 The next item of business is a member's business debate on motion 2223 in the name of Clare Adamson. On type 1 diabetes in Scotland, that debate will be concluded without any questions being put, and I would ask those who wish to speak in the debate to request—sorry, to press the request to speak buttons now. I call on Clare Adamson to open the debate around seven minutes, please, Ms Adamson. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Can I begin by thanking my colleagues across the chamber for supporting the motion on type 1 diabetes in Scotland, allowing this debate to happen this evening? I would also like to welcome to the gallery some of the juvenile diabetes research fund members, GDIF representatives and also members of the type 1 diabetes family community in Scotland. This debate is to raise awareness of type 1 diabetes, a condition that affects 29,000 people living in Scotland. Scotland has the third highest incidence of type 1 diabetes in the world. I am by no means an expert on this disease, and my relationship with GDRF began when I was invited to the wonderful Strathclyde Park in my constituency to open the GDRF one-walk campaign fundraising event this year. I met with many of the families at that event, an event that raised over £70,000 for type 1 diabetes research. I have to commend the families and those who support people with type 1 diabetes. It is an extremely profound diagnosis to have in your family. For young children, it can mean disruption to sleeping patterns, to education, with constant monitoring required to ensure a glucose balance within the body. I was very pleased to meet some of the families at an event held by my colleague Anna Sarwar by GDRF in the Parliament. I would like to commend the families again who were represented there, including Ruth Elliott, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 18-months-old. Ruth has raised over £23,500 for GDRF by climbing Kilimanjaro and taking part in other fundraising events. I would also like to commend David Ballantine, who I believe was his granddaughter, who has a type 1 diagnosis, and he made headlines last year when he hauled a 19-stone anvil up Aaron Peak in Goldfell over a 26-day excursion—a herculine effort that raised £15,400. I commend the community for getting behind and supporting those who suffer with the disease. I also specifically mention Anna Farrar, who, when she visited the Parliament, I am sure was having a day off school—it might even have been off nursery—who came along and was able to demonstrate the continuous glucose monitoring system that she has, which she reads with a mobile phone and helps her to monitor diabetes. That is something that her family has to fundraise for on an on-going basis to fund that control of her disease. I would like to set the tone by mentioning a quote from Peter Jones, who is the chair of GDRF Scotland, who said that he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 37. The impact that I have will continue to have on his life is profound. It is not linked to lifestyle and there is no known cure. Managing the condition on a day-to-day basis is like walking a tightrope. We have the expertise to accelerate the path towards the discovery of new treatments and, one day, a cure. If we can encourage Scotland to lead the global fight against type 1 diabetes, we should be doing this. I think that that sets the tone about what I want to bring to the chamber and to share with my colleagues and to share with the wider community in Scotland about the work that GDRFs do. GDRFs have three research streams. One is specifically in finding a cure for those currently suffering, which would involve some system that would replace the molecules that are lost within the pancreas that are attacked by the immune system, causing the type 1 diabetes. GDRFs also have a treatment research stream, which is looking most specifically at the development of an artificial pancreas, which would be a replacement for the body's own function, its pancatic function, and can provide insulin levels and monitor glucose levels within the body automatically. GDRFs are also looking at smart insulins, which could be injected at any time by a type 1 diabetic, but would only become active within the body when the glucose levels required that. It is a very innovative research work. GDRFs are also looking at the prevention research stream, which is understanding the genetics and the immune system further to prevent the immune system fault that leads to the development of type 1 diabetes within the body. Scotland is home to some of the world's best type 1 diabetes research. Scotland-based researchers and, indeed, Edinburgh and Glasgow receive funding in the region of £3.9 million from GDRFs every year. The Scottish Government's chief scientist's office co-funds Scottish Diabetics research network type 1 bioresource, which contains samples of blood, urine and DNA of over 6,100 type 1 diabetes patients in Scotland. That is a unique and fantastic resource that is coupled with Scotland's world reading, an award-winning SCI diabetes system, which provides comprehensive snapshot of diabetes in Scotland and is the envy of others across the globe. Data on SCI diabetes can also be viewed by GP practices, by hospitals and patients who can view their own data to support the self-management of their condition. The DBA's Scottish Care Information Diabetes is commissioned and owned by the Scottish Government and is providing a fully integrated shared electronic patient record to support the treatment of NHS Scotland patients with diabetes. GDRFs themselves say that this is the jewel in the crown of Scotland's arsenal to fight diabetes, and it has been successfully exported to the Middle