 The next item of business is members' business debate on motion 12476, in the name of Christina McKelvie, on MND Awareness week 2018. This debate will be concluded without any questions being put. I would ask those members who wish to speak in the debate to please press the request speak buttons now. I call on Christina McKelvie to open the debate for around seven minutes, please. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Can I pay a grateful thanks to the colleagues across the chamber who signed the motion to allow us to have this debate today? The 21 June is the day of global recognition of motor neuron disease. When I hear any mention of motor neuron disease, my ears instantly perk up because for me it's personal and not professional. When I hear the words motor neuron disease, it recalls for me the pain, the fear, the grief, the loss and the shock that comes with the diagnosis, not just for the person affected, but for their families too. Motor neuron disease has no boundaries. It isn't determined by your age, your lifestyle or your wealth. It strikes at any point in your life and has differing degrees of speed and impact. Motor neuron disease is a rapidly progressing neurological terminal illness. Motor neuron disease stops signals from the brain reaching the muscles, the muscles start to waste and weaken and eventually stop working. That may cause someone to lose the ability to walk, talk, eat, drink or even breathe unedied. Some people may also experience these changes, which affect their behaviour and their ability to think and plan. Not everyone will develop all the symptoms and how it affects individuals can vary significantly. For this reason, that's why the current motor neuron disease Scotland campaign to bust the myths around motor neuron disease is so vitally important, and it has a brilliant video that you can share to get the message out about MND and what it means, tackling the stigma and ending the discrimination. No one person is the same, and that's why the motor neuron disease register is so important. The more data we have, the better we will be at ensuring better shot, medium and long-term care. When I started raising the issues in this chamber 11 years ago, it was on one of the first speeches that I made in the chamber, and it was a debate held by Margaret Mitchell. It was 11 years ago, and 11 years ago, the average life expectancy was 14 months. That's now 20 months, and I believe that that's because of that better care and more joined-up support. You may think that it's only six months, but I'll tell you that six months is incredibly precious to the people with motor neuron disease and their families. When I hear the words motor neuron disease Scotland, I am filled with another set of emotions. They are pride, determination and, above all, hope. An amazing thing happens when we find out a friend, relative or colleague, who has been diagnosed with motor neuron disease, we spring into action. I have seen this happen with so many times over so many years with those involved with motor neuron disease Scotland. People abseil off buildings, zip slide across rivers, climb into forgotten cities, walk through great walls and walk over fire to raise money and awareness. Those actions give us all hope in the darkest of hours. They tell us that people care. They tell us that people will literally walk on fire to make things better. That's why, when I hear motor neuron disease, I also hear hope. Hope that we will find the routes to better care and through the Scottish Government-funded specialist to MND nurses or ideas for better support and the hope that the research will eventually bring that cure. I believe that the work of the Ewan MacDonald research centre with Professor Shandran and his team at Edinburgh University will make that much hope for breakthrough that takes us on to that much-needed cure. That's why the research funding from both motor neuron disease Scotland and the Scottish Government is so vitally important. PhD students in our land working hard to understand and treat motor neuron disease, working in conjunction with our best universities should surely give us all that hope that I speak of. One of the cruelest aspects of motor neuron disease is the likelihood of some people to lose their voice. Our voice is such a distinct part of our personality, and many of us in this place surely like the sound of our own voices, but how would we feel if we couldn't raise them? We use our voices to raise the concerns that we all have in this debate today. We used our voices here to add to the voice bank project a project that might just give you back your voice, your own voice instead of an electronic voice. How powerful is that? The motor neuron disease Scotland Let Me Speak campaign resulted in the Scottish Government giving the right communication equipment from our NHS, and that came into force this March. It will give those who need it the necessary equipment such as iPads and iGaze technology to enable them to continue to communicate effectively. Another reason for that hope. If any of you heard the amazing speech last night from broadcaster Dennis Dick using his own electronic voice, you will understand what an amazing commitment is to provide that equipment to people. I know that navigating the benefit system can be a daunting task for anyone, but if you have suddenly lost your job due to your diagnosis