 The final item of business is members' business debate on motion 7698 in the name of Bruce Crawford on the Sue Ryder report Don't Write Me Off. This debate will be concluded without any questions being put, and I would ask those members who wish to speak in the debate to press the request-to-speak buttons. I call on Bruce Crawford to open the debate. Around seven minutes, please, Mr Crawford. Thank you, Presiding Officer. As is normally done at this stage, thank those who have signed the motion for this evening's debate, and particularly those who have stayed behind for the debate. I can also thank Sue Ryder for the support and the lead-up to the debate, and in particular Eleanor Jane. Over the recent years, I have learned a great deal about the fantastic work that the charity Sue Ryder does, and I have huge admiration for that work. I know that they deliver high-quality, much-needed home care in my constituency of Stirling, indeed across the country. What I also know is their passion for improving the care for people with neurological conditions in Scotland. As we all know, neurological conditions can affect anyone of any age and can turn people's lives upside down, affecting people's ability to move, their ability to live their lives that they used to. They can affect people's ability to look after themselves, their families and their ability to work. So, too, their ability to leave the house or their mental health, the list can go on and on. Their conditions can include progressive conditions such as multiple sclerosis, motor disease, Huntington's Parkinson's and sudden ailments such as a head injury or a stroke. All those conditions can have a devastating impact on the individual and their family, so I am delighted to have been supporting Sue Ryder in her campaign for better neurological care. Indeed, it is incredibly important work as we are talking about a group of people who can have a devastating condition that can affect every aspect of their lives. As if that were not enough, their condition can be coupled with care that may not always meet their individual requirements. Let's be clear that there is no question that if you have a neurological condition, you should receive good quality specialist care to try to manage what can be very complex conditions. One surprise for me from Sue Ryder's research is that it is revealed that we do not even know how many people in Scotland have a neurological condition or where they live. It begs the question, how can health boards and integration authorities plan to provide services to meet their needs? Indeed, in her first report, it revealed that health boards and local authorities did not know what neurological services they or their counterparts in many cases provided. By gathering information such as this, people with neurological conditions and their families can be better advised on where to turn for instance for respite care or specialist speech and language therapy. I know, too, occasions exist where people with neurological conditions of all ages have been placed in older people's care homes and this is not the appropriate setting for them. That is simply not a sustainable solution nor one that can adequately meet the needs of those who may require specialist care. That report also showed that the national clinical standards for neurological health services were not in a number of cases being met. I am delighted therefore that, since Sue Ryder shone a light on where neurological care in Scotland can be greatly improved, the Scottish Government has listened and is acting. It is vital that everyone works together to design services that meet the needs of people with those complex life-changing conditions. Coupled with the work of the Scottish Government's National Advisory Committee on Neurological Conditions and what it is doing to map neurological services in Scotland, there is now a chance to make a real difference in Scotland. The recent welcome announcement from the Scottish Government after dedicated and informed campaigning by Sue Ryder and others that it is going to produce Scotland's first ever action plan on neurological conditions is a huge step forward. Not only that, but having carried out a review of the existing neurological standards, Health Improvement Scotland is now rewriting them to encompass all health and care services for people with neurological conditions. All that with a view to making these standards as person-centred as possible. That is good work and they should be applauded for it. As the motion states, it is important that the Scottish Government works with people with neurological conditions, the third sector and our health and care services, to ensure the new action plan and all other work is a success. I know that is the Government's intention. The important thing is that all of the Government's goodwill is capitalised on. What I would like to see is a commitment that once the action plan is out there, it is followed through to ensure that new standards for neurological care are acted upon and measured in a meaningful way. To help achieve that, I would ask the Government to look at whether the necessary level of funding is available for appropriate organisations to enable successful delivery. We also need integration authorities to be given support to provide care for this group of people. I would like to see the Scottish Government's consideration to another of Sue Ryder's recommendations, to provide commissioning guidance for neurological services. The process of reforming neurological care in Scotland will require dedication and support to our integrated local health and social care services. I am confident that we can build a system of care that is fit for the future. Indeed, the Scottish Government, through its credit, is trying hard to do that, but all of what we need to see now is action on the ground. There is only one way to ensure that some people with neurological conditions in Scotland no longer feel written off and are supported to live their lives as fully as possible. In conclusion, I am determined that this is one area of care that should not be used as a political football for cheap political point scoring. It will take