Official Report 1111KB pdf
The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-20319, in the name of Elena Whitham, on eating disorders awareness week 2026. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament recognises Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2026, which runs from 23 February to 1 March; understands that the theme for the week is “Community”, to highlight that, while eating disorders can be isolating for those experiencing them and the people supporting them, there is value in connecting with others who have shared experiences; notes that the eating disorder charity, Beat, estimates that 1.25 million people across the UK, and 100,000 people in Scotland, have an eating disorder; recognises that data suggests that the prevalence of eating disorders has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020; acknowledges the comprehensive recommendations set out in the 2021 National Review of Eating Disorder Services, and notes the view that, while work is being carried out by organisations such as Beat to increase peer support and training services, further measures are required to address this growing issue.
20:11
I am pleased to bring to the chamber this debate recognising eating disorders awareness week 2026, which runs from 23 February to 1 March. I thank members from across the chamber for adding their voices to mine on the issue, and I thank the eating disorders charity Beat for providing briefings. I welcome to the public gallery representatives from Beat and SupportED, as well as David, a father who lost his beloved daughter just last year. I pay tribute to them for bearing with us as our decision time this evening crept ever later.
This year’s theme is community, and it could not be more important. Eating disorders are profoundly isolating illnesses. They isolate the person who is struggling; the parents and carers, who are frightened and unsure where to turn; and the families, who often feel that they are navigating a complex and fragmented system alone. However, community, connection, shared understanding and peer support can be an absolute lifeline.
We know that eating disorders affect at least 1.25 million people across the United Kingdom, including around 100,000 people in Scotland. We also know that the prevalence and complexity of such disorders appear to have increased since the Covid-19 pandemic. Behind those numbers are real lives: people who are living with anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating disorder or avoidant restrictive food intake disorder—ARFID.
It is ARFID that I want to speak about personally today. In my own family, we have experienced the reality of ARFID, and I want to be honest about what that has meant. I have spoken about it before, but it bears repeating. It did not look like what many people imagine an eating disorder to be. There was no discussion about body image and no desire to lose weight. Instead, there was overwhelming anxiety around food: the texture, the smell and the appearance—fears that others might dismiss as fussiness. Meals became battlegrounds and social occasions became stressful or non-existent because they were just too traumatic. Nutrition became an urgent daily concern for us all.
When we sought help, we encountered what so many families tell us they experience: uncertainty. There was uncertainty about who was responsible for treatment; uncertainty about whether the case was “serious enough”; and uncertainty about what pathways even existed. We met dedicated professionals who wanted to help—I acknowledge that—but we also encountered gaps, a lack of consistent understanding, long waits and no clear, agreed pathway. That experience is not unique.
We continue to hear, through helplines and community organisations, that services can be hard to access and late to intervene, and that they are too often driven by crisis management rather than early support. Some people receive excellent care from general practitioners and primary care teams, but there remains significant geographical variation, with support sometimes being dependent on where people live.
Families describe struggling to get recognition for binge-eating disorder, young people with ARFID being told that they do not fit traditional criteria, and people waiting months and sometimes years for specialist input. Meanwhile, presentations are becoming ever more complex. People are navigating eating disorders alongside neurodivergence, trauma, substance use, depression and anxiety. Social media shapes how young people are thinking about food and body image. The increasing availability of glucagon-like peptide-1—GLP-1—weight-loss injections adds another layer to a fast-changing landscape. This is not a static challenge—it is ever evolving.
It is important to recognise however, that Scotland has much to be proud of in terms of its policy direction. The 2021 national review of eating disorder services set out comprehensive, thoughtful recommendations in its “Scottish Eating Disorder Services Review—Full Report”.
The 2024 “National Specification for the Care and Treatment of Eating Disorders in Scotland” provides a clear framework for improvement. Through the national eating disorders network, work is being done to improve training via the Turas online learning platform, NHS Inform and NHS 24. Health boards have been asked to audit themselves and plan implementation. That is all good work and it deserves recognition.
However, the reality that we continue to hear about from people with lived experience is that the ambition has not yet translated into consistent change on the ground everywhere. A strategy is only as strong as its delivery, and we must, collectively, strive harder, as I know we all want to do. Clinical teams are being asked to implement significant transformation within existing structures and ever-tightening budgets. Waiting time targets and expectations around self-referral require capacity, and the national network itself operates with very limited staffing. We cannot assume that publishing a review means that the problem is solved or that, because structures exist, the experience of families has improved everywhere.
