Thank you for that. Does Joanne McMillan have any thoughts on that?

Thank you.

You might feel, again, that you are not able to answer my next question. We have heard about the importance of information being provided to the sheriff and the court. In the previous session, we were told that there was better provision of social workers in the courts back in the 1990s and early 2000s. That is quite anecdotal, so there might be great geographical differences in the levels of provision. Are you able to point us towards any evidence or work that has been done on the availability of that support in the courts? It is a resource issue rather than necessarily a legal issue. Do you have any experience of that?

When somebody is already in custody for something else so that there is no possibility that they would be getting released anyway, is that perhaps an example of an exception?

It was pointed out to us that the interests of children need to be a top priority. To what extent would you get involved in getting sufficient information about that? Would you have to refer to other agencies?

I think that the problem is that we might end up in the same place, but there might be a lot of appeals before we end up in that place.

The Scottish Government’s ending of free testing last April has led to some of the poorest people in society being priced out of accessing lateral flow tests, which now cost an average of £9 for a pack of five. That decision is at odds with the Covid-19 recovery strategy’s aim of supporting low-income households. Given the current high Covid rates, will the Scottish Government review its strategy and explore the feasibility of reintroducing free tests?

Unite the union’s get me home safely campaign calls on councils to make free safe transport home for late-night workers a requirement for new and extended alcohol licences, and some councils such as North Ayrshire Council and East Dunbartonshire Council have backed the campaign. Will the Scottish Government explore making the provision of safe transport home for late-night workers a condition of future support for hospitality businesses?

Has the cabinet secretary had the opportunity to look at the report published earlier this week by the University of Edinburgh, which reviewed the experiences of victims and witnesses in domestic abuse cases since the passing of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018? The report found that, despite that legislation, domestic abuse victims still find the justice system traumatic. What further action does the cabinet secretary believe can be taken to reduce the trauma that domestic abuse survivors experience in the justice system?

I thank the member for that helpful intervention. Yes, we should look at what is happening there and around the world. Jackie Baillie already mentioned the decision in Canada to suspend the use of mesh.

The Scottish Government must apologise for its failure to date to act on the concerns of mesh patients and should establish a compensation scheme to support those individuals as they attempt to overcome the pain and damage that mesh has caused them. Many of the campaigners on the issue now live with life-changing conditions that are directly linked to the mesh procedures that they underwent.

Although transvaginal mesh and its complications affected the lives of so many women, as we have heard, the use of other products to treat conditions such as hernias affect women, men and sometimes children, too. However, despite the testimonies that the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee received from patients affected by the use of mesh, the true extent of the damage caused by those products remains unclear. Indeed, there have already been several calls in this debate for more data and for evidence to be obtained.

In her evidence to the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee back in June, the Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health and Sport admitted that it was not easy to trace what products had been used in all procedures and which were causing harm. However, despite the lack of regulation on its use, NHS Scotland continues to use mesh in surgical procedures. From 2016 to 2020, 62 per cent of all hernia repairs carried out by NHS Scotland used mesh. That is why I join campaigners in their call for an independent review of mesh and fixation devices.

We cannot establish the true scale of the damage that those mesh products have caused to the lives of so many patients across Scotland until we get the data and the evidence. Until that review is completed, the Scottish Government must order health boards to suspend the use of surgical mesh and fixation devices and to use other procedures instead.

We need to put protections for patients in place. There needs to be clear guidance governing the surgical use of mesh. I believe that we need to suspend the use of mesh, but there may well be situations where its use is essential and no other alternatives are available. That must happen only when patients have given their informed consent to its use. It is disturbing that so many of the patients who contacted the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee did not give their consent.

I am very grateful to the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee for giving us the time to explore the issues today. I hope that the cabinet secretary will agree to meet the petitioners to take forward the issues that have been raised in the debate.