Chamber and committees

CAMHS is a specialist service for children and young people who have acute mental health needs, and referrals are based on clinical judgment. Although referrals are sometimes not accepted, that does not mean that support is not available. In line with the national CAMHS specification, if a referral is not accepted, the individual must be sensitively signposted to appropriate services, including community-based provision.

We are working with health boards to understand the causes of the rates of non-accepted referrals, ensuring compliance with the specification and delivering timely access to appropriate alternative support.

As I understand it, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, in response to increasing demand for neurodevelopmental diagnosis, has introduced a triaging system. That means that it recognises that some people are waiting longer than they were initially told for their assessments and is proactively communicating to them that they are waiting longer. I will go back and check the quality of the board’s communications to see whether it is giving an adequate explanation.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has confirmed that it is prioritising diagnostic assessments based on patient safety and risk, due to significant increasing demand for neurodevelopmental diagnosis. That means that some patients are waiting longer than was initially expected for diagnostic assessments, which is being proactively communicated to them.

The Scottish Government continues to work with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, health boards, local authorities, the third sector and other delivery partners to improve access to neurodevelopmental support. Last year, we provided more than £2.9 million of additional funding to support several projects, including supplementing health board diagnostic assessment capacity.

The pathway is clear in its intent. We want to identify women with cardiovascular risk who can be treated early. Such women are provided with a home blood pressure monitor in the period immediately after giving birth and are supported through remote monitoring via an online platform and by their primary care team. There is a strong communication process. Crucially, the follow-up is structured and sustained. Such women are reviewed at six weeks after birth, as normal, again at four months, and then annually thereafter for life. Therefore, it should be perfectly possible to identify such women prospectively and to ensure that they are provided with good care.

The issue of retrospective identification is one that I will take back to officials to find out what we are doing to retrospectively identify middle-aged women like me who had pre-eclampsia many years ago, when the system was not in place.

The pathway will ensure that the window of opportunity that is presented by pregnancy is not lost. It will enable us to provide not only reactive care but proactive prevention, which is what we are after in Scotland. We are currently testing the pathway in NHS Lothian, supported by funding from the British Heart Foundation, and we are committed to evaluating its impact robustly. That is exactly the kind of innovation that ensures the provision of joined-up, person-centred care that is focused on long-term outcomes. There are many points in a woman’s life at which there are important opportunities to identify cardiovascular risk, but pregnancy absolutely remains a key opportunity for intervention.

The health of women and girls is a clear priority for this Government and for me, and I want to ensure that women and girls in Scotland experience the best possible health throughout their lives. I am proud that Scotland was the first country in the UK to deliver a women’s health plan. Women’s heart health has been a clear priority in the plan from day 1, and that focus has continued into the plan’s second phase, which was published in January 2026. Phase 2 of the women’s health plan has a renewed focus on optimising future health. It sets out the action that we will take from preconception and throughout the course of women’s lives.

Let me make it clear to Monica Lennon, for whom I have a great deal of fondness and respect, that I have responsibility for women’s health. That is a responsibility that I am delighted to have, and on which I am keen to continue Jenni Minto’s good, collaborative work. Anna Glasier is currently still the women’s health champion, and phase 2 of the women’s health plan notes that the role will continue, so it is crystal clear that women’s health is still a very high priority for this Government.

Many women in Scotland are affected by the long-term health risks associated with pre-eclampsia. That is why we have prioritised action to ensure that women who experience hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are informed about their lifetime CVD risk and are provided with opportunities to reduce that risk. The invaluable work of third sector agencies such as Action on Pre-eclampsia ensures that we continue to raise awareness and drive improvements in care, and I am very happy to place on record our appreciation for their ongoing work.

I finish by acknowledging the profound impacts that pre-eclampsia can have on women and families in Scotland. We know that, without early detection and management, women and their babies are placed at significant risk. No opportunity to prevent harm should be missed. Every woman deserves the highest standards of care, wherever she lives.

Meeting closed at 18:45.

I welcome the opportunity to mark world pre-eclampsia day, which was held on 22 May. It is an important moment that reminds us of not only the scale of the condition globally but our responsibility in Scotland to lead with compassion, evidence and action.

I am very grateful to Patricia Gibson for raising the issue and I will start by saying how sorry I am for her loss. There have been powerful personal testimonies from both Patricia Gibson from the mother’s perspective and Jack Middleton from the child’s perspective. All politics is personal and we are at our most powerful when we use our personal experiences to advocate for change.

Pre-eclampsia is a serious pregnancy-specific condition that can, typically, arise after 20 weeks of pregnancy. It happens when the placenta does not work as well as it should, leading to high blood pressure and in some cases affecting different organs in the body, as we have heard. Globally, as others have said, the picture is stark. Every year, an estimated 76,000 mothers and 500,000 babies lose their lives due to pre-eclampsia and related hypertensive conditions in pregnancy. The vast majority of those tragedies occur in low-income countries and are potentially preventable. That tells us that, in many cases, the difference between life and death is timely recognition, appropriate escalation and access to high-quality care.

Here in Scotland, maternal safety is a national priority. We maintain robust, evidence-based systems for the early detection and management of pre-eclampsia. The best start programme and the work of the maternity and neonatal safety collaborative continue to ensure early recognition of risk, consistent escalation of care and equitable access to high-quality antenatal services for all women across all parts of Scotland. However, I am certainly willing to link in with Public Health Scotland, as Patricia Gibson requested, to determine how the data that she referred to could be collected and reported.

Routine antenatal surveillance remains our first line of defence. Women are invited to attend regular midwife appointments, at which a routine review of symptoms and an assessment of blood pressure and urine is completed for all.