East. It provides functionality for both primary secondary care collections and includes special modules for pediatrics, podiatry, diabetes and special nursing diabetics. One of the things that I learned when I met the patients is that they sometimes get very frustrated that type 1 diabetes is linked with type 2 diabetes. At the time of the walk that I was there, they were particularly concerned about a food standards agency campaign that had been run, which did not initially make the distinction between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. To the families that I met on that day and to the families that are here today, it is the best of my ability. I have addressed this with the Food Standards Agency and I want to thank their chair, Ross Finney and chief executive, Geoff Ogilvie, who met with me at a very productive, open and helpful meeting. I am sure that the concerns of the type 1 community are very well understood at this time. I would like to finish by just again thanking my colleagues this evening for the opportunity to raise the concerns and the challenges faced by the type 1 diabetic community. I am looking forward to the debate going forward. I move on to the open speeches. Speeches have up to four minutes, please. Alex Rowley to be followed by Miles Briggs. I begin by congratulating Clare Adamson for bringing forward this member's debate on type 1 diabetes. I hope that we can agree a consensus across the chamber to raise awareness of the condition and the work that is needed to drive forward research into a cure. I wish also to commend the work of GDRF as their passion and dedication into research and campaigning for finding a cure for type 1 diabetes is exceptional. I am also grateful for the comprehensive briefing provided by GDRF and, in particular, the way that it has set out the issues that it wishes to see as the basis for continuing discussion within this Parliament, with a focus on excellence in research and collaboration across northern Europe. Last September, I attended a meeting hosted by Anas Sarwar, where families affected by type 1 diabetes called on MSPs to raise awareness of the condition and to put Scotland at the forefront of type 1 diabetes research. It is very valuable for politicians to hear testimonies of what the condition is actually like for those who have to live with it. I welcome the research that has been undertaken by GDRF into curing, treating and preventing the condition. I also hope that this work will help us to understand why the incendies of the condition are rapidly rising in children under the age of five in Scotland. The approach that is taken to foster collaboration between industry, academics and clinicians is a welcome approach. I hope that this proves successful and producing results that can improve the condition of those who live with type 1 diabetes. GDRF has shown that it wants to work with parliamentarians to target investment in type 1 diabetes research, reduce bureaucracy that hinders that research and improve the delivery of the research's findings. I hope that we can agree across the chamber to work with GDRF on those aims. I welcome the additional funding of £10 million by the Scottish Government to fund more insulin pumps and to continue its glucose monitoring equipment. That is a step in the right direction. However, we must continue to strive further in the improvement of type 1 research and treatment. I hope that the Scottish Government will commit to safeguarding and fully funding the Scottish Care Information Database, which GDRF describes as the jewel in the crown of Scotland's arsenal to fight diabetes. GDRF has also shown interest in another European area of excellence. We share a mutual interest with various Scandinavian countries, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Scotland, each of whom are among the 10 highest countries in the world for type 1 instances in children. There is an opportunity to enter discussions with those countries on shared interests when it comes to research. It is clear from this dedicated campaigning work undertaken by GDRF that there is a three-way approach to dealing with type 1 diabetes. There must be understanding, management and treatment of the condition. All parliamentarians can take steps to help to progress that. The debate alone is essential in raising awareness, particularly considering the fact that Scotland has the third-highest intensity of type 1 diabetes in the world. That will help to generate further understanding of the condition and will hopefully lead to further discussion on the management and treatment of type 1 diabetes. I hope that we can continue to work together to support world-leading research happening here in Scotland and with the political will alongside the leading industry, academia and the work of clinicians that we can eventually find and deliver a cure for type 1 diabetes. I would like to start by congratulating Clare Adamson on securing today's debate and also to congratulate her for the work that she has undertaken both inside and outside of parliament. I would also like to thank Diabetes Scotland and GDRF for their useful briefings ahead of this evening's debate. As the motion makes clear, type 1 diabetes, unlike type 2, is not linked to dietary or lifestyle factors. Rather, it is an autoimmune moon condition whose cause is not yet understood and which is unpreventable at the present time. I have a good friend who has type 1 diabetes, her and has had it for her whole life. I have to say that I have always been amazed and it is always amazed me how she has never let that hold her back in anything that she has turned her hand to, but growing up and working with her, I was always concerned at the constant