 Gwtu cefnogaeth, rwy'n γerionedd y cynnwysurydd yn unrhyw ddechrau'r cwestiynau Ngwysiwr 1, Llynedd Fabiani. Mae'r cyfnodd gyda'r cyflodiau bod yn unig o'r drosengau i cyflodau lleoedd yn gymsloedd mae general. Mae general i cymsloedd nesaf bywŽr, ac ond, mae'r cymsloedd yn cyfan o ysgwysigydd i cyfrifoedd mewn cyfrifoedd ac ysgwysigedd general. Ysbytyd y press�� amser ac mae'n cyfrifoedd cyffredinol ar gael'u proedd ynifeil o'r cyfrifodau lleoedd therefore it will be better equipped to meet the needs of patients with multiple health conditions, making it easier for patients to access the right person at the right time. I am pleased to hear that the Scottish Government wants an enhanced role for nurses in general practice, but can I ask how the cabinet secretary intends to make sure that health boards and indeed GP practices take this on board an recognised the worth of practice nurses? Cabinet Secretary? Cymru yn cyfnodol gan gyfnodol iawn i lluniaid y ddwyngasrwyng yng Nghymru, ac yn ymryd i gael ffordd yn gweithio y gynhyrchu multidusyflenariad. Felly, mae'n fyw rydyn ni'n enw i ddweud â i ddwyfodol i gael gwybodaeth i ddwyfodol i gael gwybodaeth ysgrifennu cydnwys i'r lluniaid, ac mae'n ddwyfodol i ddwyfodol i gael gwybodaeth i gael gwybodaeth i gael gwybodaethwsle deux million pounds. I mentioned in my first answer that's been invested for additional training is going to make sure that general practice nurses can contribute even more than they can already. They contribute a lot to general practice settings and primary care at the moment more generally. Of course it will also free up time for doctors to aeth chi'n gallu ngwychupsio sithio ddraith yr oesu cyffredinol sy'n ddigwydd i ddweud, a uchydig i ddweud fyddwyd ddweud sefydlach o bobl yn bwrdd ddaf nhw. I wneud i'r Llynd Hall Taf Biana gymhoffol a i wgfaenfa cy tightlyw ddrwy Gymru a chyfnodol i ddweud i digwydd i teimlo i gael ideoedd yr oesu cyffredinol, a'r rôl i ddweud ac yn gromod gyda'r periythoedd o gyfnodol, erbyn i gweithio cyfnodol, gyda'r ffordd o'r ffordd o dweud o'r cyfnodol, ac mae rhai'n cymrydau yn cerddur gyda'r pethau arwt y cyfnodol. Donald Cameron. ganwtd. Mae Gwairdorffiann yn ysgrifennol, mae'n gweithio eich mod i'ch gyn triesntART wneud, fod yn fawr i'ch gain trades gyrfa o'r periythol, ond rwy'r cyfnodol o'r ffordd o'r padau am gyfnodol iawn y gyffredin—— cilyddwyd y £500 miliwn fawr o gyfaintonol iawn i gyfaintonol iawn i g michion o gwaith am y First Minister ystafell, gallwch chi'n cael ei wneud sy'n cael eu cyhoeddfa i gwyllwch gyda gwyddoeddion, wrth gwrs, yn meddwl i profreunig o gyflwyntiau a genedlau, ond ond nid o wneud roi'r bobl cofwyrwyr i gwyllwch yn cyd-buol. Cymreig mewn cofwyrwyr? Ar hyn ddim yn cymwyllte, mae agnod o gyfer 500 miliwn gwaith yw gaerwch i gwylltio awn. Gweithiau'r wneud� cyfnod 150 miliwn, i gael hynny o gwbl yn dweud administration rhan fawr cyd-fawr. Mae ymddreadd gyrfa i'r PMA ac, wrth gwrs, mae fyddwn i'n mynd i'n gweithio i'r PMA, ac mae'i i'n gweithio i'r general. Mae'n dechrau am ddifuwyd, ac yn ddim yn ei dderwedd ar gyfer cygonadeau, yn gweithio i'r cyst-fawr, ac mae'n gweithio toipulatedean. That can't all be put on the shoulders of GPs. It has to be a multidisciplinary team. In recognising that, the resourcing, the £500 million, will recognise that as well as general practice nurses, we will need community-based paramedics, we need a HPs, we need pharmacists, all of whom will form that multidisciplinary team as well as mental health workers and I would hope that there would be very few, if any, within the chamber who would disagree with that principle. The resource is a big shift of resource towards primary care. I thought that that would be something that would be welcomed across the chamber. Anas Sarwar. I do welcome the new investment going into primary care and also welcome what the Cabinet Secretary said about nursing roles in primary care, particularly as we head towards being 830gp short in primary care by 2020. Two key elements to make that work, though, will be one, the GP contract, and secondly, the workforce plan. Can I ask the cabinet secretary what role other healthcare professionals will have in the GP contract process, and secondly, when she will be publishing a detailed workforce plan? Cabinet secretary. The workforce plan is on schedule to be published, as I said, in late spring, so imminently in the next few weeks. Of course, that has been a big undertaking with massive amounts of consultation across many sectors and staffing groups. The GP contract, as Anas Sarwar will be aware, is a contract negotiated between the Scottish Government and the British Medical Association. That is how the contract is negotiated, and once that contract has been negotiated, the details of that will be released. It would be inappropriate, while those negotiations are on-going, for us to do that until the negotiations are concluded. Once they are, I would make sure that Parliament is informed of the outcome of that. John Scott. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking in light of reports that 65 per cent of adults in Scotland are either overweight or obese. Minister Eileen Campbell. We remain committed to addressing Scotland's excess weight, and in line with the evidence that we are maintaining activity across the whole of society that makes it easier for people to be more active, to eat less and to eat better. For example, we have invested £12 million over five years to 2017 on a range of programmes to support and encourage healthy eating. This year we are providing councils with a further £53.9 million of revenue funding for free school meals. We have also exceeded our target of delivering 150 community sports hubs across all local authorities by 2016. Sports Scotland has also announced a further £6 million investment to create a total of 200 hubs by 2020. John Scott. I thank the minister for her answer. I would ask her to consider the impact of price promotions on obesity. As Cancer Research UK asserts that 40 per cent of all calories are bought on price promotions. Food and drink that are high in fat, sugar and salt content are seriously damaging the health of the people of Scotland in so many different ways. Can she tell us how she might address those concerns, particularly about very high calorie intake as a result of price promotions? Price promotion is certainly an issue that Cancer Research UK has pointed out as an area that we need to take action on. There will be opportunity to delve deeply into those issues and a whole range of other issues as we develop the obesity strategy and the consultation to go with that in the imminent future. We will certainly continue to engage with Cancer Research UK on this. It is really helpful some of the evidence that they are compiling on this issue that allows us to identify how big an issue this is for Scotland to deal with and the challenges that we face. Price promotion and access to the affordability of high-fat, sugar and salt foods are one that we need to look at where there should be nothing off the table as we approach the new strategy. I look forward to working with the member on the consultation as we bring it forward. I ask whether the minister shares my disappointment that the UK Government did not take the opportunity to introduce further restrictions on junk food advertising in its action plan on childhood obesity. I would share the member's disappointment on the UK Government's decision not to include restrictions on junk food advertising. That aligns itself with the disappointment that Cancer Research UK expressed in relation to the points that John Scott raised. We have long argued that a ban up to the 9pm watershed would greatly reduce children's exposure to the marketing of unhealthy foods. That is not just my point of view. That is a measure that is backed up by recommendations from Public Health England and Food Standards Scotland and has the backing of the Welsh and Northern Irish Governments. It has a huge amount of support across our third sector and reiterates the strong and lines of arguments that Cancer Research UK has taken on the issue. We hope beyond the election that perhaps there will be a change of heart. The minister will be aware that as well as two thirds of adults being overweight are obese, almost a third of children in Scotland are. Does the minister recognise that the current prevention of obesity route map is not working? Given, as we have already heard, that utterly inadequate child obesity strategy, published recently by the UK Government, is also failing, will the minister give a clear commitment that the new strategy will accept and recognise that the causes and consequences of obesity are not born equally among Scotland's population and that there is a disproportionate impact on those from deprived areas? If we want to tackle that particular health and equality, we need to tackle wealth inequality in Scotland. I absolutely recognise that there is a disproportionate impact on the communities that are the most vulnerable. They stand to gain the most if we take collective and bold action on tackling the issues of obesity. That is why we are bringing forward a new strategy starting with the consultation that will be coming forward with very soon. We will take on board all the issues that have been raised not just by the member who has taken a keen interest and is continually raising those issues, but members across the chamber, also our partners, our third sector organisations, to make sure that we get this right. We have a challenge here that we need to face. It costs our NHS and public purse money, but it is also costly in terms of the impact that it has on people's lives. Those that are most impacted on, as Colin Smyth articulates, are those in the most vulnerable communities. We also have to make sure that we bring communities with us on this, because price promotions, if we took that forward, may also have an impact on those with the least money to spare. We have to work together to make sure that we have