That brings me back to the theme of community. Community means peer support, which amazing organisations such as Beat are expanding across the country. It means training teachers so that schools can identify concerns early; equipping GPs with the confidence to recognise ARFID and binge-eating disorder; and supporting carers, who often shoulder enormous emotional and practical burdens. I cannot put a number on the amount of time that I have spent in tears over the years.
However, community also means political will. The national specification was designed as a 10-year transformation, yet current structures are secured only until the end of the current session of Parliament. Eating disorders transcend political timeframes—they are serious mental illnesses, with among the highest mortality rates of any psychiatric condition. Sustained change requires sustained commitment beyond electoral cycles.
If we are serious about early intervention, we must invest in it. If we are serious about parity between mental and physical health, we must demonstrate it. If we are serious about reducing geographical inequality, we must measure and address it. If we are serious about community, we must listen to lived experience.
When families say that they feel dismissed, we must respond. When young people say that they are waiting too long, we need to act. When clinicians say that they need clearer pathways, we must provide them. No parent should sit at a kitchen table in tears wondering how to get help for their child; no young person should feel their illness is not the right kind to qualify for support; and no family should feel alone, as we did. Certainly no family should lose their child, as David, who is sitting in the public gallery this evening, did.
Eating disorders awareness week gives us an opportunity to talk openly, reduce stigma, share stories and build connection, but awareness must be matched by action. This week, we should not only recognise the scale of the challenge but renew our commitment to addressing it fully, consistently and compassionately. I know that the Minister for Social Care and Mental Wellbeing will set that out, because I recognise the work that the Government is doing in this space. For the 100,000 people in Scotland who are living with an eating disorder, for their families and for the communities that surround them, we need to come together on this issue.
20:18
I welcome the opportunity to speak in recognition of eating disorders awareness week 2026, and I thank Elena Whitham for leading this important debate. I have led the debate myself in the past, and, as an MSP, I have spoken on the issue almost every year for the past 10 years.
Because I am a nurse and someone with a family member who is living with what I suspect is undiagnosed ARFID, these issues are not abstract to me; they are lived, felt and witnessed every day. I pay tribute to our former colleague Dennis Robertson whose daughter Caroline tragically died from an eating disorder. Dennis’s courage in sharing that loss transformed how the Parliament understands these conditions, and we honour that legacy today.
Eating disorders affect at least 100,000 people in Scotland, and many thousands more are impacted as carers, friends and families. The briefing from the eating disorder charity Beat makes it clear that, although prevalence has increased, recovery is possible, especially when people receive early and sustained support. I, too, welcome Alex Jones from Beat, and David, to the public gallery this evening. I have worked with Alex quite a lot in the past few years.
This year’s theme is community, and it could not be more fitting. Eating disorders thrive on isolation—they pull people away from routines, relationships and support networks. Carers, too, can feel overwhelmed or unsure of how best to help. Connection can break through that isolation and encourage people to seek help sooner.
I thank Beat and Alex Jones, who is the national lead for all the organisation’s work in Scotland. Beat’s compassionate advisors and clear information provide hope for so many. Its website could be—and for many, it already is—the first place that people turn to when they are frightened or unsure, as it helps folks to understand what is happening before symptoms escalate into crisis. It is free and accessible for people in crisis, and it is available 24/7. The presence of Beat in Scotland is stronger thanks to previous Scottish Government investment, including an additional £500,000 that was provided in 2021. That funding is effectively reaching more people.
Beat’s briefing outlines several clear and constructive asks—important next steps on a journey to which Scotland is committed. Continued implementation of the 2021 national review and the 2024 national specification remains essential. Those frameworks, which were developed with clinicians, people with lived experience and the Scottish Government, set out a strong foundation. Scotland leads the UK in this work, but momentum must be sustained to ensure that ambition becomes consistent practice and that progress continues into the next session of Parliament.
Equitable access to community and day treatment options across all health boards is crucial. Those approaches can match in-patient outcomes while keeping people close to home and reducing pressure on hospital beds. However, provision varies widely. Beat calls for targeted investment so that every area, including rural regions such as Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders, can access effective, person-centred services. A renewed approach to mental health investment is vital. Demand has risen sharply since the pandemic, and Beat highlights the need for long-term funding to reflect that. Early intervention is where outcomes are strongest, but that requires stable, sustained resources.
We must protect people from the unintended harm that is caused by mandatory calorie labelling. Research shows that calorie counts can be distressing for many people in recovery. Future policy decisions should ensure that calorie information is available in ways that safeguard those at risk—for example, through opt-in rather than automatic display.
