 The next item of business is topical questions, and at question number one, I call Carol Mocken. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to comments by Prostate Cancer UK regarding reported figures showing that men in Scotland are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer too late for it to be successfully treated than in other parts of the UK. Cabinet Secretary, Humza Yousaf. We have noted this prostate cancer UK research, and we are discussing it with clinical experts right across NHS Scotland. Staging prostate cancer is often complex, and while prostate cancer UK's data from across the UK nation shows apparent variation, we are investigating this further. It's important that we understand the data in greater detail. I have asked my officials in that vein to reach out to prostate cancer UK for dialogue in this respect. When we compare survival rates, which is arguably the most crucial measure for any patient, Scotland's five-year survival rates for prostate cancer is 84.3 per cent and are very similar to other UK nations. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. It is important that we listen to the figures. The figure for individuals being diagnosed too late to be successfully treated in London is 12.5 per cent. In Scotland, that figure is not far off three times as high at 35 per cent. The cabinet secretary must accept that this is an extremely concerning gap, creating a picture that the chief executive of prostate cancer UK has called particularly shocking in Scotland. Does the cabinet secretary accept this Government's responsibility in addressing health inequalities in Scotland that failures in the SNP Government are now leading to the unnecessary and avoidable loss of life? I don't accept the characterisation partly because of the response that I gave to the first question that Karen Watkins asks. That is survivability rates. She's asking about the impact of potential late diagnosis. We know that late diagnosis can affect the outcome for somebody in relation to any cancer type, let alone how important it is in relation to prostate cancer. When I look at those survivability rates, the five-year survivability rates, Scotland is 84.3 per cent. She's right that England is slightly higher at 86.6 per cent, but we're not far off kilter in relation to other UK nations. We want to, of course, see improvements in that rate, and what I would say to Karen Watkins and where I agree with her is that there's no doubt of the link between inequality, whether that's inequality in relation to wealth inequality, socioeconomic inequality, that clearly also impacts health inequalities and that's how we're focused on addressing the inequality gap. I should say that I have good dialogue with prostate cancer at Scotland and it was at their march for men a number of months ago, so I'll continue that dialogue with them and we'll continue to invest in reducing the inequality gap that currently exists. Thank you. Cabinet Secretary, I laid out the figures, which are quite stark. Public Health Scotland data released in 2020-21 highlighted that, and I actually quote, there were convincing evidence that socioeconomic deprivation increased the likelihood of being diagnosed with more advanced cancers of the prostate. Indeed, in a further data published in 2022, there was a 10 per cent fall in the number of people diagnosed with prostate cancer linked to under diagnosed caused by the pandemic, of course. It is absolutely essential that the Scottish Government acts decisively to ensure that men across the country are made aware of the options available to them in terms of tests, checks and online tools, which can both protect their own health and combat the impacts of health inequalities. Does the cabinet secretary accept that he must take those figures seriously and make sure that those items are in place? Of course we are taking those figures seriously. It is why I said in my opening response to Carol Mocken that I have asked a variety of NHS experts to give us some clinical advice on that data, so we are not dismissing the figures by any stretch of the imagination. I hope that nobody has got that impression. What we want to do is to understand the detail greater, but there is no argument between Carol Mocken and I that we know that inequalities lead to worse health outcomes. That is why our focus is on detecting cancer early and getting into those communities where we know that there is inequality in areas of higher deprivation. She will also know about the excellent work that we are doing in relation to rapid cancer diagnostic services. She may have seen the interim evaluation that was conducted that shows that it is having more of an impact in areas of higher deprivation. We will continue to invest in those that we are rolling out another couple of rapid cancer diagnostic services across Scotland. We will continue to engage with Prostate Cancer UK and, in fact, in our new detect cancer early public awareness campaign, which is due to publish in the spring of this year, we are already in dialogue with Prostate Cancer UK to source case studies to support the campaign. Emma Harper Research has shown that the burden of cancer is not felt equally across society. The cabinet secretary has outlined that people living in more deprived areas are more likely to get cancer and are, sadly, more likely to die from the disease than folk living in less deprived areas. Can the cabinet secretary just reaffirm what steps that the Scottish Government has taken within its powers to tackle the root causes of poverty and associated health inequalities? Emma Harper I associate myself strongly with Emma Harper's remarks. She is absolutely right that the Government's real focus should be and is on trying to deal with the problem at source, i.e. dealing with poverty and inequality that exists in our communities. We are targeting