nothing off the table when we bring forward the consultation and work together to make sure that we have the impact that we all require, which is to see a downward trend on obesity levels in our country. To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to address health inequalities. Reducing health inequalities is one of the biggest challenges that we face. They are a symptom of wider income inequalities, inequalities that are exacerbated by policies of austerity and welfare reform. We are taking action, focusing on addressing the underlying causes, ending poverty, promoting fair wages, supporting families and improving our physical and social environments. The minister notes that health inequalities are firmly linked to income inequalities. Can the minister give an analysis of the potential knock-on effect on the NHS that a predicted 10 per cent increase in child poverty as a result of the UK Government's two-child policy will have? I will reiterate again that the UK Government's welfare cuts are unfair and are having a hugely damaging and disproportionate impact on women. By 2021, around 50,000 households in Scotland will be affected by the two-child cap, reducing spending in Scotland by around £120 million. The Conservatives often ask us to do more on a number of different issues. Perhaps they need to be asking their UK Government colleagues to stop with this gross unfairness. The IFS estimates that a three-child family will lose on average 2,500 per year, while families with four children will lose 7,000 per year. Four million families across the UK will see entitlements fall. Reducing support to low-income families will push people further into poverty, which impacts negatively on health and causes pressure on other public services. Four million families are impacted by harsh Tory cuts. That is four million reasons why we should not be voting Tory in June. Has the minister studied the new report published this week by the Mental Health Foundation, Surviving or Thriving, which highlights severe health inequalities within mental health in Scotland? What specific additional action is the Scottish Government taking to reduce health inequalities among people suffering from mental health challenges and illnesses? I thank Miles Briggs for raising the issue. I think that, although he talks about inequalities quite often in the chamber, he should make those points to his UK Government colleagues, who are the source of some of that inequality and have the power within themselves to try to reverse some of that inequality. The member will also have been in the chamber when my colleague Maureen Watt set forward her new 10-year mental health strategy, which looks at the impact of inequalities and has a range of actions that will help to reduce inequalities and help to reduce some of that detrimental impact on mental health. I reiterate that it takes a bit of a brass neck for the Conservatives to continually come here and talk about inequalities when they themselves have been the cause of much of that inequality in the society of the country. Neil Findlay. Does the minister agree that income inequality is at the heart of health inequality? One of the key ways of addressing that is through the tax system. Why won't the Government introduce a progressive tax system? Minister. Of measures within the powers that we have to make sure that we can reduce inequalities, we are taking forward a number of measures around living wage, we are bringing forward, we have brought forward plans around our tax system as well. We also continually mitigate against the worst impacts of welfare reform, so we are doing a number of different measures within the powers that we have, within the budget that we have been given, to make sure that we can do our best to make sure that we have and can create the fairer society that we all seek. It just seems a bit of a pity at times that Neil Findlay continues to ignore those measures and continues to cart from the sidelines. Question 4, Dean Lockhart. To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to encourage participation in sport. The Act of Scotland's outcomes framework sets out our ambitions for a more active Scotland and is underpinned by a commitment to equality. We want to ensure that people of all ages from all communities across Scotland have the opportunity to participate in sport and physical activity. That is reflected in our investment in programmes such as active skills to provide more sport and physical activity opportunities for young people and also our investment in facilities, including community sports hubs, of which there are currently 157 right across Scotland, increasing to 200 by 2020. I am also delighted that, following a total investment of £12 million, the superb facilities at the UK's first of our Paris Sports Centre at Inverclyde are now open. Dean Lockhart. I thank the minister for that response. Despite increasing levels of child and adult obesity in Scotland, the budget for sports has been cut significantly over the