all of us working together whilst recognising, yes, the very real challenges that exist to achieve solutions. Let us just do that. Jeremy Balfour, to be followed by Lewis Macdonald. I thank Bruce Crawford for securing his debate this afternoon. I suspect being informed that you have been diagnosed with a neurological condition must be very shocking. You must feel that you will never be able to cope with what life has dealt with you. Overwhelming feelings of soul, anger and fairness will suddenly appear. Eventually, most people do adjust their lives, but only with support such as organisations such as Sue Rider, who provide hospice and care at home with people who are facing life-changing diagnoses. As well as providing expert medical care, Sue Rider also provides emotional and practical support from personalised care through to advice, education and support services to help to improve the lives of individuals, including carers and their families. Their knowledge and insight is vital if we are to improve services for people with neurological diseases, and I welcome the findings of the report. The first report was published in 2016, identifying a lack of consistent data on the number of people with neurological conditions. Clinical standards for neurological services were not being followed, and the vast majority of health boards did not have a service delivery plan, despite that being required by clinical standards. If we fast forward to this year and the report that was published in September, aim to establish how much progress has been made and what difference the integration of health and social care was making to the lives of people with those conditions. Disappointingly, we found that health boards still do not have a service plan in line with national clinical standards. Six health boards stated that no plan to develop joint plans with local authorities, despite the national and local policy direction to integrate health and social care services. When I was elected last year to the Scottish Parliament, I was made aware of the NHS Lovian landfine service by a constituent who has MS and who uses the service. My constituent living on his own appreciated the respite care provided by landfine service, particularly enjoying the environment where he could talk with people and discuss the condition that we had. However, in 2010, NHS Lovian commenced the process of redesigning the service. Key elements of the redesign included a reduction in the bed numbers from 33 to 10 beds, an outreach team that, when fully established, would have more than seven staff, a new care support officer and a fund to support carers with breaks from caring. NHS Lovian has assured me that the cost has not been the driving during the redesign, but instead they wanted a service fit for the 21st century, all well and good. However, I discovered that six years on from the start of the redesign, there is still outstanding vacancy in the outreach element with on-going discussions about the remaining posts. I accept that many people do want to be treated in their homes, and I welcome care in the community. In my view, the redesign has not ensured better local faster access to healthcare, but it has put a vulnerable group even more vulnerable, and we simply have not learnt the lessons. I welcome the minister's intent to produce an action plan, and I am pleased and acknowledged that it has been given to improve services for people living with neurological conditions. However, what struck me most about this report and picked up by Bruce Crawford is still the lack of data on people with neurological conditions and the use of health and care services. I would therefore ask the minister to ensure that any changes recommended in an action plan are evidence-based and are effective. There is no point in producing an action plan before we have a good and clear view of what services we have at the moment and what is not and what is working. I will leave it there, but I think that we need to look at what local authorities are doing and make sure that everybody gets the services that they require across the whole of Scotland. Thank you very much. I should, of course, have said at the start speeches around four minutes, please. I call Lewis MacDonald, followed by Graeme Dey. I, too, congratulate Bruce Crawford on securing today's debate. Like others, I have seen the work of Sue Ryder at first hand because of the excellent work that is done at Deview Court in the minister's constituency in Aberdeen. It has been inspiring to see the facility develop over the years and to hear from users and families about the quality of the experience there. I am sure that Maureen Watt would vouch for that. Sue Ryder's rewrite the future reports on the state of neurological care in Scotland have also made an important contribution in identifying where there are gaps in the provision of care and what must be done to fill those gaps. Deview Court has provided care for people with multiple sclerosis, motor neuron disease, cerebral palsy and acquired brain injuries over the last 13 years, allowing residents to live as independently as possible in shared houses and still to feel part of the local community. There are spaces, however, for only 24 residents, which means that many people in the northeast who need expert care and supported living are not able to take advantage of these excellent facilities. A waiting list in this context is partly a problem of success, but it is a problem nonetheless to those concerned. Despite the quality of Deview Court, there are too many people under the age of 65 in the older people's care homes in Aberdeen as there are elsewhere. That is why Sue Ryder launched a campaign earlier this year to raise some £3.9 million to build a new wing at Deview Court to accommodate an additional 20 residents. Only last week, I am pleased to say that they were able to announce that the campaign had raised its first million pounds just five months after being launched, a great achievement by Sue Ryder and good news for people in the northeast affected by neurological conditions. The support provided at specialist facilities like Deview Court is important to residents and