Chamber and committees

That is good to hear. It was only one person I spoke to, so it might be worth my following it up more widely as well.

I have not. Maybe Dr Josie Booth could answer it.

Yes, I have a quick follow-up question about collaboration and the third sector. There are so many different roles being played. It is important that Mike Corbett mentioned minority groups. We do not want to leave anyone behind.

We can get everyone around the table, but how can we ensure that everyone understands what everyone’s role is? Can more be done to improve that?

Good morning. You have talked a bit about what the national planning framework contains with regard to aspirations for supporting health and wellbeing. Does the framework give enough priority to health and wellbeing in relation to planning decisions? I am not sure who would like to answer that.

It has been quite interesting to hear everyone’s thoughts so far. I want to ask a couple of questions about collaboration and multi-agency working, which some of the witnesses have mentioned. Kevin Kane mentioned Scouts Scotland and Jacqueline Lynn described the role of sportscotland in that regard.

I know that the aim is to have multi-agency working. Will the witnesses provide examples of where there has been good collaboration with schools to support health and wellbeing, and set out what some of the barriers to greater collaboration might be? As Kevin Kane mentioned youth workers, Scouts Scotland and rural issues, I will go to him first, if that is okay, convener.

I have a brief supplementary question for Irene Beautyman or Matt Lowther. Is it sufficiently clear which developments generate significant health effects? I am thinking about how someone’s mental health and wellbeing can be impacted by living next to derelict buildings or vacant or abandoned land. There is research that says that abandoned buildings and shops can make us feel unsafe and that run-down environments contribute to anxiety and low mood.

If we are trying to support planning to help mental health, should we be trying to expedite planning to deal with the derelict and vacant buildings that affect mental health? There are many such buildings across the region that I represent, from Stranraer to Dunbar, such as the George hotel in Stranraer’s town centre. Do we need to ensure that developments generate significant health and wellbeing effects, and also deal with the issue of derelict buildings?

Good morning, cabinet secretary. Do you have any concerns about cross-border co-operation with the EU? It says in our papers that access to the EU’s early warning and response system will be on an ad hoc basis, which pretty much means that, if there is a potential health issue, it will be up to the United Kingdom to write to the EU and ask whether the UK can be part of the process.

Good morning, everybody. You have touched a lot on integrated services and partnerships, which I was going to ask about. Dr Stark has just mentioned poverty, which we know is a huge contributory factor in mental poor health.

I note from our papers that the Promise Scotland’s “Family Support” document outlines 10 principles of intensive family support that will be embedded in practice. I will not read out all 10 principles, but they include

“Community Based ... Responsive and Timely ... Work with Family Assets”

and

“Empowerment and Agency”.

A submission to the committee from Darren Little, of Dumfries and Galloway children’s services strategic and planning partnership, referred to the need for

“Multiagency strategic planning and implementation at a local level”.

We know that, if people work better together, that will support better outcomes. What impact would greater integration of services have on the demand for CAMHS and on service delivery? I will go with that question first, and then I will wind my other two questions into one.

Yes—to Shelley Buckley, and then to Sam March.

We are talking about cross-border co-operation with the EU, but there is also cross-border co-operation with our neighbours south of the border. I am thinking about zoonotic diseases such as severe acute respiratory syndrome, middle east respiratory syndrome, swine flu and avian influenza—even Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, in the past. We need to make sure that all the scientists are working together. Will the framework improve co-operation within the UK, so that everybody shares their scientific knowledge and we are better prepared for any future pandemics that we need to worry about?