Chamber and committees

Good morning, minister, and good morning, Mr Kellet. I am interested in the issue of cross-portfolio working, because, as you have said, the austerity being inflicted on Scotland is costing £770 million a year at the moment. You have also said that we do not have all the levers that we need to tackle health inequalities. As a public health minister, can you tell us what work is being done in other parts of the Government and in other portfolios to tackle these inequalities?

Those challenges are not just urban; they are also rural, and you are a rural MSP, like I am. Is specific work being done to consider housing or other wider issues to help raise awareness of health inequalities in rural areas?

Thank you for that, minister.

I have a couple of quick questions on the theme of health in all policies. In a previous session, I asked about health inequality impact assessments being included in planning, for instance. Again, that involves looking across portfolios. Can the minister describe what work the Scottish Government is doing to include health inequality impact assessments in all policy areas?

I have a quick supplementary question on what you have said, minister. We constantly hear about choices that are being made and we constantly talk about constraints and the mitigation of austerity. When Scotland becomes an independent country, will this Government continue to pursue the policies that will tackle the issues that affect people’s lives, cause them to face poverty issues and lead to the health inequalities?

We cannot constantly talk about “mitigation, mitigation, mitigation”. We need to be able to have the tools, levers and powers to do what we want. That is the bottom line for me. We will still need to make those choices when Scotland is an independent country.

I have a final quick question about the delivery of anti-poverty measures and stopping folk from working in silos. I know that good work is being done in Dumfries and Galloway Council on anti-poverty approaches using participative budgeting.

Are we good at breaking down silos between local authority areas and the Government? Are people embracing that? You said that the Deputy First Minister has oversight of getting people around the table. Are we embracing non-silo working?

I want to pick up on what the minister said about Gypsy Travellers and cervical cancer. I know that there is a reduced uptake of, or reduced participation in, cervical cancer screening not only in areas of higher deprivation, but among black, Asian and minority ethnic women. I know that research on self-sampling for human papillomavirus and cervical cancer is currently being undertaken; NHS Dumfries and Galloway is part of that work. If we can move the self-sampling process forward, will that help to tackle the reduced level of uptake for cervical cancer screening?

I have a final quick question. I am aware of some mounted packs that go out every Saturday or Tuesday, so a code of practice could encompass that set of rides. I suppose that they could be followed and traced so that, if a change were made, we would still know exactly how many guns were being used, who was using them and who was in charge.

Good morning. I have a separate line of questioning, which is about the code of practice that should be developed for hunt activities. Your report says that that should involve things such as notifying the police of how many guns there are and who has them, and a requirement to notify the police in advance of a hunt. Does that mean on the morning of the hunt? In the previous session of Parliament, when the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee looked into the issue, I was concerned about the kind of notification that there should be and how it should be done. I wanted it to be more factual and trackable. Would you support that?

Thank you.

I will direct my question to Mike Flynn. I assume that, when a licence is applied for, it is to ensure responsible predator control. Obviously, there needs to be flexibility. We have heard about capercaillie management; fox management is also needed in, for example, the lambing season. Do you agree that licensing should be flexible and depend on what control is sought so that we can help to manage predators responsibly?