their families, but our wider health and social services must also be equipped to provide the care that people need to treat or manage their own symptoms and to live independently in their own homes. Sue Ryder's first rewrite the future report last year found that six of Scotland's 14 regional health boards either had no current plan for providing neurological health services to their populations or were unable to say whether they had such a plan in place. Worryingly, when Sue Ryder updated this report this year, the number unable to report positively had increased from six to nine. The Scottish Government's commitment to developing a national action plan for neurological conditions is welcome, but, as with all such plans and strategies, actions matter more than words. As Alan Milburn said in another context at the weekend, it is not what you say that counts ultimately, it is what you do. The Scottish Government has promised that the first national action plan on neurological conditions will be published next summer, and I hope that the minister will be able to confirm that today. I hope that she will also confirm that additional resources will be provided to health boards to allow them to take the actions required under the action plan and that those will relate to levels of need. The incidence of multiple sclerosis, for example, in the Aberdeen area is one of the highest in the world. General funding of NHS Grampian is lower year-on-year than the NRAC formula says it should be. We do no one any favours in the north-east to impose additional spending requirements on NHS Grampian without also increasing the resources available to meet those needs. Sue Ryder will continue to campaign for improved care for those with neurological conditions. He will do so with the support of members across this chamber, and I am confident that we will soon be congratulating them on reaching their next million-pound milestone in raising funds for a very welcome expansion of D-View Court. I look forward to continued co-operation among all parties and between the Government and the agency itself in delivering the quality of care that people with neurological conditions require. I call Graeme Dey to be followed by Alexander Stewart. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Let me begin as customary by congratulating my friend Bruce Crawford for securing this member's debate. It allows members to highlight not only the don't write me off report, but also the work of Sue Ryder home care staff across Scotland. In my constituency of Angus South, we are lucky to have a Sue Ryder team that can offer expert care for people living with neurological conditions, a specialist service that most areas in Scotland do not yet have access to. I want to highlight the tailored care that Sue Ryder offers service users in Angus, not simply to blow the trumpet of my constituency, but in the hope that it points the way for the wider care provider community in terms of supporting people with neurological conditions and allowing them to live as independently as possible. Since the provision of home care staff that has moved across from Angus Council to external organisations, Sue Ryder has become one of the largest home care providers in the area. The team based in Arbroath currently operates with a staff of 47, delivering 1,300 hours of care a week for over 200 service users. As well as day-to-day, home care Sue Ryder staff in Angus offer help to provide respite to carers and short-term rehab programmes so that people can leave hospital sooner and continue their recovery at home. Presiding Officer, to be honest, I usually cringe when I hear that phrase, person-centred. First, it represents the kind of jargon that pervades the service element of the public sector. Secondly, on the ground, it's all too often deployed simply to mask delivering the kind of care and support an individual is going to be given what their circumstances require or, indeed, they want. However, it does seem to me that the Angus Sue Ryder team do reach beyond the standard care process and provide users with a tailored service that truly focuses on their overall quality of life. They don't write me off report, urges health care professionals not to focus on the neurological disease but on the experience of living with a condition and how that informs the person's whole life, which means listening to and considering them as a person, simply treating them as a patient with a condition. The Angus team's desire to put this approach into practice is demonstrated by the organisation of their Christmas party this Thursday. As we're all aware, life with a debilitating neurological condition can be lonely and isolating, especially at this time of year. This party acts as an opportunity to bring service users together in a social setting in the company if only your faces are the Sue Ryder home care team and with local school kids taking part. This approach to building relationships outside of working hours isn't just confined to annual gatherings. Recently, for example, the team at Sue Ryder Angus took an elderly service user out of her home to see the town's Christmas lights and, on another occasion, a member of staff accompanied a lady to a family member's wedding, allowing her to take part in that special day with the support of a specialist carer by her side. To me, that sounds like genuine person-centred care, tailored to the needs and wishes of the individual. The care provided by the Sue Ryder team in Angus is greatly valued by those in receipt of it and is frequently rated by the care inspectorate as excellent. The inspectorate's most recent report on the Sue Ryder team one service user described the staff as superb and acknowledged of the staff that some go above and beyond. Only last year, alongside Sue Ryder colleagues in Stirling, with whom they collectively make up the Scottish home care team, represented us from Angus, scooped the accolades of team of the year and overall winner at the Sue Ryder UK Awards in recognition of the Scottish team's commitment, resilience and excellent care. Those of my constituents who live with a neurological condition have access to top-class personal home care from the Sue Ryder team. As we seek to make the Scottish Government's quality strategy on healthcare a reality by 2020, I hope that it is seen as a role model for elsewhere in Scotland. I call Alexander Stewart to be followed by Gillian Martin. Thank you, everybody, officer. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to participate in this debate and I'd like to pay tribute and congratulate Bruce Crawford in securing it this evening. Mr Crawford's motion asks that the Parliament recognises the devastation and the impact which a neurological condition can have on the lives of those affected and also by the families that surround them. It must be a very harrowing situation to find yourself in that position being supported by your family. The statement pinpoints and is very poignant and recognises that there is a huge push that is required to take forward. I have been looking at other types of diseases that are of a similar nature and I look forward to dealing with my own report and members' bill coming in the next few weeks about brain tumour because, once again, it shows the disability that people suffer. During the time that I've taken some research to look at this whole area of neurological care, Stuart Ryder are without question, a real beacon and a real force to be recognised. I had great pleasure in attending the recent parliamentary event which gave us the opportunity to find out more about what's taking place. I was disappointed that the health board's continual slow reaction to those individuals who have a neurological condition. The situation is quite tragic and the plans that are put in place are vitally important. We've heard already this evening about the healthcare and social care integration that's still causing some concerns. The Stuart Ryder organisation wants everyone with a condition in Scotland to receive incredible care and that is what we'd all want to see happen. However, in reality, we've found that across Scotland it can be patchy, it can be poor and it can sometimes be not that well co-ordinated. It's difficult to understand for those individuals and their families who are facing that situation. The patients feel that they are possibly once again stuck in a lottery and a postcode lottery when coming to that. To find that nine out of the 14 health boards have no neurological services plan and the six of them were not intending in bringing one forward. That is a real scandal situation but I know that the Government is now looking and addressing some of those issues but it is vitally important that we'll recognise and look forward to what can be achieved. Actions are required, not words and not documents but actions and it's time for the Stuart Ryder charity and they've got the new rewrite in future report for 2017 and a lot of work to be done on the ground to improve care for people with a condition. We've talked about the councils having a role to play here and how they need to do a much more to be effective in supporting people who have these conditions. Mr Crawford's motion makes it very clear that people want to do all they can who have a co-operation with people who have a condition. The third sector and public bodies have a part to play in ensuring that all of that is coming together and that must happen for us to ensure that we can go forward with confidence in the processes. I would go further and ours, the Scottish Government, that over the 10 years that the momentum has gathered and it's vitally important that we commence urgent work on the overhauling of our health boards plans to ensure that the quality of care for those who are living with a new is at the forefront because that is the ultimate that we're trying to achieve. Those individuals and families are suffering on a day-to-day basis and they have to have the confidence in the health service and the confidence in the sectors that they look after. They should be relying on charitable organisations to provide them with that support and provide them with that care. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and thank you to Bruce Crawford for securing this debate and for hosting Siewrider in Parliament a few weeks ago, where I was able to learn more about the work Siewrider do across the country. In particular, it gave me the opportunity to talk to Valerie Maxwell, the centre director of DvU Court in Aberdeen. For over 13 years, DvU Court has played a key role in delivery of expert and compassionate long-term care for people with neurological conditions who are living with complex care and support needs. DvU Court is Scotland's only purpose-built, specialist residential facility for people living with neurological conditions. Although DvU Court is not in my constituency, it's very near to it being a concorth in Aberdeen City, in the Aberdeen South and North Concarn constituency of my friend and colleague, Maureen Watt. Some of their residents are from my constituency of Aberdeensia East. We are tremendously fortunate to have a facility like DvU Court in our area, but I am conscious that most of Scotland does not have access to specialist residential care like this. Staff at DvU Court work closely with a range of health and social care professionals to deliver incredible 20 for their care and support to people living with very complex needs and neurological conditions. They provide a safe environment in which people can live as full of life as is possible, and where staff provide quality care and support, and as Lewis MacDonald has mentioned, they are very integrated to the local community and live a full life there. Each resident has their own specially adapted room and is free to participate in recreational activities and is able to get a good deal of independence back in their own space where many before have been reliant on family members for their care. Without access to a specialist resource like DvU Court, survivors rewrite the future report highlights that many people suffer needlessly or are unable to live their lives as fully as possible. The fact is that, given that many neurological conditions are no respecters of age, without specialist facilities hundreds of people will end up in old people's homes