I remind guests who are leaving the public gallery that the Parliament is still in session and that they should leave as quietly as possible.
The next item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-09392, in the name of Fiona McLeod, on ultraviolet radiation awareness to prevent melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament notes the increase in the prevalence of skin cancers between 1987 and 2011 as published in the NHS Information Services Division report, Cancer Incidence in Scotland (2011); notes that the report highlights morbidity and mortality from UV radiation induced cancers; is concerned that there is a continuing increase in the number of people with melanoma in the 15 to 34 age range, including in Strathkelvin and Bearsden; notes the potentially significant human, personal, financial and societal costs of what it understands is Scotland’s most common form of cancer, and believes that sun protection is an important part of decreasing the prevalence of skin cancers.
12:32
I begin by thanking members across the parties who signed my motion so that we could debate it today, and the members who I know want to speak in this important debate.
I also thank Melanoma Action and Support Scotland for the briefing that it gave me and other members. I welcome its representatives to the gallery—I hope that they are there and not standing in a queue, waiting to get in.
Last week, I attempted to complete The Herald’s crossword. It had a clue for a three-letter word. The clue was “sunburn” and the answer was “tan”. I thought that that was quite helpful, because many of us still think that to have a tan is a good thing, but we recognise that sunburn is a bad thing. That clue put the issue into perspective: sunburn and a tan are the same thing; and sunburn can cause malignant melanoma.
Every year in Scotland, about 1,200 people are diagnosed with malignant melanoma. The main cause of that is UV light damaging the DNA in their skin cells—that is, sunburn. We can get sunburn from the sun and from sunbeds. From that, it is clear that this is an almost entirely preventable cancer.
Sadly, over at least the past four decades, the number of people who are diagnosed with malignant melanoma has been rising. In April 2014, we learned from Information Services Division figures that, in the past 10 years, the number of malignant melanoma diagnoses in Scotland has gone up by 43 per cent for men and 30 per cent for women. Given the rise in the figures and given the understanding that the cancer is almost entirely preventable, what can be done? I suggest that we should look at three areas: education, advice and behaviour change; early diagnosis and treatment; and research.
Education, advice and behaviour change should involve lifelong education. Nowadays, most parents of very small toddlers get the Australian message of slip, slop, slap. We would not think of letting our toddlers out into the sunlight without cream, a T-shirt and a hat on.
In our nursery schools, we spend a lot of time talking to three and four-year-olds and taking care of their skin when we take them out. However, the education process must become lifelong. When our primary school and secondary school pupils go outside to do physical education or take part in outdoor education trips, talking to all of them about putting on sunscreen and hats should be standard practice. If we have lifelong education, it will become routine for all of us to take care of our skin when we are out in the sun.
We know that the lifelong education approach works and we know that it produces behaviour change. We just need to look at the smoking cessation figures. Over the same 40-year period during which the rate of melanoma cancers has gone up, we have been stopping smoking and the percentage of lung cancers has gone down. That has been so much about education and behaviour change.
As the result of a grant from the Ian Sunter Charitable Trust, MASScot went into 28 schools across greater Glasgow last year and spoke to 8,000 pupils. We need to support such initiatives. I am delighted that MASScot will go into schools in my constituency this year—in Bishopbriggs, I think. We must support organisations in providing lifelong education.
For early diagnosis and treatment, we need to look at self-examination, so that we are more aware of our skin. Through the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland, MASScot has produced a self-examination pack that includes a DVD that teaches us how to do self-examination. If we do self-examination, we will present to our general practitioners earlier. I suggest that GPs need to be more aware, but perhaps we could also go to community pharmacies with concerns, if community pharmacists got the relevant training.
Early diagnosis of malignant melanoma is important because it is one of the best ways of treating and curing the cancer. If malignant melanoma is caught early, the five-year survival rate can be 100 per cent but, if it is caught late, the rate is 8 per cent. We must think about that, get self-examination and get our professionals prepared.
My last point is that we need to do more research. The research is probably a bit too difficult for me to explain. When my husband did his PhD way back in 1976, he looked at the function of ribosomal protein S6. I will have to read out the next bit carefully. He looked specifically at a protein complex called mTOR which is implicated in rapidly developing cancers such as melanoma. When my husband did the research way back in 1976, the hypothesis was that, if we could turn down mTOR activity, perhaps we could slow down the cancer. Thirty-eight years on from that research, two conferences in Europe this year will look at exactly that hypothesis and see whether we can take it further. That is a wee plug for my husband’s PhD from all those years ago. If we start small, we can perhaps get somewhere.
