Chamber and committees

Good morning. Minister, last week, we heard really strong testimony from witnesses that stigma is still prevalent in rural communities. I put on the record a huge thank you to the people who spoke to us at that meeting. Some of the things that came over to us about the lives that those people have led and the stigma that they have had to deal with were absolutely heartbreaking.

What is the Scottish Government doing for rural areas? How are people being supported and what is being done to try to prevent some of that stigma in rural communities?

Did you consider any other pilots, either this time around or for the future?

Minister, will you give us some background to the pilot on opt-out testing? Why was it implemented so quickly, and why is it running for such a short period of time?

Are the durations of the pilots long enough to give you a picture of what is really happening?

Do you have any early feedback that you can share with us?

Do you know when the evaluation will take place?

My first question is for Alan Eagleson. You said that Scotland is falling behind, and you mentioned the delivery plan. What do you want to see in that plan? Do we have any idea why that is taking so long?

I was concerned to read that 31 per cent of Scots think that they are not the type of person who could contract HIV. That is an issue when we consider the number of heterosexuals who are testing positive. What work is being done to tackle that misconception?

No one is indicating that they wish to respond. Does that mean that no work is being done?

[Inaudible.]—for Stirling Council.

If no one else wants to come in, I will go on to my next question.