because they have nowhere else to go for their care as Bruce Crawford has mentioned in his very compelling opening speech. A place like DvU Court could have made a tremendous difference to the life of my brother-in-law Keith and his mother Audrey when his dad Eric Allardice lost a great deal of his mobility due to the multiple sclerosis that developed in his late 20s and which eventually took his life when he was in his mid 30s. Eric was cared for at home until his death by his wife Audrey, who was only just managing to raise their child Keith and arrange part-time work around his care. DvU Court's very existence is dependent on fundraising by Sue Rider. The need for more facilities like DvU Court is most definitely there. DvU Court has a waiting list and wants to expand to be able to offer their expert care to more residents. A couple of months ago, Sue Rider launched a £3 million fundraising campaign to raise funds to build a much-needed new wing and cater for an additional 20 residents. The planned extension will consist of 14 new bedrooms and six supported living apartments. I want to end with good news. Just this week, they announced that it can be revealed that the generous and public spirited people of the north-east have helped them hit the £1 million mark in their campaign. I would like to close by letting everyone know how they can help them reach their target. You simply go to www.suerider.org Care centres, forward slash medical centres and find DvU Court to donate there. We can provide specialist care for over 20 more people in the north-east but we do need commitment from every health board to make services available that are appropriate for those with neurological conditions whatever their age. The last of the open debate contributions is from Anna Sarwar. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I join others in congratulating Bruce Crawford in bringing forward this debate and also for his important work with Scotland. The good work of Sue Rider is widely recognised by parliamentarians across the chamber. It is almost 70 years experience in the field of neurological care. When Sue Rider speaks with authority and I welcome their significant contribution to improving the care and the lives of people in Scotland with neurological conditions. Part of that contribution has been in the form of the various reports published by them on the standard of neurological care in Scotland. Those reports highlighted the many benefits of consistent care and support. They are clear that a properly delivered health and social care strategy can help people with neurological conditions to live life as fully as possible. In their 2016 report, Sue Rider also highlighted a number of areas of concern. A lack of consistent data, national clinical standards not being followed, patchy provision of services, long-term service delivery plans not being in place and some people with neurological conditions being treated in non-specialist locations. A poor report card on neurological care in Scotland. That led to the Scottish Government rightly initiating a review of clinical standards as well as a commitment to gather better data in Scotland. While there is some progress at a national level on data collection, with the first set of data due to be published on the ground, sadly not much appears to be changing for people on the ground. Of particular concern is that, for the many, the situation appears to be getting worse. Nine out of Scotland's health boards had no neurological service plans despite this being a requirement of national clinical standards. One said that it had a draft plan, while four had plans which were due to expire. But it gets worse. The policy direction rightly for the development of a joint neurological care plan between health boards and local authorities or integration boards only one has started to do this. That is frankly not good enough. The evidence is clear, that the integration of health and social care has so far done little to improve services on the ground. I am sure that something all of us across this chamber, regardless of political party, will want to see made right, because there is a real risk of people being left behind as the reforms continue. That is why I request the Scottish Government to do more than just produce a national action plan, although that is important, and then simply hand the plan over to independent joint boards and hope for the best. The Scottish Government has to show real and on-going leadership on this issue to make sure that we see genuine improvement across all health boards across the country. In particular, if the national action plan identifies the need for new resources, as Bruce Crawford has said, I would hope that the Scottish Government would commit to those new resources. Will health improvement Scotland be given the resources to monitor the new standards and drive forward improvements to make sure that we have a consistent approach right across the country? That is crucial because the last set of clinical standards were not being delivered. In truth, because nobody was monitoring their implementation, it made it harder to deliver those standards right across the country. The Scottish Government has rightly led people to the expectation that services will continue. They have worked closely to deliver an action plan across the country. I would hope on those improvements around resources across the country, on health improvement Scotland monitoring progress across the country and making sure that we have deliverable and delivered clinical standards across the country would be something that we can all get behind. I hope that the minister will address in our closing comments. Maureen Watt responds to the debate. Do you have around seven minutes, please, minister? Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I am pleased to be able to respond on behalf of the Government. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Bruce Crawford for bringing the debate to the chamber. I am encouraged by the commitment across the Parliament to improve the quality of life of people affected by neurological conditions. As Bruce Crawford said, they have a profound effect not only on the individuals but on the families and carers of those affected. I want to ensure you all that this Government is fully committed to improving the lives of people with neurological conditions. The Government very much welcomes the Sue Rider report. It is a valuable contribution to the debate on how we make things better for people with neurological conditions in Scotland. Presiding Officer, as a Government we have an excellent working relationship with Sue Rider and have been working closely with them over the past years. Indeed, the Cabinet Secretary will visit the Sue Rider centre in Aberdeen in January to continue discussions on our shared goals. Perhaps Bruce Crawford can go along at the same time. As Lewis MacDonald said, I am very familiar with the excellent care that Sue Rider provides from the EU court. Indeed, I am a very frequent visitor as I have held constituency surgeries in their premises in the past. I am very pleased to note that the fundraising campaign to expand the centre's facilities recently reached the £1 million mark. I think that this is testament to the quality life-changing care that Sue Rider provides and perhaps Presiding Officer in the interests of transparency. I should declare an interest in so far as I provided a supporting statement for their bid for funding for the extension to the Wolfson Foundation. I am not sure if that has been revealed yet or not. I am pleased to say that the Government is making good progress on a number of the fronts that Sue Rider has highlighted in their reports. We have listened to them and others who called for change around charges for personal care. We announced in the programme for Government that we will now take steps to extend free personal care to all those under 65 fully delivering on the commitment to introduce Frank's law. That means that up to 9,000 people currently in receipt of personal care will no longer be liable for charges for the care they need. That will assist many with neurological conditions like MND, MS and Parkinson's disease. We are also making good progress on improving the data that is collected on neurological conditions. That data will assist NHS boards and integration authorities in forming better service planning that supports people with neurological conditions. Our aim is to have this data set in place by spring 2018. I think that it is important that we are also committed to reviewing the neurological standards and health care improvement in the process of developing these new standards of care. We know from statistics that people living with neurological conditions mainly access primary and community care services. As such, we expect the new standards to apply in a range of care settings across health and social care. I think that Graeme Dey admarably described the excellent level of care that Sue Rider provides in Angus. I hope that high standards of care will be replicated elsewhere. As Jeremy Balfour said, most people really want to live in the home or in a homely setting. Those standards will be developed by a project group that will crucially include people who live with neurological conditions. It is vital that policy makers and health care professionals consult with them and listen to the people who have lived experience because they are the experts. We also note that Sue Rider's call for the new standards to be accompanied by a programme of measurement and improvement going forward. I can assure members that this is something that the Government is considering closely and will be working with partners over the next year to explore what such a programme would look like and how it could be delivered. Sue Rider has also been calling on the Government to develop a national approach with regards to neurological conditions and again we have listened to that call. The Minister for Public Health recently announced that work has started on Scotland's First National Action Plan on neurological conditions. That new plan will support the development of integrated expert neurological and rehabilitation services focusing on the needs of individuals living with neurological conditions across health and community services. Gillian Martin mentioned the work of DvU Court but DvU Court, as having inpatient services provide excellent outreach services. They have recently introduced outreach services for people living with MS, which has had a fantastic positive effect on those living with MS who have taken part in the outreach work that they do. As part of this work we will be undertaking a programme of engagement with health and social care partnerships to ensure that they are sufficiently cited and supported on the aims of our national action plan. The plan will incorporate the new national neurological standards being developed by healthcare Improvement Scotland and will be designed to drive improvements for people in a range of healthcare settings. To ensure our approach to this new plan is open and collaborative as much as possible we are seeking to co-produce it in partnership with clinicians the third sector and, of course, those who live with neurological conditions. We have also commissioned the health and social care alliance and the neurological alliance working in partnership to engage with people living with a neurological condition so that we learn and understand their experiences of accessing services as well as their priorities for the future. As others in the third sector will continue to feed into this important work the draft plan will be produced by summer and consulted on before being published later next year. The perspective of lived experience is central to any work that we take forward in this area and as this work progresses over the next year I would hope that we can rely on support across the chamber to get involved and bring your ideas forward. I would like to close by offering my continued support for the works that I do to represent and support people with neurological conditions and again confirming that this Government is fully committed to improving the lives of people living with neurological conditions around the country. Thank you. That concludes the debate and this meeting is closed.