I wanted to have the debate to increase public understanding that a tan is not a good thing. We must take care of our skin. I also wanted the debate to be part of the process to change behaviour and change attitudes. I thank MASScot for the work that it does for many people in many ways by providing education, supporting research and helping people one to one after they have been diagnosed.
A number of members would like to contribute to the debate, so I ask members to keep to their four minutes, please.
12:40
I thank Fiona McLeod for lodging this motion for debate on skin cancer. The motion is particularly timely as we head towards the summer months. Many Scots will rush to welcome the sun rather than treating it with the respect that it deserves.
Just last week, we were given the clearest evidence on why fair-skinned Scots, of all people, need to be careful. There has been a 40 per cent increase in skin cancer in this country in just one decade. We should make no mistake: that is an epidemic, and we need to respond appropriately.
There have been many advances in the treatment and earlier detection of melanoma, but it is one of the most preventable of cancers. The 40 per cent rise in the number of people who are affected is almost entirely down to our sun-seeking behaviour. The long-term answer has to lie in changing that behaviour.
I, too, thank Leigh Smith and her colleagues at MASScot for all their work to raise awareness. That is exemplified by the first-class briefing that was circulated in advance of today’s discussion. Many of our MSP colleagues who will not be able to take part in the debate will have read that document, and I doubt that any of them will not have been struck by the case to take action. The stories are too moving. The cancer strikes down young lives and leaves others scarred and damaged, and far too many saying, “If only I’d known.”
Now we know, and I am pleased that we took action on sunbeds in Scotland. However, that was only ever supposed to be the start, not the end point. Sunbeds are only one small part of the problem; the sun and tanning are the main issue. It is not enough to protect our children and warn adults about the dangers of sunbeds; we have to educate people to cover up in the sun.
The good news is that we know that that can be done. Fair-skinned Australians have shown us the way. Despite their far hotter climate, they have a better record on prevention, early detection and treatment. The slip, slop, slap campaign, which was led by their cricketing and other sporting stars and which Fiona referred to earlier, was hugely influential. Why have we not used the Commonwealth games to send out a similar message? I know that MASScot suggested a uniform for the volunteers at the games that could have highlighted the advice to cover up with long sleeves and a wide-brimmed or kepi hat. Would that not have been one of the best legacies to give the people of Scotland from the games?
It is certainly not too late to promote that message in our schools. On the whole, nurseries tend to have very good, clear sun protection policies, but the same cannot be said of primary or secondary schools. It is not just fair skin that is the most vulnerable; it is young skin. Again, I praise MASScot’s work in raising awareness among pupils, and I urge the minister to do more to work with it and other charities, such as Cancer Research UK, on effective health protection.
There are so many issues to raise, but as there is simply not enough time to raise them, I return to the issue of sunbeds. Ministers promised a review of the sunbed legislation if it was not enough. We know that children and young people are still accessing those machines; indeed, I reported one just last month in my own area, and we know of others in Airdrie and Glasgow. One salon chain recently offered free sessions on a Saturday—I was shocked to see it advertising on television. Is it time for a licensing regime? The minister should perhaps be asking that question.
I remember one of my MSP colleagues in the Scottish Socialist Party being mocked a few years ago for asking for free sun protection cream. Should that not at least be available on prescription? It is available for vitiligo patients to prevent skin cancers, but is not available to those with skin cancer.
The good news is that a number of breakthrough treatments have been developed recently that offer huge hope for saving lives and improving quality of life. Advances in radiotherapy, for example, have made a major difference to patient outcomes, and immunotherapy and immuno-oncology in particular are very exciting research and new treatment areas. The first of the new drugs is now available to Scottish patients, but only as a second-stage intervention. Does the minister accept not only that such new drugs hold out hope that we can turn cancer into a chronic condition rather than a life-limiting one, but that they also pose challenges for us in their costs and the balance between treatment and prevention?
There is not enough time to raise all the issues. There are dermatology issues that we should look at. It costs three times as much as normal to employ a consultant to work in a waiting time initiative clinic. Would it not be better to staff the clinics properly?
I thank Fiona McLeod and MASScot for their work. There is much that we can do not just in treatment but in moving the emphasis to prevention.