or a family member has to give up their job to take on a caring role, the last thing that you need is impenetrable forms and complicated processes to go through to get what you are entitled to. Mix that with the constant reassessment and appeals, then it all seems too hard to get anywhere and get what you need. When the social security bill went through this Parliament recently, I saw a great opportunity to change that system to one of support, dignity and respect. I supported MND Scotland's campaign Get Benefits Right and was delighted to hear Jeane Freeman, our social security minister, announced automatic entitlement and lifetime awards for people with MND. You have no idea the impact that that will have on people's lives. The difference that it will make to families is immeasurable and welcome. I know only too well from what my family went through to get that support how important that is. With the new two-person MND Scotland advocacy support team, if you have not met them, you should. I am sure that no one will wait very long for the help that they need. Its first two months, 40 families have had support from the advocacy team, bringing much-needed hope—again, that word, hope—to those families. As I am sure that you will all be well aware, I could go on about this topic, but I am keen to hear from my colleagues across the chamber in their experience, and I know that you all have different aspects that you wish to go on. For those who have lost—we have lost—and those who are facing life with MND, let us face the future with hope in our hearts. If we can scale mountains and walk on fire, we can find that cure. I wish motor neuron disease Scotland and all MND and ALS organisations around the world a hope-filled global awareness day. We move on to speeches of around four minutes, please. I have Kezia Dugdale followed by Miles Briggs. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I start by congratulating Christina McKelvie on a wonderful speech and for her long-standing commitment to talking about and raising awareness of motor neuron disease—always full of hope, always focused on the future and what it might deliver. Later on this evening, Presiding Officer, I will be attending a fundraiser for motor neuron disease Scotland in the name of my late friend Gordon Aitman, who throughout his life raised £600,000 for motor neuron disease research—an absolutely phenomenal amount of money. We promised in the event of his death to keep going and to keep raising funds for his particular campaign, with a goal of reaching £1 million as soon as we feasibly could, and we hope to make a big bit of progress tonight at the dinner. Part of that dinner involves an auction, which has a phenomenal range of prizes. I am sure that you will not mind if I do a little plug for that, because you can bid online right now for some of these. Can we bid here? You can bid here and you can take your phone out of your pocket. I am sure that you have always wanted to do shopping from the chair there, Presiding Officer, and you are able to do that by using your mobile phone. Perhaps you are a Coronation Street fan, because if you are, there is a guided tour for four people behind the scenes from Jenny McAlpine. We have a signed Scottish rugby shirt and we have even got a wicket from Scotland's win against England at the cricket just a week or so ago, so a phenomenal range of prizes you can bid now, please do so. I am also delighted to share with the chamber, and it is recognised in Christina McKelvie's motion that some news from ScotRail, who are the fund-raising partners for MND this year, ScotRail passengers have raised £104,000 since that relationship between the charity and ScotRail has been established. It has just been announced in the last hour and I found out on my phone that they intend to name a train after Gordon, ScotRail's latest development today. It will be the Gordon Aikman Express. I passed that note to Neil Bibby during First Minister's questions, who happened to tell me, as a Thomas the Tank Engine fan, that Gordon was, in fact, the most powerful engine in Thomas the Tank. That, I thought, is a very fitting message for Gordon, because he was the most powerful engine behind so much campaigning work for motor neuron disease. If I could say to ScotRail, I do hope that it is the 730 from Waverley to Queen Street that will be the train that serves, because that was the one that he so often took when he worked in Glasgow, but lived in Edinburgh. That allows me to make the connection between Gordon and MND Awareness Week, because it was actually using that train that made Gordon so aware of other people's judgments about MND as a disease, because he worked for many months after his diagnosis, but his body was weakening. He was unstable sometimes on his feet, and that meant that sometimes he would trip and fall. The nature of his work was that he would get a train at half seven in the morning, and he would also get a train very late at night. When people saw him trip and fall, sometimes they just assumed that he was drunk, that he'd had a few too many drinks after work, and a lot of people walked by. They didn't stop to help. They thought that here was a guy that was just causing trouble, and they kept on going. He needed help to his feet. Once he was on his feet, he could make his way home, but far too many people walked by. I think that the motor neurone