past two years, even after taking into account the funding mentioned by the minister. Can the minister therefore explain how cutting the budget for sports, including budgets for grass-roots sports clubs, is going to help tackle the increasing health problems associated with obesity and related challenges? Minister. I announced in April an additional £2 million investment in sports governing bodies, which will be redistributed by Sports Scotland to help offset the reduced revenue from the national lottery. I have also written to the UK Government around the issues that continually present themselves around reduction in national lottery. Again, I look forward to maybe getting the member's support and asking his colleagues to do what they can to reverse the national lottery challenges that our sporting bodies are facing. Also, since the Government took office, we have seen an increase in investment in our infrastructure. We have some of the best infrastructure across the country in terms of sport. We have invested heavily around making sure that young people get the opportunities. We have increased the way in which PE and fundamentally restructured the way in which PE is being taken forward across our schools, seeing us now reaching around 98 per cent of our children meeting the two-hour PE. Again, people can't move from the sight line. This is a significant investment that this Government has taken forward to improve the infrastructure of our sporting arenas across the country. We have increased fundamentally the number of children who are taking part in two hours or more of PE in every school. We have just opened a new Parasports centre in Inverclyde. We have hosted one of the best ever Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Our commitment is very strong to sport. Given all of our young people the opportunity they deserve, children's opportunities and life chances are exacerbated by inequalities. I reiterate that the Conservatives need to be looking a little bit closer to home around inequalities and where that has been manifested. Question 5 has not been lodged. Question 6, Alison Harris. To ask the Scottish Government what health guidance is given to operators of sports and leisure facilities that are close to the Grangemouth Chemical Complex. There are strict arrangements in place to ensure that the Grangemouth Chemical Complex operates safely and that if something does go wrong that health and safety of the public is protected. Those arrangements include a community warning system in the event of an incident at the complex that enables people living and working in nearby areas to be alerted quickly. The community warning system is tested twice a year. Falkirk Council provides regular local guidance on what people should do when the community warning system is triggered. That advice, which applies to sports and leisure facilities, is to go in, stay in and tune in. That is to go indoors, close the doors and windows and wait for further instruction. Alison Harris. I thank the minister for that response. However, during the recent incident at Ineos in Grangemouth, provision was made for pupils at primary and secondary schools to be kept indoors. However, users of the outdoor sports pitches continued to use the facilities. In view of the numbers of people who use those facilities, will the Scottish Government undertake to review the guidance given to the operators of those facilities? Minister. The member raises a very good point. Of course, on 2 May, there was that incident that she described at Grangemouth where a limited number of staff were evacuated from the site following the gas leak and the incident centred on the Canill gas plant and involved a release of gases there. The local incident management plan was activated and local recordings and road closures were put in place to ensure public safety. However, the points that she makes are good ones. I am happy to continue to be in dialogue with her on this and want to reassure that there will be a multi-agency debrief of the incident being held on Wednesday 17 May. That debrief will examine the events, ensure that any learning points are captured in order to refine and improve the off-site plan and arrangements. The Scottish Government resilience division is leading the debrief process. I will continue to keep her updated regarding the outcomes from that meeting. Question 7, Bruce Crawford. To ask the Scottish Government what action has been taken to improve mental health services in the NHS 4th Valley area. Minister, Maureen Watt. We have published a new 10-year strategy for mental health in Scotland. The new strategy contains 40 actions, including those that commit to funding improved provision for services to treat child and adolescent mental health problems and funding work to improve provision of psychological therapy services and help meet set treatment targets. As part of those actions we have announced a £54 million comprehensive package of support to improve access to mental health services for both CAMHS and psychological therapies. Within that we have established an improvement team within Healthcare Improvement Scotland to work on improving access to mental health services. 