I remind members to use full names. Doing so is a matter of accessibility and is also for the Official Report.
12:44
I begin by congratulating my friend and colleague Fiona McLeod on securing the debate on skin cancer, which, as we have heard, is one of the most preventable forms of cancer.
Malignant melanomas are now the most common cancers in teenagers and young adults in Scotland. They account for 24 per cent of all new diagnoses. Of course, we should not forget that more people are surviving cancer, but education and awareness are key. Common signs of malignant melanoma include a growth or sore that will not heal or which itches and hurts or changes into a mole. Although those signs are becoming more widely known, we still need to get that early diagnosis. It is vital that our young people are aware of the risk of melanoma, that they are encouraged to develop healthy sun behaviours, and that they are confident in seeking help.
The BMJ has published a recent study by the University of Stirling in partnership with the Teenage Cancer Trust, which concluded that
“Scottish adolescents had poor sun protection practice and low skin cancer awareness”
and that
“Girls”
in particular
“adopted riskier sun-related behaviour despite greater awareness of skin cancer-related risk.”
The research recommended that
“Urgent action is required to promote positive sun-related behaviour and increase skin cancer awareness among Scottish adolescents.”
In its helpful briefing, MASScot mentioned how it delivered sun awareness information to 8,000 pupils in 26 primary schools across Glasgow last year. It will continue with that work this year as part of the 2014 legacy.
Similarly, the Teenage Cancer Trust, through its education programme, also runs an annual summer safety campaign called shunburn. That joint media and education campaign encourages young people to love the sun and respect their skin by taking simple steps to reduce the risk of skin cancer. It includes lesson plans for teachers and guidance for schools on developing their own sun safety policy.
Those are important and complementary tools that give our young people the information that they need to look after themselves and enjoy, without putting themselves at risk, the sunshine that we often feel we see so little.
Information and education on sun safety and skin cancer for our young people will be absolutely vital in addressing the increasing incidence of this cancer in Scotland. If we educate young people about their health, that stays with them throughout their lives. Melanoma is not entirely preventable, but recognising the risks of overexposure to the sun and acting accordingly will certainly reduce the risk. I hope that, in time, we will see a reduction in the figures as the messages about the importance of sun safety reach a wider audience. That is a practical and constructive way of tackling the problem that Fiona McLeod rightly identified and brought to the chamber this afternoon. I look forward to hearing the minister’s response.
12:48
I, too, congratulate Fiona McLeod. This is the second worthwhile debate that she has brought to the chamber recently. I also congratulate MASScot, which in advance of today’s debate and throughout the current parliamentary session has brought important education to members.
I am afraid to say that I am a walking disaster in this area. I am red haired—albeit that my hair is somewhat less lustrous than it once was—blue eyed and fair skinned, and I have mild vitiligo. I learned as a teenager that it does not need to be sunny for us to get sunburned. Ultraviolet rays penetrate clouds, as I discovered to my cost when I was abroad.
At the risk of creating the headline “Tory MSP Confesses to Wearing Make-up”, I will say that I wear a Clinique moisturiser for men—other brands are available on request—which has factor 21 at its core. I wear it all the time. One of the lessons that we should be promoting in education is that we cannot anticipate the weather or the strength of the UV rays that penetrate the clouds. A far better thing for young people, particularly children, would be for families simply to get into the habit of getting their children to put on a layer of sun cream, or a sun protection factor cream, as a matter of course, particularly during the summer months, when the risks are at their highest.
It is not the case that people are at risk only on a hot, sunny day; they can be at risk in all sorts of less obvious weather. I need only walk along a windy beach to get sunburned, so I have to be pretty well lathered up with stuff. If there is to be meaningful change for people who have the typical west of Scotland or Scottish complexion, getting into the habit of wearing sun protection cream is an important lesson for us to learn.
I want to talk about the on-going availability of ipilimumab, which I think is the first treatment that genuinely offers hope to skin cancer sufferers. Ipilimumab has been available to patients in England, through the cancer drugs fund and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and the Scottish Medicines Consortium has made it available as a secondary course of treatment in Scotland. I think that it will be the first drug to go through the new approvals process, as a result of efforts to allow it to be used as a first course of treatment for skin cancer. I know that it is not the minister’s responsibility to deliver on this, but I very much hope that the SMC is persuaded of the case. We need only consider the benefit that it has given, particularly to young people who suffer from skin cancer, who have experienced a meaningful improvement in their quality and length of life as a result of having access to the drug.