disease Scotland is doing a tremendous amount of work to break down the stigma around what the disease actually does to you and how people can respond. Christina McKelvie said a lot about the need to find a cure. I hope that that cure will be found at Edinburgh University. There is every sign that that could happen. We have 200 of the world's leading researchers sharing their data and research at the Ewing MacDonald Centre just now. We need to give them the capacity to bring clinical trials to Scotland. We have not had MND clinical trials in Scotland for 20 years, and we are currently in a race with scientists in Canada and Israel to find a cure, so I would encourage the Scottish Government to continue with its financial commitment to funding research and to continue to press the UK Government to do their bit alongside the pharmaceutical companies that are so important to finding that cure. Finally, Presiding Officer, I appreciate that I am going over time. There is a portal across the European Union for researchers to share the research that they are doing into MND. Access to that portal could be affected by Brexit. I do not mean to make this too directly political, but political it is. In leaving the European Union, it is possible that Scotland will no longer be able to be part of this medical research portal to share their research with other European nations. I cannot imagine this as high up the list of the Prime Minister's priorities when it comes to Brexit, but I am sure that it can be on the list when it comes to the Scottish Government's priorities. Let's make sure that, if we are going to find a cure to MND, we find it here in Scotland, and I am sure that everybody is committed to that goal. I would like to start by congratulating Christina McKelvie on securing today's debate and also for her long-standing campaigning on behalf of people living with MND and their families across Scotland. Like Christina McKelvie, I want to begin by playing tribute to the outstanding work of MND Scotland that continues to do so much to raise awareness of MND Scotland and to support more than 450 people across Scotland who are currently living with the condition. Its new myth-busting animated video campaign is, I really do think, excellent and has the potential to make a real difference tackling some of the myths and stigma around people with MND. I want to again remember and commend my friend Gordon Aitman as Kezia Dugdale has, whose inspiring fight-back campaign achieved so much and whose positive legacy lives on in so many ways. Gordon's family and husband Joe Pike and his friends Lawrence and Kezia Dugdale have really taken that legacy forward. They are very much in our thoughts today and I wish the fight-back dinner this evening every success. I also want to praise the work of the Doddie Weer Foundation, which has achieved a great deal in the year since Doddie revealed his MND diagnosis. I welcome the close working partnership between the Foundation and MND Scotland. As has already been mentioned, it is worth also to congratulate those at the ScotRail Alliance and especially the employees who continue to raise funds for MND Scotland. As Kezia Dugdale's outline, more than £104,000 so far is part of their three-year charity partnership. The Class 170 train, branded with the MND Scotland Cornflare logo now serving the Edinburgh Glasgow Queen Street route, is a great boost to the profile of the charity and of the partnership. One of the most exciting developments that has taken forward in recent months, as has been mentioned, is the new advocacy service that was launched by MND Scotland in April, which has already supported 40 families across Scotland. The new service is an important addition that can help to ensure that people who are affected by MND do not have to struggle alone through what is often the bureaucracy and delays around accessing social care home adaptations and accessible housing. I know from my work since I was elected around the Frank's law campaign just what that often means for people under the age of 65 who are trying to access vital care and it is often the problematic side of that. I am pleased therefore that we are seeing changes and that this Parliament is actually listening to people and making the difference. As from April 2019, the fact that people under the age of 65 who will be assessed as being eligible to receive free personal care will get that support regardless of their condition, age or means. As well as making sure that we give the best possible and swiftest support to those diagnosed with MND and their families, all of us will agree that finding a cure for MND must continue to be our ultimate aim. I am delighted that MND Scotland is committed to having a research portfolio worth £2.4 million by 2020 and that eight projects are already currently under way with a call for new research projects also live at the moment. As Kezia Dugdale has already outlined, much of this innovative research is taking place here in our region at the Edinburgh University. I was recently visited the Anne Rowling clinic and was so impressed and excited by the groundbreaking research work that has been undertaken there at the centre for regenerative medicine. Clinical research based at the Anne Rowling regenerative neurological clinic is already delivering collaborative clinical projects, and we must make sure that they are protected