 I remind members of the Covid-related measures that are in place and that face coverings should be worn when moving around the chamber and across the Holyrood campus. The first item of business is general questions. In order to get in as many people as possible, I'd be grateful for short and succinct questions and responses. At question number one, I call Mercedes Villalba. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve the provision of GP services in the north-east region. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring access to GP services across Scotland, which is why we have pledged to increase the number of GPs by at least 800 by 2027. There are currently a record 5195 GPs working in Scotland, an increase of 74 from 2020. The Scottish Government offers a wide range of initiatives in Scotland to attract GPs to rural settings in particular, including golden hellos, bursaries for newly qualified GPs to take up posts in hard-to-fill rural locations. We establish a graduate entry medicine programme focusing on general practice and rural working. We pay tuition fees for eligible students. We will also expand the rediscover the joy recruitment initiative to the north-east in 2022. Mercedes Villalba. The provision of GP services in Aberdeen is coming under increasing strain due to six of the city's publicly-run medical practices being put out to tender for private contract. I understand that Scottish ministers are unable to intervene in the arrangements for individual practices, but the minister has also already informed me that he does expect satisfactory systems to be in place for the benefit of all patients. Given that an external investigation has upheld complaints from campaigners about the tendering process of old Aberdeen medical practice, will the minister now ask the health and social care partnership to pause the tendering process that a full independent review of the process can be undertaken? I recognise that Ms Villalba has raised the issue on a number of occasions. I know that other members have concerns and understandably so, but I would not be asking the health and social care partnership to pause the tendering process, because I would be doing exactly what she recognised that I should not do, which is intervening in a local decision-making. What I will do in relation to the independent review that she states, I will raise the issue again, of course, with colleagues in Grampian, but I will also ask my colleagues to raise it with the local health and social care partnership. I know with the recent tendering that has taken place that the needs of patients and the needs of the local community have been put front and centre for a more sustainable model of GP practice going forward. In early December, I asked about Cardin Medical Centre in Aberdeen, which is closing due to the Government's failure to carry out workforce planning and to train and recruit GPs. True to form, the cabinet secretary evaded my question, so I ask again when precisely does the cabinet secretary project that the north-east will have enough GPs to run the services that the people of Aberdeen need and deserve? He is incorrect in his assertion, of course, because Scotland has more GPs per head per 100,000 in any other part of the UK, not by a margin, not just slightly but significantly more. 94 per 100,000 is Scotland compared to 76 per 100,000 in England, so we are investing. We have record numbers of GPs and we are continuing to recruit. On patients in relation to the medical practice that he references, Cardin Medical Centre is my understanding that patients will automatically be registered and have been registered to a new practice. There are nine practices within a mile radius of Cardin Medical Centre and a total of 27 practices in the Aberdeen city area. The needs of patients are being put first and foremost, but I would say to Liam Kerr that the reason why we have such a good record in GP recruitment and GP retention is because we invest in our GPs. I am sure that that is why the Scottish public has chosen to re-elect us for a fourth term, and he continues in opposition. 2. Jenny Minthill To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve awareness of mental health. The Scottish Government has highlighted the importance of mental health and wellbeing and provided a range of advice and support through the clear-your-head radio, television and online campaign, through NHS Inform and via the Young Scots iFeel platform. In addition, our mental health transition and recovery plan includes a range of wider actions to support and promote good mental health and wellbeing in response to the pandemic. Those include providing long-term funding for CME Scotland's campaign to end the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness, working with employer groups, trade unions and mental health organisations to promote mentally healthy workplaces, launching a £15 million community fund to support adult mental health and wellbeing in communities across Scotland and working with partners to provide a range of resources to meet the needs of children and young people, including more than 200 new community support services. 2. Jenny Minthill I thank the minister for that answer. Next Monday, 17 January, Samaritans will hold their yearly event, hashtag, BrwMundi, to remind everyone to reach out for a cuppa and a catch-up with the people they care about. Would the minister join me in supporting this event, which can also be carried out virtually? I certainly join Ms Minthill and her support for the Samaritans. I greatly value the important work of the Samaritans and am delighted to support their BrwMundi event. That is really important. I recognise that January can be a difficult time of year for lots of people at the best of times, but we all have our good days and bad days, but there is always a sense that the short days, the poor weather and the end of the festive season can have an impact. We should all come together to help one another through that, and I applaud the Samaritans for their efforts in those regards. I urge every member to support the BrwMundi event. 