Chamber and committees

You are doing that alongside your local government colleagues.

We have had a conversation about whole-life costing, and there is something about whole-life accounting and the benefits and disbenefits that are associated with that. Is there anything that you want to say on some of the social issues? There is a duty around tackling inequality and gender pay gaps and those kinds of things. Again, is that a data thing? Is it about not necessarily having the information to track that data through supply chains and products?

Can I interrupt you on that point? Would it be inappropriate to have those standards in Scotland alone, because we do not deal only with Scottish produce and Scottish supply chains, so we would need to look further afield and have comparability?

There was a lot in that answer, and I could pick up on lots of things that you said. However, I have a final question. How can front-line staff influence decisions about goods and products that are part of procurement plans and agreements? Is there an effective mechanism for front-line staff to influence decisions about goods and services? They are the people who make the services work, and they use the goods themselves. Are those decisions usually taken at higher-up levels? Is there a mismatch there? Is there a gap?

Graeme Cook, perhaps I could bring you in on some similar questions. What are the barriers in the current system to achieving outcomes on tackling social and environmental inequalities?

That is helpful—thank you.

I have some questions for Peter Hunter that are in a similar space. You mentioned the challenges that you have had in relation to a specific example of migrant workers not being paid the living wage, as the commissioning contract indicates should happen.

Will you say a little about what challenges there are for suppliers and commissioners in using the legislation to secure the social and environmental outcomes? Why are we failing in that? Why do we have an example of migrant workers not being paid appropriately? Can you point to other examples of similar issues?

Thank you. I will leave it there.

In your work, do you have anecdotal information that you can use to target different types of anti-stigma message? What would help us to understand exactly what needs to be targeted where and by whom?

So far, you have all highlighted the challenge with data. Some of my colleagues will ask about the mechanisms that might normalise testing and so on.

Finally, I want to ask Alan Eagleson about the film that the Terrence Higgins Trust produced, which we saw in Parliament last year. How effective has that been in challenging, tackling and combating stigma? Do you see that kind of intervention having an impact across the different communities, given the different cultural sensitivities, the different access issues and all of the things that we have already heard about with regard to inequalities and the impact of stigma on them?

Thank you. You have clearly outlined why we need targeted action within the profession. As you said, however, the campaign is the baseline in the society that produces our healthcare professionals, so we need to look at that, too.