in the future. That is something that I know as a member of the Health and Sport Committee that we have been making sure has been highlighted, especially around challenges post Brexit. It is this work, including the work that I was able to see around the voice bank initiative, which is making such a difference. I know already that the voice bank is still looking for key regional voices. I am pleased that many MSPs and Parliament staff have taken up the recent call for more voice donors to come forward. I think that we should all be rightly proud that Scotland is leading this groundbreaking research and scientific progress. Scotland is at the forefront of international research on MND, and it is brilliant that Glasgow will host this year's international MND ALS symposium in December. To conclude, I again welcome today's debate as part of MND Awareness week, and I wish all involved a successful week, which raises even more money to support people with MND and their families, and that, above all, we continue to focus and invest in research that one day will lead to a cure for this devastating condition. Ruth McWire, followed by Anna Sarwar. I thank Christina McKelvie for securing debating time and bringing this important topic to the chamber of our Scottish Parliament. I know that her connection and commitment to ensuring that people living with motor neuron disease have access to the best possible care and support is deeply personal and long held. At the MND reception last night, the chair of MND Scotland, Lawrence Cowan, spoke really movingly of all the things that this disease takes from people with the condition and takes from their families as well. He also spoke of what it couldn't take and of the champions of their cause. I'm sure that people living with MND and their families are grateful that Christina McKelvie is one of those champions. Each year, for motor neuron disease awareness week, work is done to highlight the stories of people who are affected by MND and the press. The purpose of this is to spread awareness of MND and to share the physical and emotional challenges of those affected by this devastating disease. MND Scotland has had some wonderful campaigning successes. In March, it became a legal right for communication aids to be provided on the NHS, and its campaign also helped to change the terminal illness definition within the Social Security Act to help to give people with MND access to the benefits that they need as soon as they need them. This MND week sees the launch of another important new campaign, Mythbusting. People with MND deserve to be treated the same as everyone else. They deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. An investigation by MND Scotland earlier this year found that that was not always the case. Responses to their survey and feedback from MND Scotland support groups highlighted the stigmas and misconceptions that people face because of their condition. This year, those personal stories will tie into a wider multimedia awareness campaign aimed at highlighting and challenging the stigma and misconception that exists around motor neuron disease. If I may share a couple of examples of what has come up, Gemma speaks about how, when her mother was diagnosed with MND, she was pulled into HR at work because her speech was slurred. Her bosses believed that she was drunk. Ruth went into a bank and felt that she was treated differently because her speech was slow. Another Ruth shares her encounter of trying to book a hair appointment, but due to the reaction to her slurred speech, she felt that she had to leave without making an appointment. When Pamela's daughter was diagnosed with MND, people thought that there was something wrong with her brain because her speech was slurred. When Gordon's MND meant that he had to use a wheelchair, he found that people would cross the street to avoid interacting with him. On top of all the difficulties that the disease brings, those everyday misconceptions and stigmas must have an awful impact on people and make the challenge that they are facing even harder. It is really important that we do everything that we can to address them. Those stories are going to be in national, regional and local press to try to reach the maximum number of people. They are published online and on the MND Scotland website. Just in closing, a bit of a call to action to colleagues, we all love our social media channels. If we all share those stories with our friends, our followers and supporters, we can get a really wide reach across Scotland and do something positive this motor neuron disease awareness week. Anna Sarwar, followed by Brian Whittle. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I do not think that it is possible to do a debate on MND just after you have had speeches from Christina McKelvie and Kezia Dugdale on the issue, and I congratulate both of them on their excellent contributions. In particular, to Christina McKelvie, who has been a huge supporter of MND Scotland throughout my time in this Parliament—probably long before my time in this Parliament—she has always brought forward this debate each year. She hosts the parliamentary reception, speaks from experience and generally from the bottom of her heart in every debate around MND Scotland, so I congratulate her personally for bringing this debate forward. Also to my friend Kezia Dugdale, who has been a huge campaigner alongside Gordon Aikman ever since he was diagnosed. I know from the passion that she speaks with, she will be campaigning on MND for the rest of her life until we find that cure for MND. I have got to congratulate her on the auction prizes as well. There was a story that came to my mind as soon as she mentioned the Coronation Street and the four tickets to go backstage on the Coronation Street, the wicket for cricket, and I think I am perhaps on a sticky wicket when I suggest that that must be the positive outcome from her eating all the bugs when she was in Australia last year, so I congratulate her for that. Even then, she was thinking of Gordon Aikman and this fantastic cause. 