Chamber and committees

I thank Jamie Greene for that intervention. I agree that we need to make it easier for LGBT people to identify others and to engage in whatever activity they want to do. We can support them. One of the things we talk about in the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee all the time is reducing and tackling stigma. It is a huge issue that we need to address.

We know that services can be harder to access in rural areas like Galloway and the Scottish Borders. It was interesting that Emma Roddick also mentioned rural issues. Here is what I ask of the minister: can the Government commit that rural Scotland will continue to be included when it is improving alcohol services for LGBTQ+ people?

Alcohol use has become deeply engrained in LGBTQ+ society as a result of history and we have spoken about alcohol providing an easy way to meet. When I lived in California, that was the way people met each other and it was acceptable: individuals felt safe in gay bars. Stonewall has stated that that is why excessive drinking has become normalised. It is important that we work to change that.

The SHAAP report shows that some alcohol service providers are, due to lack of training, uncomfortable discussing LGBTQ+ issues, particularly trans issues. As a former nurse educator, my final ask of the minister is this: what training is being provided to alcohol service providers on LGBTQ+ issues so that they can support people to achieve the best possible treatment outcomes?

First, I congratulate Emma Roddick on securing her first member’s debate. I must apologise because I will be leaving early, as I am sponsoring an event tonight in the Parliament.

The debate is important and timely. I am a member of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, which took evidence last week from the minister about our relationship with alcohol, in Scotland. I specifically raised the issue of LGBTQ+ persons’ experience of alcohol services at the evidence session, following the submission to the committee from Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems. I thank SHAAP and LGBT Scotland for their hugely helpful briefings, ahead of the debate. Different social groups are affected by alcohol problems in different ways, and people develop negative relationships with alcohol for a number of reasons. Emma Roddick highlighted that extremely well, for which I thank her.

It is important that we do not generalise about people who use alcohol to the detriment of their health. We need to recognise that harmful use is a complex issue that requires various responses. There is no one-size-fits-all solution.

The harm that is caused by alcohol is a very serious problem in the LGBTQ+ community. A study that was carried out by Alcohol Focus Scotland suggests that up to 25 per cent of the LGBTQ+ community has moderate alcohol dependency, compared with 5 per cent to 10 per cent of the general population. Additionally, 25 per cent of bi women reported heavy drinking.

Despite the many challenges, awareness of LGBTQ+ harm from alcohol is growing, and many treatment facilities now tailor programmes—or, at least, aspects of programmes—to meet the unique needs of LGBTQ+ individuals. That is welcome, but as SHAAP has pointed out, work must continue in order that we ensure that our alcohol services meet the needs of the LGBTQ+ community. It is particularly important that the work be carried out quickly, because SHAAP’s study reported

“service providers assuming that all patients were heterosexual”

and that services and peer-support groups tend not to provide “safe and welcoming” spaces.

In order to tailor services to the needs of individuals, it is important to look at why LGBTQ+ people have higher levels of alcohol dependency. One of the most important reasons is the bigotry that the LGBTQ+ community faces daily, with stigma, shaming and abuse. I echo what Emma Roddick said about people feeling abnormal, vulnerable and alone, especially during the pandemic.

Long Covid networking will take place virtually with clinicians and professionals. We are not necessarily talking about bricks and mortar clinics or spaces; we are also looking at virtual engagement, as is happening in England. Is that part of how we will support people?

Across the country, we have urban and rural and remote areas, as well as islands. We have a different geography so, when it comes to supporting people, we cannae just lift and shift a model that might be used elsewhere, although I suppose that we can learn from what is being done in France, Belgium and Germany as well.

When it comes to screening such as bowel cancer and cervical cancer screening, if we screen people early, we can diagnose early, which means that the treatment can be more efficient and beneficial. Cancer Research UK said in its briefing that statistics for Scotland have shown that, before Covid, the uptake of bowel cancer screening had increased.

I support continued consideration of how we can improve uptake of bowel cancer and cervical cancer screening, and I know that self-sampling for cervical cancer is in the pipeline.

I will be quick, convener. The Scottish graduate entry medicine—or ScotGEM—programme, which was launched in 2018, is unique to Scotland. We have just seen 54 graduates come out of it, and it is part of the way in which we are trying to address GP recruitment in rural areas. Can you comment quickly on how successful ScotGEM has been for Scotland?