strain on which the monitoring of her blood glucose levels has on her body, as well as the injecting of insulin that she has done to take. The effect that that has in her life, perhaps especially when she was a young woman growing up, has always been mentioned. Blood glucose levels must be monitored up to 10 times a day, so the development and roll-out of continuous glucose monitoring, an area that Scotland has lagged behind in recent years, will be of real benefit to type 1 diabetes patients. The Scottish Government's recent announcement of £10 million is indeed welcome, although we need to see more detail surrounding how that will be rolled out and the timescale for doing so, so that the many thousands of Scottish patients who desperately need CGM can access it without further delay. I hope that that is something that the minister will outline when responding to this evening's debate. I would also like to join Claire Adamson in paying tribute to JDRF for the excellent work that it does, both in supporting people who have type 1 diabetes and in funding the research to prevent the disease, improve current treatments and, eventually, let's hope to find a cure. With Scotland has already been outlined today having such a high incidence of type 1 diabetes, it's entirely appropriate that our scientists are at the forefront of this vital research. As the motion suggests, some internationally important research is currently being undertaken in Scotland with the support of funding from JDRF. For example, at the University of Edinburgh in my region, Professor Helen Cohen and her team are working on a project to develop a set of indicators of the disease, or biomarkers, to be used along with clinical data to find out who is at most risk of rapid progression of diabetic kidney disease. They aim to produce useful information that will help to accelerate the process of developing drugs to prevent and reverse kidney disease in type 1. I wish those researchers and others working in this area all the very best of success. We must also ensure that our NHS is providing the best possible service and support to type 1 patients. Diabetes UK's 2015 Age of Diabetes report highlighted a range of areas where improvements are clearly required in Scotland. It's a real concern to everyone in the chamber that the evidence now suggests that people with type 1 diabetes are receiving a poorer level of care than those with type 2. With the percentage of type 1 patients receiving their vital HBA1C check each year being lower than the number of people with type 2, that must be addressed to help to reduce the risk of potential complications as a result of people not being supported to manage their diabetes well. I hope that this is also an area where we can look at making changes in the future. Deputy Presiding Officer, diabetes is rightly high on the public health agenda and it must remain so. Tackling the rise in the number of people with type 2 is clearly a policy priority for Governments across the western world. However, we must also recognise the needs of our constituents who have type 1 diabetes and ensure that they are getting the best possible treatment, support and care until hopefully our scientists can develop the cure that we all want to see. I call Graeme Dey to be followed by David Stewart. Presiding Officer, can I first congratulate Clare Adamson on securing this debate on a very important issue that touches the lives of and impacts upon so many, especially here in Scotland, where more than 6,000 families are known to be affected? At the beginning of December, I attended an event at Dynamic Earth to celebrate the 30th anniversary of JDRF. I did so to support my constituents, Helen and Malcolm Taylor, who, in 2012 tragically and needlessly lost their teenage daughter Clare to undiagnosed type 1 diabetes. The Taylor's, in seeking to ensure some small good emerged from a tragedy that has impacted the lives of all the family, have organised events to fundraise for JDRF and raised awareness of type 1 diabetes. Let me take this opportunity to express my admiration for the way in which Helen and Malcolm have gone about that and conducted themselves, especially given the specific circumstances around Clare's passing. Can I also note how struck I was by two contributions made to the 30th anniversary event at Dynamic Earth? The first was from the First Minister, who has very clearly maintained a passion for tackling type 1 diabetes from her days as health secretary. The second came from a 12-year-old type 1 diabetes sufferer called Katie Shaw, who captivated the audience as she explained how research has helped her and her younger sister. I came away from Dynamic Earth genuinely, we uplifted, because what we'd heard all round was a story of progress and hope, and a story firmly rooted in Tayside. As Clare Adamson's motion mentions, JDRF is funding research into type 1 diabetes at the University of Dundee, as is the Scottish Government. The main project is initially receiving £1.7 million from the edd dollars from the charity. The scientists involved in the project are conducting the biggest study of its kind in Europe. They are looking at a new hypothesis that an inexpensive drug with a simple treatment regimen can prevent type 1 diabetes. The study aims to contact all 6,400 families in Scotland affected by the condition with a view to expanding into England at a later date. Children aged 5 to 16 who have a sibling or parent with type 1 diabetes will be invited for a blood test to establish whether they are at high risk of developing the disease. The disease, if so, will be asked to take part in the trial. Researchers will then examine the impact of administering metformin, the world's most commonly