16 months since Gordon Aikman passed away, but his legacy and the campaign that he led lives on today. His determination, his good humour, his spirit remains an inspiration to us all. The memorial dinner this evening in Gordon's name will be a chance once again to celebrate Gordon's life and all the work that he did and to raise significant funds to support the work of MND Scotland. It is supporting that work, supporting for people who have been diagnosed with MND, who need the care from MND specialists and also support around the family of anyone diagnosed with MND. I wish them every success, like they had last night, a huge success in this debate today, success tonight and also the global awareness day as well. The real prize is finding that cure. That is the best tribute and the most fitting legacy for Gordon and for all the patients and all the campaigners and indeed for MND Scotland. That is why every pound raised at dinner will help to deliver a service for people currently living with MND and their families to crucially help to find that money, to find that resource and to find that cure. I want to welcome and applaud MND Scotland's work and all their amazing, amazing volunteers, including Laurence Curran, the chairman. With a spend of around £2.5 million running through to 2020, we have a real chance to find that clinical research, to find that cure. Scotland should be proud that we are leading that international work and that will be a proud moment for us again when we host this year the MND symposium, when we bring together scientists and clinicians from across the world to my home city of Glasgow to share their research, share their knowledge and share their learning as we hunt for that cure. I want to ask some specifics from the minister around the specialist nurses that we have for MND Scotland and thank them for the role that they play, which is a crucial role. They have an experience and an understanding of MND Scotland but also other illnesses. The crucial role that specialist nurses also play in identifying various stages on how to signpost patients and families, where they can find support, where they can access treatment, where they can access benefits. I would ask the minister in closing if she could give us an update on what learning and consideration has been given to widening access to those specialist nurses across the NHS across all health boards in Scotland. In closing once again, I congratulate Christina McKelvie, congratulate MND Scotland and wish them all the very best in the future. I congratulate Christina McKelvie for bringing this debate to the chamber for another year in her continued support and entire support for MND Scotland. In many ways, it is hard to believe that it has been a year since we last highlighted MND Global Awareness Day and MND Awareness Week in this place. It was a particularly difficult debate for me, coming as it did the day after my friend, the former lion in Scottish Rugby International, Doddy. We have made his diagnosis of motor neuron disease public. For everybody in the chamber, you will be happy to hear that the tag of Wee Jessie has not gone away. It has stuck in sporting communities and that probably will never go away for the rest of my life. Of course, as you expect from Doddy, like Gordon Eichman before him, he has chosen to speak out and raise awareness of the devastation that this disease brings. That is what it takes to get things done. Speaking out loudly and strongly about what is wrong and what needs to change. Of course, Doddy speaks louder than most of his fashion sense has given him years of practice of speaking to be heard above the noise of his rather exuberant suits. I can also say that he has already surpassed medical expectation and that he was told that he would not be able to walk by now. He is still on his feet and he is still relentless in driving home the MND message. That is a very much very sporting heritage if you want a sportsman to do something to him that he cannot. As politicians, we are in a prime position to hear about the impact conditions that MND has. We have received briefings from charities, we attend receptions, we speak to the medical professionals. For me, the biggest insights always come from the people who deal with those conditions. Just like yesterday in the chamber, I was talking about the experience of one of my constituents who has cystics fibrosis. For me, the words of her mother were far more powerful than anything that I could ever have written myself. More often than not, in this chamber we speak about people with medical conditions in the abstract. We talk about patients and sufferers and their families. Often that is the right thing