2. Carol Mocken At the Tuesday's health, social care and sports committee, a leading occupational therapist, Suzanne Shields, called on parliamentarians to, I quote, give children and families access to three physical and leisure activities with support in place. Does the minister agree that that is a key area that the Scottish Government has to focus on as an immediate priority in relation to mental health policy, and what assurances can he give to the many children and families today for whom physical and leisure activities are either too expensive or often far away? I believe that play and physical activity is extremely important in ensuring folk's mental wellbeing. That is one of the reasons why, for example, the Government and its manifesto had a commitment to put resources into play parks. I recognise what Ms Mocken is saying. I ringed about costs in relation to accessing leisure activities, but, as Ms Mocken is aware, many of the responsibilities of those charges rests with local authorities. I encourage local authorities and their budgeting process to look at what offers they can make to those families that may find difficulty in accessing those services. I know that that happens in many parts of the country. I encourage local authorities that do not have such schemes to look at that as we move forward. To ask the Scottish Government what support and treatment is available for people diagnosed with phenyl ketinoria. The Inherited Metabolic Disorders Service for Adults and Periodrics is a national commission specialist service working out of sites in both NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Lothian. The service is available to all IMD patients in NHS Scotland, including those with conditions such as phenyl ketinoria. The service aims to improve life expectancy, quality of life and provides diagnosis, as well as advice and treatment to manage and control symptoms. Most people will require lifelong follow-up and support from the specialist service. Neil Gray Thank you, Presiding Officer. I thank the minister for that answer. For an adult or child with PKU, even the smallest amount of protein in their diet can have a major impact and prolonged exposure can lead to brain damage. Right now, my constituents are having to follow the most restrictive diet that you can imagine, which means that cutting out foods you wouldn't have thought even contained any protein. Generic versions of the drug Supropterin are now available, which could transform the lives of people eligible with PKU in adren shots across Scotland by reducing the need to restrict their diet. As generic versions cut the cost of supply in Supropterin, which had previously been a barrier to Kuvan, can the minister advise whether the Scottish Government will, in principle, support PKU patients seeking Supropterin prescriptions on the NHS in Scotland? The Scottish Minister's policy priority is to increase access to medicines, particularly in relation to those for rare, very rare and end-of-life conditions. Due to Scottish Government reforms and investments in recent years, we have significantly increased access to new medicines. The member is correct. The first generic version of Supropterin has received a marketing authorisation from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, the MHRA, to ensure best value for NHS Scotland. NHS national procurement will shortly be tendering for the future supply of Supropterin to NHS Scotland. Given the launch of the first generic, we are currently considering how best to provide advice to health boards on whether Supropterin should be made available for routine use in NHS Scotland, based on the latest available evidence. To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to encourage people who are able to donate blood, particularly during the winter period and on-going Covid-19 pandemic. I would like to take the opportunity to thank blood donors for continuing to come forward over the particularly difficult winter period in spite of the on-going pandemic. That has meant that the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service has been able to provide enough blood to meet the needs of patients. Although the situation can be volatile, so I encourage those who can donate blood to continue to do it. SNBTS has well developed plans in place to ensure that it has sufficient donors and there have been successful radio, television and media campaigns over the festive period to encourage donations. I thank the minister for that response and also for her positive response to my members' debate in this very subject yesterday. I would echo her calls to encourage people to give blood if they have not for a while or if they have never given blood before. Given the importance of donating blood to the wider NHS and the fact that the number of donors did drop during the first year of the pandemic, will the Government commit to considering what more it can do to increase the number of active blood donors, including encouraging workplace schemes and allowing employees time off to donate blood? I know that SNBTS is already doing good work with many organisations to highlight the need for blood donors, but I am very happy to look at what the Scottish Government can do to support that. I was delighted to participate in Sotan McGregor's debate on the topic last night, and to raise the fact that, last