4th Valley is one of the first boards to work with the improvement team. Working with the board, a new service model has been introduced by NHS 4th Valley and we have seen substantial improvements in CAMHS weights. We have yet to be congratulated on attaining the target having recorded the lowest rate of performance across Scotland at this time last year. Bruce Crawford. I thank the minister for reply. I recognise the improvements being made. Minister, please tell me what the current waiting times are for child and adolescent mental health services in the 4th Valley area. I have constituents who continue to be concerned about the length of time it is taking for their children to access services. Can the minister therefore please tell me what specific actions have already been taken and what more can be done to improve access to CAMHS in the 4th Valley area? Minister. The latest published figures for quarter 4 of 2016 show 4th Valley's performance against the standard that improved across the second half of 2016 with 94.8 per cent of people treated within CAMHS services were seen within 18 weeks. That compares to 34 per cent of people receiving treatment within CAMHS services with the 18-week standard in the same time a year ago. In response to your constituents' concerns, the member might wish to know that I met yesterday with parents from CAMHS 4th Valley, CAMHS 4th Valley parents voices, and I welcomed the opportunity to hear their experiences of CAMHS and to discuss the work that we are supporting through investment and the new mental health strategy to improve the standard of care from CAMHS, including the quality and continuity of service. At board level, the new service model has been introduced within NHS 4th Valley. The new model looks to address delays identified in the system as well as undertaking staff recruitment and working on the longer waits. I understand that the board has established a parents forum to increase engagement with local families. That will meet for the first time at the end of this month. That is precisely what, as a Government, we wish to see patient involvement and participation in designing services. Monica Lennon. Bruce Crawford has raised an important issue. I met the founder of the CAMHS 4th Valley parents voices group, Katie Sneddon, another parent yesterday after their meeting with the minister. As the newspapers have reported today, they were in absolute tears as they were sharing their stories. It was heartbreaking to listen to the individual challenges that they have had to face and to get the support that they desperately need for their children. I welcome some progress that has been made, but it is not simply just about waiting times. The Scottish Government has committed to look at rejected referrals if we are to hearing more of the detail on that. Can the minister provide an update on what her response is to the group's call for a full audit and review of the CAMHS service in the 4th Valley and if she will give that consideration? Minister. As I have already said, I did meet with the parents yesterday and listened to their stories, most of which are historic, also pre-2007. As a result of what we have got in the new mental health strategy and what has been done so far, we are seeing excellent progress in 4th Valley on waiting times. Rather than having a full-blown audit of what is happening, I would prefer to get on with doing the job and making sure that what is required is put in place. That is precisely what we are doing in 4th Valley and with the new mental health strategy across the country. Dean Lockhart. Thank you. Despite the hard work of its dedicated staff, NHS 4th Valley continues to suffer from a lack of resource. This left over 300 people waiting over four months for treatment. Can I ask the minister when will 4th Valley NHS be in the position to meet government targets in this area? Minister. As I have already mentioned in my previous answers, NHS 4th Valley is now meeting its waiting time targets. Of course, this Government was the first to introduce waiting times. NHS 4th Valley Scottish Government allocation for building capacity in 4th Valley was £233,409 in 2016-17, rising to £369,112 in 2017-18. That money is being used to reduce pressure on the core CAM services, increase provision of early intervention, education and community services, support group work with a focus on tiers 2 and 3 capacity. It has also been used to fund clinical posts in order people's services, MSC applied psychology in primary care and early psychological intervention practice support, a range of measures to make sure that 4th Valley meets its targets. Question 8 Bob Dorris. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress with the analysis of responses to its recent consultation organ and tissue donation and transplantation. The consultation responses are currently being independently analysed and we expect to receive that analysis very soon. We will carefully consider the analysis before setting out our next steps in the coming months. Bob Dorris. I thank the minister for that answer. Minister, I helped to scrutinise evidence at stage 1 in the previous proposals for an opt-out organ donation system before this Parliament. Our committee recommended additional specialist nurses, consultants and intensive care beds irrespective of whether any opt-out system was to be introduced. I voted against the opt-out organ donation system not out of principle because of the weakness in the legislation before us at that time. Minister, can I ask what consideration the Scottish Government has given to the recommendations that I have referred to earlier on in my question, as well as addressing any weaknesses within the previous legislation? Minister. Thank you. Since the programme of work to increase donation rates as part of the donation and transplantation plan for Scotland 2013-20, the Scottish Government has provided funding to 0.7 additional specialist nurses for organ donation, as well as a dedicated regional manager from NHS Blood and Transplant to work full-time in Scotland. There are currently 22 full-time equivalent nurses appointing more, however, to dilute the expertise in approaching families and obtaining authorisation. It would not necessarily lead to a rise in donation rates. A review by the clinical leads for organ donation across Scotland resulted in resources being targeted in specific areas where it was felt that they could make a real difference, for example, among ethnic minority groups in addition, resources have been moved to where donation potential is greatest. In terms of intensive care capacity, in 2015, National Services Division published commissioning transplantation to 2020, which looked at the capacity within the NHS to achieve this and was not highlighted as an issue. Again, though we do have a very positive story, although the stage 1 did not pass, there has been a huge amount of work and effort gone into ensuring that there is effort and attention placed on ensuring that we can increase the rates of donation. We have a good story to tell, that work has been considerable, but I can continue to keep in touch with Mr Doris around the next steps following the analysis from the consultation. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the effects of noise pollution on public health. Through Scotland's implementation of the European Commission Environmental Noise Directive 2002-49EC, noise mapping and associated action plans have been put in place to help manage environmental noise. The strategic noise maps are currently being updated by Jacobs, experts on this field and are due for publication this summer. They will inform the implementation of the next set of action plans which could include actions in areas such as traffic and transport policies, technological innovation and public awareness raising. Mark Ruskell Can I thank the Minister for that response? She will also be aware that noise is the second largest environmental cause of ill health after air pollution. In fact, a UK study showed last year that exposure to noise above recommended levels resulted in an additional 1169 causes of dementia, 788 cases of stroke and 542 cases of heart attack in a single year. Given this evidence minister can I ask why Edinburgh airport has recently been allowed to carry out a consultation into new flight paths which will expose nearby communities to levels of up to 80 decibels without completing a full health impact study? Minister I will look into the issues that the member raises but he is right to point out about the impact that noise can have on people's health. That is why the directive recognises that noise pollution is one of the main environmental problems in Europe and that a framework for noise management is necessary. I will continue to keep him updated on the work that is on going around the mapping which includes planning exercises for the four agglomerations which includes Edinburgh and that is a bit of work that is multidisciplinary and requires input from a range of local authority staff and other key partners. It is proposed that the working groups for each area will be tasked with delivering content of the action plans and the Scottish Government will take responsibility for finalising and submitting completed plans. I think that the one that he will be particularly interested in will be the one for Edinburgh, which will include the communities around the airport. Alexander Burnett Thank you, Presiding Officer. It is becoming clear that both noise and air pollution are becoming a systemic problem in Scotland. Will the minister back my colleague Maurice Golden's campaign to increase the number of air quality monitors across Scotland? Again, I will keep the member updated on how the mapping exercise is progressing and certainly take good look at the work that he indicates