Chamber and committees

I have heard from care-experienced young people that there are issues around claiming council tax exemptions for those who leave care between the ages of 16 and 18, even if they leave care during that period and then return. Can the minister advise whether that is the case? If it is, will the Scottish Government seek to address that disparity?

According to research conducted by the Alcohol Health Alliance UK in 2020, more than 70 per cent of alcohol labels do not include the low-risk drinking guidelines, despite the industry reaching a voluntary agreement with the UK Government to include them. Meanwhile, the Scottish Government’s research indicates that only 17 per cent of people in Scotland are aware of the chief medical officer’s low-risk drinking guidelines.

People deserve to know what they are consuming and to be aware of the harm—

In its response to the consultation, NSS said that reimbursement should be made only when the outcome of the mesh surgery was fully successful and requires no further treatment on the NHS. Can you expand on that? Is it fair to exclude women who might have suffered complications or had unsuccessful surgery through no fault of their own?

Good morning, everyone. How is Covid-19 impacting the service from the point of view of staff absence or redeployment, or people’s ability to access a referral because of capacity issues in primary care? That question is probably for Dr Jamieson.

Good morning, cabinet secretary. In the past few weeks, we have heard some of the women say that they have lost trust in the mesh services, and some of them have lost trust in the Scottish NHS as a whole. The event will have been traumatising for many of them. Earlier, you broke down one of Jackie Baillie’s questions and spoke about the bill and the position going forward. What consideration has been given to women who have already paid out of their own pockets for other wraparound care, such as mental health support? What on-going consideration is being given to women who may not feel able to undertake any form of mental health support or physiotherapy, for example, in NHS services because of their mistrust?

When someone undergoes a drug overdose, it is vital that every effort is made to engage them in treatment and support. What is the cabinet secretary doing to ensure that all those who have been affected are being provided with effective follow-up care after they have been discharged from hospital?

Figures published today by Public Health Scotland revealed that from April to December 2020 the number of people being diagnosed with breast, colorectal and lung cancers were, respectively, 19 per cent, 25 per cent and 9 per cent lower than would have been expected. While diagnoses of breast and lung cancer have begun to return to pre-pandemic levels, colorectal cancer diagnoses are still well below their previous levels.

It is clear that we must encourage people to come forward when they have worrying symptoms, but there is a risk that the well-publicised pressures on the health service might discourage them. What urgent action will the Scottish Government take to ensure not only that people who have symptoms seek help but that services are able to deliver a timely diagnosis when they do so?

I welcome this debate on the stigma surrounding menopause, and I thank Collette Stevenson for bringing it to the chamber.

For too long, people going through the menopause have had their experiences and symptoms ignored and underplayed. They are often the butt of the joke and their symptoms are dismissed as women’s issues. That is why it is so important that we make time to talk about it in Parliament and raise awareness of how much impact menopause can have on women and people who menstruate.

As the motion states, much stigma still surrounds the menopause, and it is part of a wider culture that discourages people from talking about their menstrual health. That causes real harm. It prevents women from asking for support from employers or accessing healthcare. It causes shame and embarrassment, which causes unnecessary distress and can prevent people from getting the help that they need.

Workplaces can do more. A survey conducted by Engender in 2019 revealed that only 3.7 per cent of respondents were aware of their workplace having a menopause policy, and 21.7 per cent were unsure whether their workplace had one. A 2019 UK survey conducted by BUPA and the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development found that three in five menopausal women were negatively affected at work, and almost 900,000 had left their jobs because of menopausal symptoms.

It is scandalous that so many workplaces are either unable or unwilling to make adaptations to allow for the fact that most women will go through the menopause at some point. Surely it is in their interests to make adjustments and implement policies that will allow them to retain their staff. Also, how can we hope to tackle the gender pay gap when some women are being driven out of employment by symptoms that a significant proportion of women will experience? The stigma surrounding the menopause marginalises and disadvantages women and is a driver of inequality.

How do we tackle that? As I said earlier, debates like this can help to address stigma. The Engender survey found that there has been an increase in the amount of public conversation about the menopause, its impacts, and women’s needs, although most respondents still felt that they were inadequately supported.

Conversations about the menopause should not be left to women. Everyone should be educated about menopausal symptoms. We teach children in school about puberty as part of their personal and social education, but there is no corresponding educational tool for menopause, despite it being one of the major transitions in many people’s lives.

We need robust workplace policies on health and safety, sickness absence, and flexible working, and a workplace culture that is understanding of the ways in which menopausal symptoms can impact on employees. We also need healthcare that addresses the needs of those who are experiencing menopause, and I am pleased to see that the commitments in the women’s health plan include ensuring that women receive access to specialist services for advice and support on the diagnosis and management of menopause. The availability of specialist services recognises the impact that menopause can have on people’s health and wellbeing, and that it warrants dedicated support.

Menopause stigma is born out of sexism and ageism, and we must recognise how it can intersect with other forms of discrimination. For example, we know that black women in the UK experience significant inequalities when accessing healthcare. A report published in 2019 found that black women still have more than five times the risk of dying in pregnancy or up to six weeks postpartum compared with white women. Black women might face barriers to accessing healthcare or find it difficult to have their symptoms taken seriously. I would like more research and data on how black women in Scotland are impacted by the menopause and their experiences of accessing medical and workplace support. I look forward to working with the minister and colleagues on that, and on wider women’s health issues.

The cabinet secretary will be aware that Loch Gairloch has suffered several times from illegal dredgers and trawlers and that, following the destruction caused by two dredgers in 2018, Parliament voted to deliver robust and tamper-proof vessel tracking on all Scottish fishing vessels. However, three years later, not all of those vessels have been fitted with any additional equipment.

The first of last week’s incidents was reported to Marine Scotland officers in the morning, but there was no officer available to visit and the protected area was breached again that very evening. There are also reports that the £2,000 fine for abusing no-take zones is inadequate and too easily dismissed as a business expense. As the current measures are not posing a sufficient deterrent, is the Scottish Government considering additional measures to prevent illegal fishing, particularly in our marine protected areas?

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to address illegal trawling. (S6O-00290)