to do because difficult decisions have to be made and sometimes that forces us to place rationale above the emotional. However, there are times when the only way to achieve real change is to put a human face on the issue. Although Doddie has taken up the baton or picked up the ball depending on your sporting preference and run with it, the most prominent face in our minds today will be, of course, Gordon Eichman. For many people in Scotland, most of their knowledge of MND's impact began from the interviews that Gordon gave in his MND diaries in the Sunday Times, which should be required reading for anyone looking to understand just how much MND affects a person's day-to-day life. Gordon and now Doddie remind us that what we do matters. The decisions that we make in this place have weight and consequences, but who wins and loses politically matters a lot less than who wins and loses in life. I am looking forward to Gordon Eichman's dinner this evening, and I know that I will be attending as well. I will also be hearing from Doddie again, who I think is doing the auction, so I will just brace yourself. From raising awareness of conditions like MND allows us to put ourselves in other people's shoes and helping us to make better decisions. The number of people with MND at any one time pales into insignificance against the number of people with cancer or heart disease. However, how we deal with those conditions is not purely about numbers, it is about people. I have never had the opportunity to meet Gordon Eichman. I was in a room with him and I never got the chance to speak to him, but I did not need to know that his loss is one that we should all feel. I see what Gordon and his fight-back campaign did in such a short space of time, and I cannot help but wonder what he could have achieved if he had given him the chance to live a longer and healthier life. Gordon and Doddie are sources of inspiration, but it takes so many more people to make that inspiration a reality. It is the effort of everyone who raises the funds, campaigns for change and helps to educate us all that will in time deliver that life-changing treatment or cure for MND. We see Christine McElwey's motion. I have got far too much to say here, Deputy Presiding Officer. I am going to go to the very end if I could. I spoke to Scott Hastings earlier in the week, who is part of Doddie Weir's foundation and asked him what he would ask for. He said that Scotland is a world leader in life sciences and perhaps the Scottish Government could get further behind that research, especially MND research. The eyes and ears of the global MND community will be in Glasgow at the end of the year for their annual conference. I believe that the Scottish Government can back MND here and with an unprecedented support for more research. As a foundation, we are trying to put in place Doddie's docks, a concept that will look to encourage the brightest minds of the future to commit to life sciences and MND. The ask is that the Scottish Government join the Doddie on that journey, Deputy Presiding Officer. I now invite Shona Robison to respond to the debate. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I am very pleased to be able to respond on behalf of the Government this afternoon as we mark MND Awareness Week and Global MND Awareness Day. I want to thank Christina McKelvie for bringing this motion to Parliament, securing another important debate on MND and recognising her personal commitment and experience in this issue. I also recognise the importance of the Bust the Miss campaign by MND Scotland. It is an organisation that continues to refresh and make sure that the awareness raising of MND is always in front of our minds and that is a very important role that they play. I join others in paying tribute to the work that they provide in providing invaluable emotional, practical support that has made such a positive contribution to so many people's lives as well as their relentless drive to find a cure that so many members have mentioned here today that will minimise the effects of this devastating condition. We will join them and others tonight to shine a blue light on some of our buildings to raise awareness of MND. Much progress has been made in the last couple of years, so it is important to reflect on some of those, recognising the dedication of those with MND or those impacted by the condition that is working with us to make a difference. Gordon's fight-back campaign was instrumental in driving changes. It is fantastic that Gordon Aitman expresses that. He would like that a lot. Kezia Dugdale gave a good plug to some of the auction prizes. I will certainly be having a look and encourage others to do so. One of Gordon's main achievements was the doubling of the number of MND specialist nurses. Of course, we now have an extra £2.5 million annually ensuring that all specialist nurses are funded by the NHS, which is a really strong outcome and legacy for Gordon. His strength to look beyond himself to strive for others was an inspiring story of courage and tenacity. We have heard more from others sharing their own stories, both from members here today and elsewhere this week, through MND's Scotland's awareness campaign that emphasised the day-to-day reality of living with MND. One of the most tragic impacts is losing the ability to speak and being able to communicate and having the freedom of expression