that his colleagues are taking forward. Again, as Mark Ruskell said, environmental noise is an important issue. It does have an impact on health and that is why we need to make sure that we have the right procedures and people in place and making sure that we have the right resources and in place to ensure enforcement and recognising the impact that it can have on our communities. Again, that is why the directive is so important because it is one of the main environmental problems in Europe and that a framework for noise management is necessary. It also means that the Scottish Government will continue to maintain and protect enhancing environmental standards, even though they are an EU requirement and will do that and continue that post Brexit. Question 10 has not been lodged. Question 11, Ben Macpherson. To ask the Scottish Government what support it is giving to general practice. In October 2016, the First Minister made clear the scale of our ambition in shifting the focus of health investment from acute care to primary and community care with an increase in overall annual funding for primary care of £500 million by 2021. While the full £500 million invested in primary care should benefit general practice by 2021, the Scottish Government investment in direct support of general practice will reach an additional £250 million per year. There will be a year-on-year increased investment between now and then. The investment has already started in 2016-17. Investment in direct support of general practice will be £60 million and that will increase to £71 million in 2017-18 in direct support of general practice. Ben Macpherson. I thank the cabinet secretary for her answer. Can the cabinet secretary also explain what support will be provided to practice staff in Edinburgh in particular? I am aware that the member has a particular interest in the issues surrounding Inverleith medical practice based within his constituency and the retention of the practice staff team within the NHS is one of the key considerations of NHS Lothian. I know that he has taken a particular interest in this and has spoken to me about it on a number of occasions. All of the staff have found alternative positions within several other GP practices and all within the NHS, which we have actively promoted. More widely, the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership is developing a programme of support for practices under staff who are facing some challenges and, of course, they are using the Scottish Government's primary care transformation fund to do that. Brian Whittle The cabinet secretary will be aware that the GP practice in Fennig, Crosshouse and Cymor has recently had to resign from the practice with the potential of losing five GPs in the area and a further six through imminent retirement. On top of that, there are already 15 vacant places in Ayrshire and Arran as of two weeks ago. What comfort can the cabinet secretary give to those GPs who have had to resign from their practices or resigning their practice? As I have said in the chamber on a number of occasions, there are short and medium-term supports that are available through boards to help to address some of the recruitment and retention challenges in the here and now, but the solution that will help to transform the position of general practice and primary care in Scotland is based around the new contract and the new model for primary care and that is something that will benefit GPs within Ayrshire and Arran and elsewhere in Scotland. I can say to Brian Whittle and Donald Cameron who earlier raised these issues about GPs. What they are less keen to talk about though and to quote is the RC GP's concerns expressed today when they said that if the 226 GPs from other EU countries working in Scotland had to leave following Brexit, it could have grave consequences for patient safety. We do not hear the Tories quoting the RC GP on that very much. I wonder why. Question 12 Gordon Lindhurst To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve public health through cycling. Minister Eileen Cymru. We know that cycling has both physical and mental health benefits and plays a big part in health improvement. Over the period 2014-17, Sport Scotland has invested almost £2.6 million into Scottish cycling. The governing body for the sport in Scotland. In addition, through Transport Scotland we have increased investment in active travel by over 83 per cent compared to 2013-14 and have pledged to match record levels of investment over the life of this Parliament. All cycling organisations are working together to consider what more can be done to get people active through cycling at a national and local level. Gordon Lindhurst I thank the minister for that answer. Does the Scottish Government agree with the eight calls that are set out in Piddle on Parliament's manifesto and, if not, which ones does it not agree with? Minister Eileen Cymru We will continue to work with all our partners on the issues that we can do to make improvements around