Beat also raises valid concerns about online harms, which is important. Those include pro-eating disorder content and the risks that are associated and linked with artificial intelligence. The organisation calls for stronger protections and robust signposting to support. Those points deserve consideration as part of our wider digital safety agenda.
I am conscious of the time, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I know that colleagues have been in the chamber for a long time already. To anyone who is listening today who is struggling, I say that you are not alone—Beat is here, your community is here and recovery is possible.
20:22
I am pleased to speak in support of the motion recognising eating disorders awareness week 2026, as I have done in previous years, and I thank Elena Whitham for securing the debate.
I also associate myself with the powerful contributions from both Elena Whitham and Emma Harper, which are an important reminder of why these debates matter so much. This year’s theme of community is particularly important. Eating disorders can be profoundly isolating for those experiencing them and for their families and carers. Building supportive connections—with peers, professionals and community groups—can make a huge difference to recovery.
The scale of the challenge that we face in Scotland is sobering. Recent data from the 2024 Scottish health survey reveal that around 26 per cent of people aged 16 to 24 reported eating behaviours and feelings related to food that could be indicative of a possible eating disorder—the proportion was far higher than in older age groups. That mirrors reporting that more than a quarter of young Scots may have symptoms suggesting an eating disorder, with significant impacts on work, education and social life. Those findings echo concerns about rising prevalence since the pandemic and underline the urgent need for awareness raising and early intervention.
I put on record my thanks for the extraordinary work of the eating disorders charity Beat. Beat’s helplines, peer support groups and campaigns continue to provide essential help for people who are suffering from eating disorders, not least by giving people the opportunity to connect and share their experiences.
Those services are only part of the picture. The national review of eating disorder services set out comprehensive recommendations to improve access and quality of care, and the Scottish Government has rightly accepted those recommendations and has established a national network to co-ordinate delivery. However, we need investment in, and accountability for, delivering the recommendations to be sustained over the long term, because we know that this is not a problem that will disappear any time soon. Large numbers of young people continue to be referred to child and adolescent mental health services, and the waiting times that they face illustrate the scale of demand that is put on the system. In NHS Tayside, there is only one facility: Dudhope young people’s unit, which admits an average of 20 young people per year. Also, no data are held for adult patients. Those aspects desperately need to be addressed.
Community matters, because it is about not just clinical care, but creating supportive environments where people feel understood, where early signs do not go unnoticed or unspoken, and where friends and families know where and how to seek help. Awareness campaigns have an important place, but we must back them up with action: investment in treatment services, workforce development, research and evidence-led public education. We must ensure that no young person in Scotland feels alone in their struggle and that their communities in schools, workplaces and families are empowered to support them.
I urge ministers to listen carefully to the debate and to outline how the Scottish Government will strengthen both specialist services and community support, so that we can turn the promise of this awareness week into lasting progress for everyone who is affected by eating disorders.
20:27
I, too, thank Elena Whitham for bringing this important debate to the chamber, and I welcome the guests to the public gallery. I thank parents such as David for pushing us, as politicians, to do more.
Like other parties, Scottish Labour supports the aims and objectives of eating disorders awareness week 2026, which this year—as we heard from other members—has a particular focus on the theme of community. That is such an important point to make.
As we have heard from other members, at least 100,000 people in Scotland are living with an eating disorder, and hundreds of thousands more are impacted as relatives, friends and colleagues. However, despite the number of people who are affected, we know that many people—both those who are personally living with an eating disorder and family members and friends who are trying to support a loved one with an eating disorder—will feel like they are facing the illness alone.
As has been said, eating disorders can be deeply isolating, and it can be frightening and difficult to reach out for support. We hear that repeatedly from those who are recovering and from their families. Some of the hardest times come before one realises that there are other people who have had similar experiences and other people to reach out to who care and have the skills to help. It often feels lonely, so we need that community approach at many different points on the journey.
In researching for the debate, I was pleased to see that Beat’s online page talks about
“celebrating the power of community”
and the real, important role that
“family, friends, and other support networks play in helping someone feel supported, understood, and never alone on their journey from seeking help, undergoing treatment and beyond.”
A community in that sense can and will extend throughout the journey.
Before coming to this place, I worked for some time in this particular field, and I feel that the importance of wider family, friends and community in supporting people cannot be overplayed. Recovery is always best when we have others around us, and often the ability to be part of a team together is not valued enough. When I talk about a team, I mean being together wherever that is, whether it is with our close family or close friends, with an official care team or with people who may not know much but reach out to us, such as those who are part of a local charity or community group. Sometimes, even the kindness of strangers can make a difference.