I hope that the SMC will recommend that ipilimumab’s use be extended to primary treatment of skin cancer, and I hope that the Government’s information campaign will not just focus on hot, sunny days but make clear that UV rays are dangerous in all sorts of weather and that getting into the habit of wearing a sun protection factor cream would be of advantage to us all.
12:51
I congratulate Fiona on bringing this important and interesting debate to the Parliament.
It is worth looking at the science that underpins some of this. The ultraviolet rays that we have been talking about have a wavelength in the range of 100 to 400 nanometres, so quite a narrow range of light causes the problem, albeit that ultraviolet light is important and omnipresent. It is particularly interesting that the part of ultraviolet light that is most likely to reach us is in the most dangerous part of that narrow range.
Jackson Carlaw and other members have talked about their experiences. I was so badly sunburned as a 10-year-old, in 1956, that I had sunstroke and had to be hospitalised. My father, who was a general practitioner, did something important on the back of that experience: he counselled me to look at my skin critically for the rest of my life and he described some of the things to which I should pay close attention.
That is an important point, which I hope is made by everyone who advises people who have been burned, because checking one’s skin is simple and cost free. People do not need to be particularly technical; they should just look for changes and not assume that they are trivial.
I have a particular reason for saying that. A good friend, Mitchell Burnett, who was a councillor of ours in Aberdeenshire, developed a tiny black spot on the top of his ear. When I say “tiny”, I am talking about something that was not the width of a pen—certainly less than 20mm across. It killed him. It took a while to do it—it was clipped out, but the cancer came back and went into his scalp. The start of skin cancer can be quite small and early action is needed.
Dr Girish Gupta, a dermatologist at Monklands hospital, says that the advent of digital cameras makes checking one’s skin easy, because a person can take a photograph of, for example, their own back, head and neck every year and compare the photos. That is a good way of detecting moles. Does Mr Stevenson agree that that is good advice?
I wonder whether my wife will allow me to upgrade my camera on the basis of that advice, which sounds like very good advice indeed.
Jackson Carlaw talked about walking under clouds. The science is quite interesting. Where the cloud is thin and high, the risk of UV impact is raised compared with the risk under totally clear skies. I think that people are relatively unaware of that.
This is an issue for the whole population, even if they never go in the sun, because climate change is changing the impact of UV. The increase in temperature in the troposphere is matched by a decrease in temperature in the stratosphere—in other words, the upper bit—and, as that happens, it promotes the growth of a particular cloud type called polar stratospheric clouds, which increases the size of holes in the ozone layer and lets more UV through. There are issues for us all and we need to protect people who are particularly susceptible. I will go away and consider my personal make-up as a result of Jackson Carlaw’s comment.
When I looked this morning at who had signed the motion, I noticed that no Tories or Liberals had signed it, though I am delighted to see Jackson Carlaw here. I have therefore concluded that for the Tories and Liberals, their time in the sun is over.
Once again, I remind members to use full names and to appreciate that members of the public who are watching may not be as familiar with our colleagues as we are.
12:56
I join others in congratulating Fiona McLeod on securing this timely and important debate. Fiona referred to the helpful briefing from Melanoma Action and Support Scotland, and it reminded me of issues that have concerned me over the years.
I start with education. Health and wellbeing education goes on in schools and I ask the minister to ask his education colleagues to ensure that it includes something for every child on the dangers of sun exposure and of using sunbeds. On that issue, I pay tribute to my colleague Ken Macintosh for his work on sunbeds, which has helped to increase awareness and make significant changes.
Will the minister consider whether the chief inspector of education could raise the issue as part of the assessment of nurseries and schools? We are trying to encourage children at nursery to play outside more, which is great, but unless they are properly protected, there is a problem. The education inspectorate could ask nursery schools whether they have a policy in place and check whether that policy is adequate.
Other members have mentioned the Commonwealth games. An important part of Scotland’s promotion of the games is ensuring that there is awareness of the dangers of sun at them. Let us hope that it is sunny, although, as others have pointed out, even when it is cloudy there might be problems.
As other members have said, early diagnosis of skin cancer is critical. Survival rates are excellent if we diagnose early. Public awareness has already been discussed, so I will not go into it, except to say that it needs to be pursued.