is such a basic human right and something that we take for granted. Of course, we have legislated to place a duty on NHS boards supported by Scottish Government guidance to provide communication equipment to people who cannot speak or have difficulty speaking. Technology, like speak unique, is proving invaluable in supporting people to continue communicating. I know that, as Christine McKelvie suggested, Dennis Dick has used this yesterday at the parliamentary reception for MND to enable him to eloquently share his experiences using his own voice. Dennis and other people who use communication equipment tell us that it is vital that people do not just get a voice but get their own voice back—very powerful indeed. That is why we have provided £200,000 of funding to the Ewan MacDonald Centre voice banking research project to pilot voice banking in the NHS, which enables people's voices to be used to build personalised and synthetic voices for communication equipment when speech becomes difficult. A testimony that innovations remain crucial to supporting people to live with MND and research is essential for the development of new and effective approaches to diagnosing and treating neuro-progressive conditions. I thought that Kezia Dugdale made an important point about the medical research portal. I can tell her that the chief scientist's office has communicated concerns to the UK Government on the potential impact on research mobility clinical trial regulations and funding shortfalls. We are also happy to keep her informed as we continue to raise those issues. Just earlier this year, we hosted a research event as we remain committed to working with partners to attract new clinical trials to Scotland. Certainly, in response to Brian Whittle, we will do whatever we can to help to do that. The Dodiwere campaign and the work that he is doing is fantastic in the space. Since 2015, we have invested more than £3.25 million in MND research, including the £240,000 for a second clinical academic fellowship in MND research, being delivered in partnership with MND Scotland. I announced more information on that earlier this week. As we announced this time last year, there is, of course, the Coordinating Scholarship programme, which will be open for applications again today. Beyond the investment ways that the Government has made into research and specialist care, there are other pledges that we have acted on, which will have a great impact on the lives of those with MND and those close to them, who are coping with the condition. We have provided funding to support implementation of the Care of Scotland act, which is important. Indeed, 1 April saw the extension of new rights to carers for support and information, and new rights to be heard and decisions about support for those who look after them. As Miles Priggs mentioned, we have legislated to extend free personal care to those aged under 65, which will come into effect on 1 April 2019, which will again help people with MND. Christina McKelvie mentioned the Social Security Act, which, of course, approval was given by Parliament earlier this year. It is also a first step in building our own social security system in Scotland, based on dignity, fairness and respect. Of course, the central principle in our approach is to ensure that terminally ill individuals are provided with the support that they need when they need it. Christina McKelvie made mention of Jean Freeman's commitments around the issue in relation to people with MND. We also continue to strive for improvements in the way that our health and social care services are delivered. We are challenging healthcare professionals to ask what is important to the person receiving the care and to engage in shared decision-making about treatment options. Listening to service users and providers is instrumental in getting it right, which is why our first national action plan on neurological conditions is very much being co-produced in partnership with clinicians, the third sector and, of course, those who live with conditions such as MND. I thank everyone for their continued support for this work. We have gathered evidence to understand the prevalence of neurological conditions, to understand the needs of people living with the conditions, and to establish the current configuration of services. This week, we are holding three events to share the findings of our work so far and to discuss priorities for inclusion in the draft plan, which we will consult on later this year. We have also been working closely with Healthcare Improvement Scotland as it reviews its standards of care for neurological conditions to provide people with expectations about the quality of care that they should receive within healthcare settings. Deputy Presiding Officer, I would like to close this debate by thanking those who have allowed their personal stories to be shared. MND touches the lives of many families across the country. This week's awareness campaign highlighting progress is also about culture change and building on what our society does to understand and support others to live their lives well. As a Government will continue to work with partners across the areas such as health, social care, welfare and housing to enact this transformational change for people with neurological conditions like MND. That concludes the debate, and this meeting is suspended until half-past 2.