Therefore, I find the focus this year on community to be very important, and I want to amplify what Elena Whitham, the member who brought this debate to the chamber, said. We, as politicians, should be part of that community, too, and we must do our bit as legislators and policy makers to provide support. In fact, when I was looking through some information on this matter, I noted that Beat has talked about having the widest community possible and mentions the role that online communities can play. We need to highlight the importance to people of having that sense of community.
Like others, I acknowledge the comprehensive recommendations set out in the 2021 national review of eating disorder services, and I accept that a lot of work on this issue has been undertaken by Government and by organisations such as Beat. However, I agree that we must continue to advance, and at some pace. In that respect, I would like to raise the issue of community and local services that people can access. When I met representatives of Beat in my office, they explained to me how its report “There’s no place like home: The case for intensive community and day treatments for eating disorders” shows an urgent need to expand access to intensive community and day treatments and to ensure that such services are available to people of all ages across the UK, so that they can be seen frequently. That is perhaps a different approach from the models that we have at the moment, whereby people might be seen only weekly. Beat also commented on the importance of recovery within the community and noted that things such as eating out are done better through those kinds of networks and services.
Given the pressure of time, I will stop there. I look forward to hearing the minister’s response to this evening’s debate, which I have really enjoyed.
20:32
I pay tribute to my friend Elena Whitham for securing tonight’s debate. It has become an annual event in this Parliament to have a debate during eating disorders week, and in that respect we must recognise Dennis Robertson, who started this off and educated many of us on eating disorders after the death of his greatly loved daughter Caroline. It seems that many of the same voices are taking part in this evening’s proceedings.
As the minister moved to the front of the chamber, I said to him, “I look forward to hearing your contribution,” and he said, “I’m surprised that you have any more questions to ask.” As Alex Jones from Beat will know, one of the things that I am doing as I depart this place is trying to deal with what I feel is unfinished business that needs to be continued. I make no apology—and I know that the minister would not want one—for submitting as many questions as I have in recent weeks about eating disorders, and I thank him for his answers. I will concentrate some of my speech tonight on some of the questions that I asked, some of the answers that I got and where we need to go from there.
Let me say, first of all, that I, like everyone else, believe that eating disorders are isolating illnesses: they thrive in secrecy and often separate individuals from their support networks. Over the years, a huge amount of emphasis has been on eating disorders among women, but I think that the isolation for men, particularly young men, is often greater. We cannot lose sight of the fact that eating disorders can affect anyone in our society.
As we have heard today, 100,000 people in Scotland are currently living with an eating disorder. For every one of those individuals, finding a community, whether through peer support or accessible clinical pathways, is often a vital step towards recovery. Building a supportive community means removing the barriers that keep people isolated, and a critical part of that is ensuring that those who need help can reach out for it directly. The national specification for the care and treatment of eating disorders in Scotland sets out a clear expectation that pathways and processes must be developed in partnership with people with lived experience to ensure that care is accessible. However, as we have also heard, different services are available in different parts of the country, and some people can access them quite easily while others cannot. We must learn from best practice and the voices of people with lived experience in order to get all of this right and ensure that no one is excluded.
Good work is going on out there, but sometimes we still do not collect the right data to ensure that we are providing the right services. With that in mind, we need a clearer picture of service provision across the country. Currently, specific data on CAMHS self-referrals and the implementation of PEACE—the pathway for eating disorders and autism developed from clinical experience—is not routinely collected. I welcome the fact that the Scottish Government is taking steps to change that, but collecting the data must be just the first step. It must then be used to identify national health service boards that are falling below best practice and to focus support on getting them up to standard for the good of all the people of this country.
By listening to people with lived experience and ensuring that services are accessible to all, we can break the cycle of isolation. I support the motion and the vital work that is being done to ensure that no one in Scotland has to face an eating disorder alone.
20:37
I am extremely grateful to Elena Whitham for lodging the motion and securing this debate to mark eating disorder awareness week. I also put on record my gratitude for the contributions from Emma Harper, Maurice Golden, Carol Mochan and Kevin Stewart. I pay particular tribute to Mr Stewart for his outstanding work in this area and for his leadership and drive when he held the portfolio that I am currently honoured to hold. I recognise his on-going commitment, which he touched on in his speech. For many years, we have been hearing the same voices, and I want to assure the chamber that those voices are being heard.
As we have heard today, the theme of this year’s eating disorders week is community. We welcome the opportunity to celebrate the strength of community and the important role that families, friends and wider support networks play in helping someone to feel supported through their journey, from seeking help to undergoing treatment and beyond. I also express my sincere thanks to those across Scotland who work each day to support the recovery of those with eating disorders and their families, and I extend those thanks to those in the gallery who are attending this evening’s debate.