accessibility, safety of cycling at a local and at a national level. We have invested heavily in making sure that there is more accessibility around cycling. We have invested through legacy programmes. The one that he may be interested in as a Lohians MSP is the recently opened Skellf bike park in Edinburgh, which has been grant funding made available through the legacy project and which is allowing people who might not ordinarily have had access to cycling to be able to use the cycle route there free of charge for many years to come. We also have invested over including with our partners a total investment in cycling facilities of approximately 138 million since 2007. We have also increased the number of cycle paths and walking lanes. We will continue to work with and listen to all calls about what more we can do to increase cycling participation levels at that local and national level. Again, we will work with Peddleton Scotland to identify areas that we can work together to make improvements for Scotland. Ben Macpherson What impact does the Scottish Government envisage that the decision to leave the European Union could have in terms of funding for the future of active travel hubs across Scotland? We have pledged to match record levels of investment in active travel, as I said, over the life of this Parliament. Transport Scotland as the lead partner has secured funding of up to 8 million investment from the European Regional Development Fund 2014-20 programme to support the development of low-carbon travel and transport hubs until December next year. In June Transport Scotland will publish details of projects that have been successful under the initial low-carbon travel and transport challenge fund round. All ERDF contracts entered into before the UK leaves the UK will be guaranteed even when those payments continue beyond the EU exit point. However, there is no clarity on what that replacement funding arrangements will be for those schemes once the UK has left the EU. The Scottish Government will negotiate with the UK Government to ensure that future financial support for the range of initiatives currently supported by European funds is allocated on a fair deal across the UK post Brexit. However, the member is right to recognise that in all areas of life the mess that the UK Government has got us in with Brexit, the lack of clarity, the lack of engagement that they have had, it does impact upon many issues in local communities such as cycling. We will continue to negotiate, we will continue to make the case and we will continue to ensure that Scotland gets a fair deal in those negotiations. Question 13, Pauline McNeill. The Scottish Government, what its policy is on the provision of minor injuries units in communities? The planning and provision of local services is the responsibility of NHS boards. This planning should take account of local needs to ensure that demands are met and patient care is delivered in an optimal way. Pauline McNeill. The west Glasgow minor injuries unit treats adults and children age 5 and over. On 13 December, Greater Glasgow Health Board announced that that service was temporarily moving to the Queen Elizabeth University hospital. I am sure that the minister would agree that minor injuries units are a really important service to prevent patients turning up by accident and emergency services and therefore reducing pressure on accident and emergency. People who live in the west of Glasgow would like and assures that that service will return as before as it was a temporary measure. Really, it is important that minor injuries units are also local services. Does the minister hold the view that the people of the west of Glasgow should have their minor injuries unit returned to them, as promised? Cabinet Secretary. I agree with Pauline McNeill that minor injuries units are a very important service and, of course, the success can reduce pressure on accident and emergency departments and provide ease of access to patients. As Pauline McNeill, I am sure, will be aware, the Yorkhill unit was always an interim step as part of the migration of services in Glasgow in recent years. It is right that the board should take the time to properly consider where the new west Glasgow service should be located. She will understand some of the challenges with the Yorkhill site, which I think was partly the reason for some of the low attendances. I hope that Pauline McNeill would welcome the fact that there has been an assurance, not least from the chair of the board to me directly, that there will be a west Glasgow minor injuries unit. However, it is right that they look at other locations, the Gartnavel site being one of them and I am sure that she would understand that there are some advantages to that site in terms of the co-location with other services. I would encourage her to engage with the board directly. Whether there should be a west of Scotland minor injuries unit there will be one. It is about where that is best located. That concludes portfolio questions.