Chamber and committees

It is a quick question about the importance of tackling stigma and discrimination, which we have talked about in the past. Obviously, if we reduce stigma, more young men, young women and young persons will come forward. The ice hockey team in Dumfries has a campaign to tackle stigma and discrimination called “Skate out of darkness.” That is important work, so could you give us a couple of comments on the importance of stigma?

Maree Todd mentioned the UK Government’s austerity policies, which have had an impact, but I will not discuss poverty and disability too deeply.

I want to touch on how adverse childhood experiences, such as eating disorders, can affect health outcomes. During the pandemic, there has been an increase in the number of people with eating disorders, and I am interested in that area. How do adverse childhood experiences affect children as they grow up? What work is being done to address eating disorders?

Thanks very much for indulging me, convener. My question is for Dr Matt Lowther. He mentioned the place standard and described the 14 questions in the framework that aim to let communities, public agencies and voluntary groups find aspects of the place to target health, wellbeing and quality of life. How do we know that people are aware of the place standard tool and are using it? Yesterday, I called Dumfries and Galloway Council planning department. It was not aware of the tool but was certainly going to look into it. How do we ensure that such tools, which can support better planning for public health, are available and used?

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.