I assure Elena Whitham and members across the chamber this evening that this Government remains committed to improving eating disorder services in Scotland. We are working closely with NHS boards and third sector organisations such as Beat, the UK’s largest eating disorders charity, to ensure that those who require support for an eating disorder have access to the right care and treatment.
Over the past five years, we have made meaningful progress to ensure timely and appropriate treatment for those impacted by an eating disorder. There is support across Scotland for children, young people, adults, families and carers, and we continue to provide funding to NHS services and the third sector, as well as working with people with lived experience, which, as Mr Stewart highlighted, is so important.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, we have funded Beat to deliver a wide range of services, including direct support, carer programmes, professional training, advocacy and digital learning platforms. This financial year alone, we have provided the organisation with more than £600,000, which includes funding for its lived experience panel. That vital platform helps to ensure that eating disorder policy and services are truly fit for purpose, and it has played a crucial role in driving forward the recommendations from the national review of eating disorder services.
Since the publication of the review, we have made real progress in delivering the short-term recommendations, and significant work is under way to deliver the remaining medium-term and long-term recommendations. The national specification for the care and treatment of eating disorder services was published, as we have heard, in November 2024. It provides a clear framework to support the NHS and community services in delivering high-quality, person-centred, safe and effective care for children, young people and adults. Recent self-assessment tools completed by health boards highlight encouraging progress and innovative approaches and give us a clearer picture of how implementation of the specification is developing across Scotland.
We continue to support NHS boards to implement the specification through the national eating disorders network. The network was established in 2024 to progress medium-term and long-term recommendations from the national review. Through Scottish Government funding, the network has also supported the development of public-facing resources, including content pages and videos that feature people with lived experience, clinicians, parents and carers. The majority of those resources are now available on NHS Inform, and work is on-going to finalise a digital page to support positive body image and a self-help guide for binge-eating behaviours. Over the past few months, the eating disorders pages have collectively been viewed more than 23,000 times.
By enhancing access to high-quality information, we are enabling individuals and communities to make informed choices on their path to recovery.
I pay tribute to the work that has gone on to develop some of the online resources, but sometimes we do not get the messages out there. I wonder whether, during the course of this week, the minister could send all those links to every single member in this place and try to ensure that those links are also circulated more widely in the community, so that we can up the number of folk who access those pages, which I agree are valuable.
Mr Stewart makes a constructive and helpful suggestion, and I am happy to commit to take it forward. Implicit in his point is the recognition that, although it is one thing to have excellent resources and to acknowledge that they are being utilised, it is another to ensure that we are maximising their use, so that everyone who can benefit from them truly has the opportunity to do so.
Strengthening eating disorder training for health and social care professionals is also a priority, to ensure that they can recognise early signs of eating disorders and understand the complexity of those conditions. The Scottish Government has been working with NHS Education for Scotland to enhance and expand the eating disorder guidance, training and evidence-based resources that are available on Turas.
Work is progressing to produce primary care training videos that focus on recognising and communicating physical risk. We have sought input from Beat’s lived experience panel, to ensure that the content is realistic and sensitive. Scottish Government funding for Beat also supports training to further build the understanding of eating disorders among clinicians, educators, healthcare professionals, academics and people who are out in the community providing support.
I will highlight some of our wider efforts to improve support. Over the past two years, we have provided just over £4.5 million across the west, east and north of Scotland to support the development of regional elements of the CAMHS service specification. That work is helping to strengthen pathways, workforce capacity and alternatives to in-patient care. In the north of Scotland, that includes the progression of intensive home treatment programmes. That work focuses on strengthening home-based alternatives to hospital admissions, improving co-ordination across boards and ensuring that young people who can be safely supported at home are able to access timely specialist care in their own communities. Those will be vital additions to Scotland’s children and young people’s mental health services, and they sit alongside the vital work that third sector organisations such as Beat do to support those with eating disorders—work that we are proud to support.
I take this opportunity to encourage anyone who might need support for an eating disorder to speak with their GP and to make use of the resources that I have highlighted today. I will endeavour to circulate those to all members of the Parliament, to ensure that as many people as possible can access the right support as soon as possible.
I again thank Elena Whitham for lodging the motion for debate, and I thank all members for their contributions. Of course, I very much recognise that we still have work to do to deliver on the recommendations from the national review. However, I assure all those in the chamber and those listening that improving support for those with an eating disorder is a top priority for me and for this Government.
Meeting closed at 20:45.
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