do to have a more integrated approach to land use, agriculture and forestry? Also, if you have had a look at the draft national planning framework 4, which is out for consultation, do you think that there are opportunities that are not being fully realised in that?

Thank you both. Chris, I hope that your wife is on the mend soon. I send my best wishes to all of you.

We heard from Chris Stark that the area that is giving him the most concern in relation to reduction of emissions is agriculture, and we know that the CCC has persistently raised concerns about the Scottish Government’s agriculture policy. I think that I see some lovely cookbooks on the shelves behind you, Chris, and I have a question about food and diet.

The CCC pathway requires a 20 per cent reduction in the consumption of meat and dairy by the end of the decade. So far, however, the Scottish Government has not made any commitment to reduce meat and dairy consumption at that level, but it might work nicely as a new year’s resolution. What action would you like the Government to take in 2022? What about the people in Scotland—what should we be doing?

Thank you. That has been really clear and helpful.

We are running out of time, so I will squeeze in one final question. The CCC has said that the Scottish Government already has many of the levers. We know that the Scottish Government is a fan of the four-day working week, which the citizens climate assembly recommended, and there is a £10 million fund for pilot schemes on that idea. What is the Climate Change Committee’s view of the four-day working week’s contribution to our journey to net zero? Is it positive? How should that £10 million be used to demonstrate that the four-day working week could be a game changer?

Good morning. Some of the biggest supporters of carbon capture, utilisation and storage also support developing new oilfields such as Cambo and maximising the economic recovery of oil and gas. How do you respond to people’s concerns that reliance on the fossil fuel industry for carbon management will delay the just transition away from those fuels?

Thank you. That is a helpful answer.

We are running out of time, so I ask Erik Dalhuijsen to respond briefly to the question that I asked Stuart Haszeldine and to the points that he made.