Chamber and committees

I commend all parties in the chamber for taking a united approach to tackling drug-related deaths. We must use every opportunity at our disposal to identify people who are at risk and to signpost them to support services. Will the minister provide an update on engagement with her UK Government counterparts on proposals to introduce safe consumption facilities in Scotland?

The Deputy First Minister has outlined what action has taken place across Scotland, including in Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders. I thank all the staff and leadership for their efforts. As more such weather events are predicted, can the Deputy First Minister provide further information on what work is under way to identify the most vulnerable and on how the Government can assist and support the local resilience partnerships?

That is a great idea; I will keep Rachael Hamilton in the loop. The issue transcends politics; we need to work together to promote rural skills development for the future. I thank the member.

Like other members, I will check out the tasty recipes in this “Tasty Little Guide” on Scotch lamb. I know that we dinnae really have props in the chamber, but here it is: it has Scotch lamb and beef recipes and it was created by Quality Meat Scotland.

Lamb for St Andrew’s day is a good news story for us, which needs to be promoted, shared and celebrated. I welcome the debate. I encourage everyone to consider eating Scotch lamb on St Andrew’s day, and I thank the Scottish Government for supporting our lamb and sheep sector.

I welcome the opportunity to speak in the lamb for St Andrew’s day debate and congratulate Jim Fairlie on securing it.

Jim has highlighted perfectly why we should eat lamb on St Andrew’s day. I put on record my support for the campaign to promote Scotch lamb on St Andrew’s day, which is a campaign that I have been aware of and have backed since my election in 2016. I support what is stated in the motion, I congratulate George Purves on launching the campaign back in 2009 and I welcome how it has grown year on year since then.

Organisations supporting the lamb for St Andrew’s day campaign include Quality Meat Scotland, the NFU Scotland, the Institute of Auctioneers and Appraisers in Scotland and the National Sheep Association Scotland. Pre-Covid, when I was a member of the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee in the previous parliamentary session, I attended the Scottish NSA’s annual dinner at Airth castle in Stirlingshire in 2019 and was pleased to carve the lamb to help to promote Scotch lamb.

All those organisations have supported United Auctions’ campaign to make Scotch lamb PGI—protected geographical indication—the go-to dish for St Andrew’s day, just as turkey is synonymous with Christmas day. #LambForStAndrewsDay has been a positive campaign since its introduction. Last year alone, there was a 9 per cent uplift in the value of lamb and a 6.9 per cent uplift in the volume of lamb being sold in Scotland.

In a bold move to supply free lamb to as many Scottish schools as possible during the week of St Andrew’s day, the Institute of Auctioneers and Appraisers in Scotland launched a lamb bank in August this year. The scheme allows farmers who are selling lambs via IAAS marts to donate lambs for the initiative, which aims to get as many Scottish school children as possible cooking and eating lamb on and around St Andrew’s day. Because of the lamb bank, and support and promotion by Quality Meat Scotland and partners, 30,000 portions of lamb will be served this year at 180 participating schools across Scotland.

Across Dumfries and Galloway, in my South Scotland region, that includes Lockerbie academy and Castle Douglas high school. At both those schools, health and technology pupils have had the option of making either a Scotch lamb burger or a Scotch lamb wrap with crushed garlic peas, and those have also been on the menu in the canteen.

Those steps are welcome. As well as promoting our Scotch lamb, they help to educate young people. Rachael Hamilton was right about that. We are helping to educate young people about Scottish agriculture and about the importance of supporting and promoting the industry and local supply chains. That is also an important part of tackling the climate emergency.

In a response to a question that I asked him in the chamber, Jamie Hepburn agreed to meet me and NFU Scotland representative George Jamieson to talk about how we might develop rural skills. There is a wee bit of progress.

In 2019, I led a debate on resolution 1325 and women, peace and security in which I highlighted the invaluable role of women as conflict negotiators, which is largely because women focus on housing, food and water security instead of solely on military security. Will the cabinet secretary give further detail on any additional plans specifically related to the Scottish Parliament and Government that will support and enable women to become conflict negotiators, particularly in the middle east?