our actions to areas and communities most in need, seeing what more we can do, but we have provided free school meals. We increased the number of hours of free childcare. We have recently increased the Scottish child payment to £25 per week. We have also supported 1.85 million households with council tax reduction. We have operated all benefits. We deliver by 6 per cent and we continue to deliver free prescriptions, concessionary travel and free personal care. We continue to do what we can to try to reduce poverty and inequality within the constraints of the current devolution settlement. Jackson Carlaw I admit to a significant prostate cancer concern at the start of the pandemic, which had a bearing on decisions that I made in my personal and professional life at the time. I say that notwithstanding that and notwithstanding the constraints of the pandemic, the treatment that I received was comprehensive, professional and timely. I think that it is important and I hope that the cabinet secretary would agree with me that the key thing is that for men who have any of the symptoms associated with prostate cancer, not to be concerned about any embarrassment that they may feel arising from that, but to present themselves to the health service at the earliest possible opportunity. By doing that, they can, like me, hopefully expect to survive safely. I absolutely applaud and am grateful to Jackson Carlaw for sharing his own personal and professional life with me. He does not owe that to anybody, but by doing so, I hope others who are listening are hearing what Jackson Carlaw has had to say. That is why I made reference to the detect cancer early programme in dialogue with Prostate UK. He is also right about the stigma around prostate cancer. I was at a men's group at the Maggie Centre in Edinburgh and the men's group there was a huge source of comfort and relief and support to them, because they were able to talk about issues that were quite intimate, make light of it in certain regards and have that conversation with other men that they felt that they couldn't have even with their partners or let alone anybody else in their family. Jackson Carlaw is absolutely right. What I go back to, and Jackson Carlaw will absolutely take this, I know, in the spirit that is intended, we really need to focus in particularly in those areas of higher deprivation, because Jackson Carlaw is well educated, he knows about those issues, he's been involved in politics for a long time, his public understanding of those issues I suspect is very, very high. What we really need to do as a Government is ensure that we focus in those areas of higher deprivation where we know that public awareness isn't there at the same level. So that will be a continued focus, but I end where I started in thanking Jackson Carlaw for sharing his own experience and wish him all the very best in his health. Question 2, Jamie Greene. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and can I attach myself to the comments made by my colleague, it's a very welcome recovery from our benches. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported comments by the chief inspector of the constabulary that some Police Scotland officers lack empathy and show outdated attitudes in domestic abuse cases. Cabinet Secretary, Keith Brown. Police Scotland undertake excellent work in dealing with incidents of domestic abuse, but the recent HMICS reports and the comments are around the victim experience highlights that more needs to be done. While operational matters, of course, are for the chief constable, we remain fully committed to using available resources to support the delivery of effective and responsive policing, and we are continuing to make changes to make it easier for people to report incidents and to perpetrators to be appropriately dealt with to help realise our vision of a Scotland as a place where women and girls live free of violence and abuse. Jamie Greene. Can I thank the cabinet secretary? More does need to be done because the police are the first point of contact in 85 per cent of domestic abuse cases, but the survey was quite clear around the overall perceptions people have on that experience. It was described as not very positive by 60 per cent of respondents to the survey, and many felt that the police had not provided the appropriate response to the initial reports. 50 per cent wiringly said that they felt that the police had not taken their complaint seriously at all. Many victims also, and I think that this should worry us, said that they had not bothered to report future cases of abuse because of that initial bad experience of reporting. So can I ask the cabinet secretary, given that, as he said, the lives of many vulnerable women are at risk in these situations, what discussions has he had with the chief inspector since the report produced these wiring findings, and given that the police are often doing the jobs of other emergency service workers and are already overstretched and overworked, what is his Government doing to support them in their delivery of supporting domestic abuse victims? First of all, I thank you much of what Jamie Greene says. I would agree with and I think on the point that he makes about the progress that is still to be made I am happy to acknowledge that point, as I think the police would do so as well. On discussions with the chief constable, for example, I think he would tell you that if you compared the response of the police, the domestic abuse when he started out as a constable compared to where we are at now, he would say that there has been massive progress before it was a closed door beyond which the police didn't go. That has changed fundamentally. However, I acknowledge and I think the police would acknowledge the fact that there is a cultural issue to be dealt with here as well. They are in the process of dealing with