year, historically, we removed the ban in Scotland on gay men and bisexual men donating blood, which has opened up a whole new range of people being able to donate. I ask the minister what she is doing to promote that among communities, so that people who might think that stigmatised rules still exist can be told that it does not and that they can become blood donors. I thank again Paul O'Kane for raising the issue. It is indeed a wonderful step forward that the range of people who were able to donate blood was widened. We spoke last night in the debate about what a fabulous experience that is for so many who have been denied that opportunity to help their communities by giving blood so far. I am more than happy to—my impression is that most people who are affected by that change in rules know well about it. I know that my predecessor, GoFitts Patrick, has worked hard to raise the issue and profile before the regulations changed, but I am more than happy to look again and see if there is anything else that we can do to help to raise awareness of that change. It is indeed a wonderful step forward in reducing stigma. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the latest figures showing that recorded hate crimes against members of the LGBT plus community have risen for five years in a row. Any form of hate crime towards our LGBTI communities is completely unacceptable, and, although the rise in recorded hate crimes may be driven by the willingness of victims to report incidents, we are certainly not complacent and remain committed to building inclusive communities. We are providing over £3 million of funding between 2021 and 2024 to tackle inequality and realise rights for LGBTI people. A recent report shows the progress that we and partners have made in tackling prejudice and fostering community cohesion, and we will continue to work with stakeholders to co-operate a new hate crime strategy to guide how we tackle hatred and prejudice in Scotland. I share the cabinet secretary's sentiment that there is simply no place for intolerance and hatred of this nature in Scotland, but with more than 7,500 incidents of this reported since 2014, the picture is often quite grim for many in Scotland's LGBTI community. Can I ask the cabinet secretary if she will commit to undertaking analysis of what are the underlying causes of the stark rise? Is it a rise in verbal or online abuse, or a rise worse of physical attacks? What is the Scottish Government doing to ensure that there are trained LGBTI liaison officers in Police Scotland, in all parts of Scotland, to support the victims of these horrid crimes? I am certainly more than willing to undertake that and get back to the member. Police Scotland is members of the Hate Crime Strategic Partnership Group, and they are actively involved in the development and implementation of the new hate crime strategy together with other stakeholders. We are committed to understanding the causes and making sure that we fully respond to that. We know that hate crime, including sexual orientation, related to hate crime remains significantly under-reported. It is highly unlikely that those figures will reflect the true experience of the community. Involving stakeholders in developing our new hate crime strategy will help to tackle the barriers that communities face to report incidents, but I am happy to get back to the member on the specifics of what he asked. Scottish Government, what action is it taking to support small rural businesses? Our enterprise agencies and business gateway provide a range of advice and funding to small rural businesses. In addition, we are providing £375 million of funding to businesses impacted by the current additional public health measures targeted at the hardest-hit sectors. We are working to make payments to affected businesses as soon as possible. Information on the support available to businesses is available on the Find Business Support website, which is updated daily. I thank the minister for the answer. The SNP is set to put a wrecking ball through the rural short-term let industry with a licensing scheme. Organisations have quit the SNP Government's working group, and in a recent parliamentary survey, over 60 per cent said that it will drive up costs for small short-term let businesses. Rural organisations such as the ASSC, Scottish Agritism and the NFUS have all voiced their concerns over the impact of this reckless scheme. Minister, isn't it time that the SNP stood up for the rural businesses in Scotland? We stand up for rural businesses across Scotland. We absolutely have outlined the steps that we have taken to support businesses through the current difficult situation and beyond that. On the specific question of short-term let, the licensing scheme seeks to ensure that every short-term let across Scotland meets basic safety standards. I am sure that the member will agree on the importance of that. That is important in urban and rural areas and for businesses large and small. Our proposals deliver national consistency on safety standards while giving local authorities flexibility to tailor the scheme to their local needs. Residents in some areas continue to see issues from short-term let, and it is right that we are taking proportionate action to give local authorities the ability to take measures in that regard. I have met many of the organisations that the member mentions to listen to their concerns. We have addressed some of those concerns in the legislation that my colleague Shona Robison has taken forward, but we believe that that is the right measure for all the reasons that I have indicated. Regrettably due to time, I cannot take any further questions in this session, so we will move on to First Minister's questions.