Thank you.

I am interested in how we will support people who have post-Covid syndrome. Many different symptoms seem to be demonstrated, including neurovascular, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal ones. There is a wide range of symptoms. What are we doing in Scotland to support people with long Covid?

Good morning. As we come out of the pandemic, I am interested in the reform process and the use of technology that we have already. People have adopted the NHS Near Me service, which means that they can engage remotely with their doctor, whether that is a respiratory doctor, a GP or whomever. I assume that it will be part of the renewal and reform process to continue to use the technology and innovations that have already been developed, in order to support people to engage with their GP and their other doctors in the way that they choose.

I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. I congratulate Michelle Thomson on securing it and on setting out so clearly the issues and the challenges facing women in business. It has been good to hear everybody else’s contributions so far.

I will focus my contribution on welcoming the positive steps that have been made to support women in business and on congratulating fantastic and inspirational women in business across the South Scotland region.

The business landscape is changing in Scotland. Covid-19 pandemic aside, we are seeing that attitudes to traditional ways of doing business are changing and there is evidence to suggest that women are playing a large role in shaping the future of business. Research suggests—this is a powerful statistic—that if the level of female ownership of businesses in Scotland matched the level of male ownership, the size of our economy would increase by 5 per cent, which equates to £7.6 billion. That is another £7.6 billion if more women-owned businesses in our economy. Enabling more women into business is good not just for women; it will make us all more prosperous.

Scotland is making huge progress in achieving that objective. Recently, PWC published its “Women in Work Index 2022” and the good news from that report is that it ranks Scotland as one of the best places in the UK for workplace gender equality. One reason is that Scotland’s gender pay gap is at an all-time low. Last year, for full-time employees it was 5.7 per cent. That is significantly lower than across the UK as a whole, where it is 8.6 per cent. However, the pay gap for all employees, regardless of gender and including part-time work, is much bigger at 15 per cent, although it is declining and it is lower in Scotland than in other parts of the UK. This is largely down to the close partnership working between the Scottish Government, private business and the third sector, such as through the Scottish Government’s women in enterprise framework and fund. That is welcome, and I ask the minister for a commitment that initiatives like this will continue to be available to help women excel and to tackle the barriers that face women in business.

Across Dumfries and Galloway, inspirational women are excelling in business, particularly small business. Dumfries and Galloway has been identified as a female entrepreneurship hotspot in a new analysis from the Federation of Small Businesses. Official figures show that 10.4 per cent of working-age women in Dumfries and Galloway are self-employed—the second highest rate in the country, behind only Moray. Sandra Patterson, a Stranraer-based business owner, Women’s Enterprise Scotland ambassador and FSB member, said:

“It is great to see my part of the country high on the women in business league table.”

Across the region, we have the Dumfries and Galloway Dairy Women Network, which is open to women involved in dairy and the wider agricultural sector. The network promotes discussion, learning, engagement—and nurturing. It is a bit of a spinoff from the extremely successful Women in Agriculture, which is supported by Scottish Government funding. Dumfries and Galloway also boasts Roan’s Dairy, which is managed and led by Aylett and Tracey Roan. They have gone from strength to strength, providing milk from the dairy herds, employing local workers, and creating the Udder Bar, which is an alternative to selling booze that serves delicious milkshakes at local agriculture events and, pre-pandemic, at the Royal Highland Show. The Ethical Dairy produces sought-after cheeses and ice cream and is managed by an excellent role model, Wilma Finlay.

So much business diversity is seen across Dumfries and Galloway and even in other parts of my South Scotland region. In Eyemouth, Hazel Smith founded ReTweed, which is an award winning social enterprise. There are so many more. Joanne Heard started the Galloway Soup Company from a farmers market stall and now has a successful cafe and shop in Dalbeattie. We have got so many: Fiona McElrea; Lorraine Galloway of Wigtown Wigwams; Lynne Atkinson at the Whitehouse Gallery; Suzanne Thorpe of the Star restaurant in Twynholm.

There is a fair wheen of fantastic and inspirational women in business across the region and I want to thank them all for being role models to other women and for their contribution to our economy and our country.