I welcome the opportunity to speak in the mouth cancer action month debate, and I congratulate my colleague David Torrance on bringing it to the chamber. He has already done an excellent job in highlighting the issue. Mouth cancer action month is Scotland’s biggest charity campaign for mouth cancer awareness, and it is organised by the Oral Health Foundation. During November, mouth cancer action supports thousands of people to go out into their communities to raise awareness of mouth cancer and share the important message of being mouth aware. That is especially important right now, as we move through and out of the pandemic. I thank all the staff and volunteers for all that they do to raise awareness of, and support those with, mouth cancer.

Each year, on average, 530 people across Scotland are diagnosed with mouth cancer. Between 2014 and 2018, 2,360 people died of cancer of the mouth. However, that does not have to continue to be the case. According to research from the University of Edinburgh, early detection results in a survival rate of roughly 90 per cent for people with oral cancer, in comparison with a 50 per cent survival rate when diagnosis is delayed.

It is important, therefore, that regular checks take place, which includes checking the inside of the mouth for any lumps, bumps, red or white patches and any sores or ulcers. People sometimes cannot even feel that there are problems, as they are not always obvious. The advice is to use a mirror to help with checking gums, tongue, and cheeks. Over the past 30 years, I have participated in many oral cancer surgeries in my work as an operating theatre nurse, and many of those operations were really challenging and difficult. If symptoms are found, and if they occur for more than?two weeks?without improvement, people should make an appointment to see their general practitioner or dentist.? For this month, the message is, “If in doubt, get it checked out”, as detecting the symptoms early may save your life.

Minimising risk factors is also crucial to reducing the incidence of mouth cancer in Scotland. Around 65 per cent of mouth cancers are associated with smoking; 30 per cent with alcohol intake; and around 56 per cent with a poor diet. Stopping smoking, ensuring responsible alcohol intake and promoting the benefits of a healthy diet are really important. I therefore welcome that the Scottish Government is proceeding with its work on the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Bill, minimum unit pricing of alcohol and the extension of funding to NHS boards to support stopping smoking, as all those steps are very important.

I want to briefly mention lichen planus, which is an inflammatory disease of the skin that can also occur inside the mouth. Although researchers do not know the exact cause of lichen planus, we know that it is a non-infectious disease, and it is classified as an autoimmune disease. Autoimmune diseases occur when the body’s defence system—our white blood cells that usually fight off infections—instead attack parts of the body. Oral lichen planus that appears as white spots or fine lines is probably not related to mouth cancer but, in about 40 per cent of cases, a more serious type develops. That erosive lichen planus causes painful sores and ulcers in the mouth.?

Research by the University of Oxford shows that around 5 per cent of people who experience that type of lichen planus develop oral cancer. That was the case for a close friend of mine who had what she thought was a simple sore and raw mouth. Her perseverance in dealing with what she thought were wee white ulcers led to a delayed diagnosis of oral cancer. Following a partial glossectomy—removal of her tongue—she then had a tracheostomy and a gastric feeding tube inserted. She endured so much and ultimately did not survive, due to complications from the interventions and treatment.

I mention that to show the importance of raising awareness and self-checking, and the utmost importance of the role that dentists can play in assessing and diagnosing oral sores, ulcers or abnormalities. We should remember that early diagnosis can lead to 90 per cent survivability and that it gives the best possible chance that treatment will work. I ask the minister to support measures to raise awareness of oral cancer and the risks of lichen planus, and to support the continued research that is needed into that condition.

Good morning. I am interested in the issue of duplication of effort and the capacity to obtain certain data that Sue Webber talked about. Obviously more data have been gathered during the pandemic, but have you had to pause any data collection? In some of the work that I have been doing, I have found people to be a bit fed up of feeling like hamsters on a wheel in having to collect data, data and more data without actually knowing what the data are being used for. Has there been a pause in collecting some data, and does more work need to be done to ensure that people on the ground know why the data are being gathered and what they are being used for?

Perhaps Chris Mackie could start.

There is sometimes a disconnect between what the Scottish Government wants to implement and local delivery. I am interested to know whether there are barriers in local authorities, health boards, third sector organisations or IJBs. We know that there are early adopters and that there are folk who arenae. Are there any disconnects that hinder successful implementation of what the Scottish Government wants to take forward?

I have a quick question about a patient’s journey through the whole system. Would that be supported by giving everyone access to the clinical portal? In that respect, I am also thinking about social prescribing. Could referrals to, for example, men’s sheds or the third sector be part of the data processing, too?