In 2024, the First Minister met families who had suffered the devastating loss of their babies as a result of pre-eclampsia. Together with the organisation Action on Pre-eclampsia, those families put forward the case for improved testing to prevent tragic cases such as theirs from occurring again. I am pleased to note that, since that work was established, all women in Scotland now have access to enhanced testing, which is known as placental growth factor—PlFG—testing.

We are also continuing to strengthen our systems. We are developing an updated national maternity early warning score—MEWS—to support the earlier identification of patients whose condition is deteriorating, including those with high blood pressure, and rapid and appropriate escalation to ensure that women receive the right care and treatment as quickly as possible.

We have developed new pathways, which are designed not only to improve immediate outcomes but to address the longer-term impacts of the condition and reduce the longer-term maternal risk of cardiovascular disease, in line with the Scottish Government’s ambition to improve population health.

Over recent years, our understanding of pre-eclampsia has evolved. We now know that it is not just a complication of pregnancy but a marker of future health risk. Women who experience in pregnancy hypertensive disorders such as high blood pressure, gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia have an increased lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes, and an increased risk of premature death.

I am pleased to inform members that a short-life working group is focusing on reducing cardiovascular risk in women who experience high blood pressure in pregnancy. In 2025, that group developed a national pathway to reduce long-term cardiovascular risk. The pathway represents a significant step forward in how we support women, not just during pregnancy but across their entire life course.

I share the concerns of Marie McNair’s constituent, and I am taking decisive action to tackle underage vaping and to prevent a new generation from becoming addicted to nicotine. The cross-Government Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 was granted royal assent on 29 April. The act contains powers to regulate product features, packaging, ingredients and flavouring for vapes. We will continue to work closely across the United Kingdom and devolved Governments on those matters.

As I said in my original answer, we will consult on the retail display of vapes within our first 100 days in government. We are working closely with the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland to strengthen the enforcement of existing legislation that bans the sale of vapes to those who are under 18, including through checks on the age of sale, alongside providing guidance and support to businesses.

Planning authorities within local authorities are able to regulate the development of shops, including the creation of new shops, but changes to the specific range of goods that are sold in an existing shop do not constitute development, so they are not within the scope of planning control.

However, Scotland has a tobacco and vapes retail register, and all businesses must be registered to be able to sell those products in Scotland. It is the responsibility of local authorities to enforce compliance with the register in their local areas, and it is already illegal to sell all such products to under-18s. The registration process means that that illegality can be stamped out.

The Scottish Government is taking action to tackle vaping among young people. In our first 100 days in government, we will consult on the retail display of vapes in order to remove the appeal and visibility of vapes to young people.

Under the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026, offences on the free distribution and nominal pricing of vapes will come into force on 29 October this year. From 1 June 2027, a comprehensive ban on advertising vapes will come into force, which will reduce young people’s exposure to vape adverts.

We are taking forward substance use education work in our schools through curriculum for excellence. Young people learn about a variety of substances, including vapes, and information is available through the Young Scot, Parent Club and NHS Inform websites.

It is about ensuring that the child who attends a session this summer has the opportunity to still be active in a year’s time and throughout their life. If we get it right, the impact will be felt long after this summer’s event. This has the potential to be a truly transformative summer—a summer when inspiration leads to participation, participation leads to habit, and habit leads to lasting change. The message of this summer is clear: game on.

I move,

That the Parliament welcomes Scotland’s Summer of Sport programme, which aims to capitalise on the landmark summer of international sport taking place this year, with Scotland’s men’s football team competing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the Commonwealth Games taking place in Glasgow in July; recognises that it will provide opportunities for children and young people to take part in free and low-cost activities across the country; believes that providing positive, inclusive and inspiring sporting experiences for children and young people is one of the best things the people of Scotland can do to support physical, mental, and social health, and hopes that these experiences will encourage lifelong participation in sport, whether through playing, or as future captains, coaches and volunteers across the sporting sector.

15:48

I will come on to some of the summer of sport activities that are particularly targeted at rural areas. As I represent a rural area, I recognise that challenge. On bus travel, we are piloting the £2 bus fare cap in the Highlands and Islands, which has been transformative. We have seen an increase in the number of bus routes that are participating. Once the scheme is rolled out all over Scotland, it will make a significant difference to the opportunities that young people have. That is one of the good reasons to support it.

This summer, our men’s national football team will be competing at the FIFA world cup for the first time in 28 years, and the Commonwealth games will return to Glasgow. Alongside that, Scotland’s women’s teams, from cricket to hockey, are also competing on the world stage and providing inspiration for the next generation.

We have made a clear choice as a Government that inspiration must not be passive. It must translate into real opportunity—opportunity for every child in Scotland, regardless of their background or circumstance. However, for too many children and young people, we know that the opportunity does not yet exist or is out of reach. We know the barriers that they face: cost, transport, lack of confidence and, in some cases, feeling that sport is just not for them. That is why we have worked collaboratively with sportscotland and partners to design a programme that directly addresses those barriers.

At its heart, the summer of sport programme will deliver free, targeted or low-cost opportunities for children and young people to get active, try something new and stay active. It is a deliberately inclusive programme that is designed to reach those who are currently underrepresented in sport, particularly children who are experiencing poverty, those who live in remote and rural areas, disabled children or those who are not currently engaged in physical activity.

The overarching purpose of the summer of sport fund is twofold. The majority of the funding has been allocated directly to all 32 local authorities. In addition, £1.75 million has been made available to Scottish Government sport bodies, national partners and national organisations that have applied through an open and competitive process. The model ensures both universal reach and targeted impact and recognises that, although national leadership is important, the real strength of Scottish sport lies in our communities and in the partnerships that bring activity to life.