The reduction in general practice training in dermatology since I trained is a bad move. I had a three-month attachment to dermatology as a student, in recognition of the fact that 40 per cent of us would end up as GPs and that the issue that we would see most would be skin problems. These days, GPs get five days of undergraduate training in skin problems. That is wrong. The training programmes need to be looked at, given the significant daily workload as a result of the increase in skin problems.
The pressure on dermatology departments is substantial and growing. As Ken Macintosh mentioned, we need constant waiting times initiatives to keep things under control. In two areas—Forth Valley and Lanarkshire—the redesign of services has cut the number of people who attend as out-patients by 25 per cent without in any way impairing patient safety. I ask the minister to consider whether redesign that has been shown to work in that way and which is safe should be rolled out to every board.
The minister will know that Labour has advocated a much stronger role for Healthcare Improvement Scotland in inspection and monitoring, partly to ensure that, where benchmarking shows variation, new approaches that work are rolled out rapidly to every board. The redesign that I have mentioned is a good example.
Immunotherapy, to which members have referred, involves a new class of drugs for treating cancer and its arrival is extremely welcome. It extends life significantly, and I hope that the SMC will, in applying the appropriate rules, regard the drugs as ones that can be used at an earlier stage in the treatment of skin cancer. Of course, we will wait and see, as it would be wrong for politicians to interfere in the new system that has been set up, to which all parties have subscribed.
13:01
I, like colleagues, thank Fiona McLeod for bringing the debate to the chamber. I also thank MASScot for the pack that it has provided to members and for its on-going communication with parliamentarians, which has made us much more aware of melanoma. The pack informs us of the very serious scenario of a 36.7 per cent increase in cases over 10 years. That is absolutely huge, and it shows clearly that we need to do more than we are currently doing.
I will be a little bit flippant and mention something that one of my colleagues said to me last Tuesday, when it was quite bright and sunny. A certain French MSP, who likes to use the Doric quite a lot, said to me, “You’d better watch oot fur yer wee baldy heid the day.” With this wee baldy heid, I am quite prone to catching the sun.
If I was abroad, I would naturally cover myself in sunblock all the time, because I—like Mr Carlaw—have that fair complexion that can cause a huge amount of grief if it is burned. However, we do not have the same habits when we are at home. I have never been sunburned when I have been abroad, but I have in Scotland, on a number of occasions when I have forgotten to take a hat or to protect my head and face.
Habit is something that we need to change. I am pleased at the amount of education that MASScot has carried out; I know that Leigh Smith was doing some work in the north-east of Scotland and I hope that it will continue. However, education alone is not enough. We have to make sun protection a habit. There are certain things that we do in our day-to-day lives that just become the norm, and this should become the norm—just like the slip, slap, slop approach in Australia.
I have never been sunburned on a day when there has been—as my grandma would have said—a heat in the sun. It has always happened on overcast days, when I think to myself as I go out, “This will be fine,” and it is not. Stewart Stevenson outlined the scientific aspects of the situation, but not many of us will look at the science day and daily, so we must make sun protection the norm.
We have the ability to do so much through curriculum for excellence in schools. No pupil in the country right now will go through their school years without hearing about climate change. It would not be difficult to add education on the dangers of climate change and the real dangers of exposure to the sun. We need not reinvent the wheel in that regard, and no doubt the minister will talk to education colleagues about that.
I will finish on an extremely important point, on which I have lodged a motion previously after speaking to MASScot. It is ludicrous that there is VAT on sunscreens and sunblocks. We do not have the power to deal with the issue here, but those in another place must look at removing VAT from sunscreen and sunblock products. That is vital.
I call Michael Matheson to respond to the debate. Minister, you have around seven minutes, please.
13:05
Thank you, Presiding Officer.
Like others, I congratulate Fiona McLeod on securing time for this debate and bringing the issue to the attention of Parliament. The debate is particularly timely, given that this is sun awareness week.
I have listened with real interest to the points and issues that members have raised in the debate. Several members referred to the statistics that ISD published last week on the extent of malignant melanoma in Scotland, instances of which rose by 43 per cent in men and 30 per cent in women between 2002 and 2012, which is an overall increase of almost 37 per cent in a decade. Ken Macintosh referred specifically to that.
Malignant melanoma is now the fifth most common cancer in women and the seventh most common cancer in men. What is most worrying is that over the past decade between three and five times as many young women aged between 15 and 29 have been diagnosed with skin cancer each year as men. There is clearly a growing level of occurrence.