that issue through training and also the leadership that we have seen from Fiona Taylor and the chief constable himself over a number of years, so that is the main thing that can be done in this regard. If we look at the 14 different recommendations made by the inspector, I think that these touch on issues which the police are very well aware of, they know that they have to do more. As to further discussions with the police, whether chief constable or a senior officer, they will happen at the next meeting that we have for the chief constable, which should happen in the next two or three weeks. There is much interest, so concise questions and responses would be appreciated. Jamie Greene. Thank you. The reality is though that over the last two years we have witnessed the highest number of recorded domestic abuse incidents in Scotland since records began. It is entirely unclear whether that is a rise in reporting, a rise in cases or incidents or both. That data is lacking in this debate. It also makes clear the vast amounts of demand that it puts on a police. One victim said that it took police two days to arrive after making a report. Another waited two weeks before the police spoke to the abuser. Does the cabinet secretary share my genuine concerns that when victims of abuse need fast and empathetic responses to reports of domestic abuse for far too many in Scotland, that clearly is not happening? What is his message directly to those victims of these crimes? Those who were brave enough to report that abuse but have now simply and quite understandably lost faith in the system? I would say that my response to the victims is that we are aware of the shortcomings of police. We are aware of those shortcomings. This report by the inspector is very important. As was last week's report that came out around the early implementation of the DASA regulations, which show that real progress has been made and people are more likely to report because of that new legislation, world-leading legislation. We know what we have got further to do. We have got the policies in place. We need to see further progress in dealing with these. We will continue to fund the police in order to make sure that they are doing it. There was a reduction last year, I think, of 1 per cent if I'm correct, but we know that many instances are not reported, so we know that's the type of the iceberg and we'll continue to try and tackle it. Katie Clark. Has the cabinet secretary had the opportunity yet to look at the report published early this week by the University of Edinburgh, which reviewed the experiences of victims and witnesses in domestic abuse cases since the Domestic Abuse Scotland Act 2018? It found that, despite the 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? In addition to what I have laid out already, if you look at some of the recommendations that are made in this report and I acknowledge the report that Katie Clark mentioned, I think that was the report from last week. It's a small sample around 69 people. It did say very good things about the introduction of the new legislation but pointed out where else we had to go. If you look at the recommendations you can see what has to be done there to improve things. For example, making sure that offering the gender of interviewing officers is right for the victims is very important. Also making sure that those officers are trained in how to deal with domestic abuse situations. Also, perhaps the biggest challenge is in relation to prevention, very hard to deal with. But if we can get to the situation where prevention can happen, especially where it might be a repeat offender, we'll make massive progress there. Between ourselves and the police and what's happening in the courtservice where real priorities have been given during the recovery from the pandemic to deal with this, we can make further progress and so we should. Thank you, Presiding Officer. The recommendations outlined in the HMICS report for Police Scotland suggests that domestic abuse training should adopt a trauma-informed approach and or the lived experience of victims. Similarly, the Domestic Abuse Scotland Act 2018 interim reporting requirements finds that increased training and understanding a more informed approach on domestic abuse by justice professionals could improve victims experience of the criminal justice system. Therefore, can I ask the cabinet secretary what action the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that a victim's entire journey throughout the justice system is person-centred, informed and responds to their needs? It's a very important point that Pam Goswell makes. We have dealt with this through the victims task force, whereby we have said that all the different groups involved in this area have said that we have to have a justice system where every single part of it has undergone trauma-informed training to ensure that they have a trauma-informed response, as Pam Goswell mentioned. That means that every single person in the system has to have added in my training, such as it is so far, and I'm sure that I'll do further training as well. However, you're right to say that for the victim, it's the entire journey through the justice system. If you've got one part of the system that's working very well, where everyone's very well trained and informed, and you get moved on to another part where that's not the case, then your experience is going to be a bad one. I'm not saying that's going to be done quickly. It's part of a justice vision that will take years to make sure that we do that. However, the biggest change that we can make within the justice vision is if we can get to that situation where the entire system is trauma-informed person-centred and it's a trauma-responsive reaction that you get from the agencies, that's what we should be trying to achieve and that's what we're setting out to do.