Chamber and committees

Do you feel that free period products have made a real difference? What more could we do to help women and young girls?

Do you have a sense of whether people are put off coming for mental health services because of the long waiting lists?

Good morning, panel. My question, which is for Jane Grant, is about gynaecology waiting times. I think that things are looking much better with a lot of other waiting lists, but why are you still having issues with gynaecology?

We saw from Daisy Drummond’s video that periods can be an issue. Some girls have a good day and some girls have a bad day. How can we educate more about periods? How can education be improved, so that periods become less of a barrier to being physically active?

Stephanie Callaghan asked some great questions, and she asked mine.

Good morning. Have Covid and the years of home schooling and remote learning had an impact on girls and young women in relation to puberty and body image? If so, what might we do to remedy that? I will put that to Dr Stark first.

My second question, which is for Kirsty Garrett, is about ensuring good representation of women in coaching. I think that Kirsty mentioned coaching in one of her earlier contributions. Do you have any examples of good initiatives to make pathways to coaching more accessible?

Good afternoon. My first question is for Euan Lowe. Emphasising the fun factor of sport is important, but given that women’s professional sport is not taken as seriously as men’s sport, it seems that there is a need to simultaneously work on access to elite sport, where that is desired. How can the two things be balanced and not occur in isolation from each other?

I will roll my questions up together then. Thanks, convener.

I direct my question to Cathie Cowan, whose board covers the Stirling area. Constituents at the end of their tether have contacted me regarding child and adolescent mental health services. I know that things are getting better and that your numbers are getting better, but what have you done to enhance those services, how quickly will we see more progress and, crucially, what is being done to help people in the period in which they cannot be seen—in the 18-week waiting time—when they are in a crisis mental health situation?

Good morning, cabinet secretary and officials. Cabinet secretary, how might the dispensation mechanism operate, and how can it be ensured that it does not act as a deterrent to individuals who might have valid reasons for wanting their name to be withheld from the public register?