There are some elements of good news.
Is the minister aware that in the United States one in five people can expect to get skin cancer at some point in their life?
I was not aware of that statistic, but it demonstrates the serious challenge across many countries in the developed world that we must address.
Some statistics show that there are grounds for optimism. For example, in 2012 there was the lowest number of malignant melanoma diagnoses in women between the ages of 15 and 29 in the past decade. I hope that that is a reflection of some of the messages starting to get through about the stark reality of the dangers that the sun can have for the development of skin cancer.
We have taken forward certain measures over recent years. Many members will be aware that Scotland led the United Kingdom with the legislative provisions that we put in place to help to protect citizens from skin cancer by regulating the use of sunbeds. It is only right that we put on record the tremendous amount of work that Ken Macintosh did in pursuing that agenda. I suspect that we would not have arrived at the Public Health etc (Scotland) Act 2008 had it not been for Ken Macintosh’s determination to pursue the issue. That ensured that we had the right, robust legislative framework in place to deal with issues such as sunbeds.
Ken Macintosh made particular reference to some of the on-going challenges in the area. He will be aware that the 2008 act does not provide for a licensing regime in itself, although it provides for regulation around the use of sunbeds. It might be of interest to members to know that eight councils have already put in place provisions for licensing sunbed operation, and we are in discussions with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities about what we can do to encourage other local authorities to take up that approach. It will be of particular interest to Fiona McLeod to hear that East Dunbartonshire Council will introduce a licensing regime as of 1 July this year in order to regulate more fully.
The firearms and licensing bill should be before this Parliament very shortly. Is there an opportunity there to extend the licensing regime?
There is already provision in the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 for a licensing regime. We need to work with our local authorities to ensure that they put one in place. We are undertaking that work with them.
A number of members referred to education. I am sure that some members will recall the programme that we ran in October 2012 in partnership with Cancer Research UK—the R UV Ugly? campaign—which highlighted the dangers of 16 to 24-year-olds using sunbeds. The evaluation of the programme showed that it was very positive and demonstrated that there was increased knowledge and understanding of the risks associated with sunbeds.
A number of other members referred to public awareness and education programmes undertaken by MASScot and other third sector organisations, such as Cancer Research UK’s sunsmart campaign and the Teenage Cancer Trust’s shunburn campaign, which I will touch on later if I have time. It is important that we put on record our thanks to those organisations for the tremendous amount of work that they do in raising awareness.
Several members made specific reference to the Commonwealth games and the opportunity that they present. I am sure that we all hope that the weather will be bright and possibly sunny for the games. I understand that the issue has been raised with the games organisers and that they recognise the opportunity that the games present to get some public health messages across. We are working with them to drive home, particularly to young adults, our skin cancer awareness message by ensuring that everyone attending the games is aware of the importance of staying safe in the sun—even if the weather is not that great.
I am sure that members will be aware that the organising committee is also looking at the training that it can provide to its workers on health improvement measures, including reducing cancer risk factors, for example by using sun protection, eating well and stopping smoking. That is part of the work that we are doing.
I understand that the organising committee is also working with a third sector organisation to source sun cream for workers at the games, to ensure that everyone is involved in the sun protection programme. Alongside that, the organising committee is exploring the option of a games visitor kit for spectators, which could include helpful items such as sun cream and a poncho. The poncho is probably more likely to be required than the sun cream. Nevertheless, the committee is exploring that as a way of helping to articulate the risks.
I mentioned the work that is being undertaken by the Teenage Cancer Trust. The shunburn campaign is aimed at educating young people in the classroom about the risks of and harm from sun exposure and the use of sunbeds—a point that Richard Simpson raised. The campaign, which will be taken forward over the coming weeks and months, is specifically tailored to young people in schools. It is about educating youngsters not only to recognise the risks but to give anyone who might be at risk a helpful nudge to get advice and support. I am more than happy to share Richard Simpson’s point about the inspection regime for our education establishments with our education ministers.
I am conscious of the time. Members raised a number of important points, including issues around access to treatment, on which we are taking forward some measures. I hope that members are reassured that we recognise the importance of the issue, will continue to take forward a range of measures in partnership with third sector colleagues and will look at what more action is necessary to ensure that we do all that we can to prevent any further increases in the level of skin cancer in Scotland.
13:14 Meeting suspended.Previous
First Minister’s Question TimeNext
Care and Caring