prescribed diabetes medicine to young people in the high-risk category. If successful, the large-scale trial could explain why the incidence of type 1 diabetes has risen fivefold in the past 40 years and provided a means of preventing it. The fourth front attack on diabetes is the SCI diabetes system, which is based in the city of GDDRF. As we have heard, it is a dual in the Crown of Scotland's arsenal to fight type 1. SCI diabetes provides a fully integrated share electronic patient record to support treatment of NHS Scotland patients. With the right safeguards in place, it could also be a great tool for researchers studying patterns in type 1 or looking to recoup people to trials. Although there is much to be optimistic about in terms of getting to the root cause of type 1 diabetes and finding a cure, we are not there yet. As long as there is no cure, we must do what we can to make the lives of those with diabetes easier. That is why I so warmly welcomed the recent announcement of £10 million of funding from the Scottish Government for insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring equipment. There are now 3,200 insulin pumps in use in Scotland and an increase of 400 per cent since 2010, thanks to £7.5 million in previous funding from this Government. The new transfer funding will build upon that over the next five years, helping people to better manage their diabetes. Beyond that, GDDRF states that one day there will be a world without type 1 diabetes. On those positive and hopeful notes, I will conclude. David Stewart, to be followed by Brian Whittle. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and could I also congratulate Clare Arnston on securing this evening's debate and for her very clear and indeed passionate speech on type 1 diabetes. Presiding Officer, I should declare an interest of sorts as the long-standing joint convener of the cross-party group on diabetes and as the first Scottish parliamentary champion. I want to put on record my thanks for all the groups in Scotland who work with people with diabetes, GDDRF, Diabetes Scotland, the scientists researchers and, of course, the dedicated doctors, carers, consultants and diabetic nurses. We should not forget the proud record from history where a Scott Professor John McLeod, along with Banting and Best, discovered insulin in 1921 and received a Nobel Prize in medicine. Before 1921, having type 1 diabetes was a death sentence. My own late father-in-law was diagnosed at the age of 10 and he was told that he would live only until he was 20. In fact, he lived another 65 years and he taught me that with a well-regulated pen needle injections and diet, he could live a normal and balanced life. So what is the big picture? Well, the prevalence of the condition has doubled since 2003. It is the main cause of blindness in those of working age and 10 per cent of NHS hospital expenditure relates to the treatment of diabetes and its complication. 40 per cent of people living with type 1 has some form of diabetic retidopathy. Clare Addison's motion rightly focuses on research. We have a huge acute challenge but also unparilled opportunities to improve the lives of people in Scotland with a condition. We should also aspire, in my view, to be the world leader in type 1 research and development. Scotland has real strength in life science in the biotech sectors. We have a real comparative advantage that we should exploit. Let me give you one example of best practice and collaboration from my own region in the Highlands and Islands. Collaboration with business, with the public agencies and the university sector, the so-called triple helix. Johnson and Johnston acquired the UK assets of Inverness Medical Ltd, which was originally established in Inverness to design and manufacture glucose test strips and electronic metres for the global diabetic market. This site employs more than 1,000 people and is regarded as a centre of excellence for those who are working in the field of diabetes. Hans and I's enterprise played a major role in attracting Johnson and Johnson to the Highlands, which reinforces my view of the importance of a locally-based enterprise agency. It is part of the Highland Diabetes Institute, which is a unique model of bringing together a partnership between a commercial company, an academic institution—the case of UHI—and a national health provider. Just a few short months ago, I took part in a GDRF roundtable dinner to debate type 1 research. The participants were leaders in the field in science, medicine and biotechnology. The clear conclusion was that, with 800 to 900 new type 1s in Scotland every year, there needs to be major strides made in biobanking, the jargon for the process of taking samples of tissues for research use. First-class works that have been carried out, some previous speakers have mentioned the Scottish Diabetes Research Network type 1 bioresource. That is a phenomenal resource, but we need to have a rigorous strategy to protect, grow and nurture the next generation of world-class researchers in Scotland. In conclusion, Presiding Officer, I thank their answer again for her initiative in securing this debate. In the 1920s, has Scott made a revolutionary step change with the discovery of insulin? Our goal for 2020 must be to foster world-class research to prevent, treat and cure type 1 diabetes. Brian Whittle, to be followed by Emma Harper. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I begin by thanking Clare Anderson for bringing this important debate to the chamber. I sat on the cross-party group for diabetes, and although my initial area of interest was type 2 diabetes in its prevention, I am fast catching up with the details of type 1 diabetes, the difficulties that living with the disease can bring, the fast pace of developing technology that can bring relief to sufferers, and the incredible work that is being done by GDRF and others in the search to find a cure. The daughter of a friend of mine was diagnosed with the condition a decade ago at the age of four. As a parent, how do you explain to a four-year-old that she has to have injections every day? My friend gave himself a placebo injection at the same time as his daughter's injection to help her through that. Anything that he can do to be a parent, so a cure cannot come fast enough. It has been a steep learning curve for me on the cross-party group with my colleague, group convener and very patient teacher Emma Harper, leading my education. Ms Harper can speak from personal experience and has a much deeper knowledge and understanding of the disease and speaks much more eloquently and in-depth on the subject than I can. I coach an athlete who has type 1 diabetes and he goes through the routine of testing his blood sugar at the start of every training session to ensure that he is at the correct level for intense physical activity. That speaks to a very important point. In most cases, with careful monitoring and healthy diet, having type 1 diabetes diagnosis does not prevent a person from continuing with a full, active and inclusive lifestyle. That particular athlete, for example, has, in fact, meddled at the Scottish Championship. Let's face it, you can be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and still become Prime Minister. However, what has become clear to me is that there is an uneven spread of access to information, to advice, education and certain types of treatment, especially developing technologies like insulin pumps and constant glucose monitoring. That inequality, in turn, inevitably leads to inequality of opportunity and inequality in leading a more fulfilling, inclusive and productive life. We in the cross-party group have held compelling testaments to the difference that an insulin pump can make to the lifestyle and therefore the wellbeing of a type 1 diabetes sufferer. I can remember a specific talk given in the last cross-party group by a young lady, her intense struggles with the condition, the blackouts, hypoglycemia, a year lost at university, the constant mental pressure of not knowing when the next collapse might happen. Having been fitted with that insulin pump, despite her initial reservations, has transformed her life. She now lives a normal, fulfilling life and has even learned to drive, something that she thought would be far beyond her reach. So while the search for a cure continues, the challenge for tackling type 1 diabetes is twofold. Number one, education is key to ensuring that all have access to the information that they require to understand the condition and have access to the innovations and management systems that allow for normal living. Secondly, there is a constant financial battle within the health service to allocate appropriate funding to the treatment of all diseases and conditions, as well as the research into the development of more effective treatments and ultimately cures. It is an increasing juggling act to ensure that all bases are covered, and some of the covers on those bases are inevitably becoming rather thin. What we must do is not consider the conditions in isolation. For example, if we were able to reverse the rise of type 2 diabetes and the subsequent increasing drain on the NHS resources, which is some 12 per cent of the NHS overall spend, some of that savings and the savings from other preventable diseases such as obesity and alcoholism, drug addiction, smoking, musculoskeletal conditions, strokes and heart disease could be reallocated to the treatment of type 1 diabetes and the research into finding a cure. A reallocation of precious resource that could ensure that the access to effective treatments of type 1 diabetes need not be a postcode lottery. In conclusion, I warmly welcome the chance to discuss type 1 diabetes in Scotland, to commend our NHS staff and their commitment to deliver the very best in care and treatment to sufferers and to highlight the fantastic research work that GDRF and others organisations are doing to treat and ultimately cure the potentially debilitating condition. I would like to add my congratulations also to Claire Adamson for securing this debate, but she has really enjoyed it so far. I would like to also bring members' attention to my interest as co-convener of the cross party group with Dave Stewart on diabetes. I understand how serious type 1 diabetes is. It is known that in Scotland we have got 30,000 people who have diabetes, 2517 adults and about 3,812 children. Type 1 diabetes is not caused by lifestyle and there is currently no way to prevent the condition. The long-term implications of the disease are well documented. They include many complications and increase risk of dying from heart disease and stroke, both of which are clinical priorities in Scotland. There are microvascular complications that can affect the eyes, the heart, kidneys, extremities and even the gastrointestinal system. Diabetes complications have a major economic impact on the NHS. One billion pounds per year or 10 per cent of the NHS budget is spent on diabetes and its complications. What more, people may not be aware of, are the short-term complications the day-to-day living with type 1 diabetes. Persons with type 1 must continuously monitor their glucose levels day and even night to ensure that blood glucose levels are correct. Blood glucose levels that are too low can lead to hypoglycemia and even seizure activity in loss of consciousness. Levels that are too high can send patients into hyperglycemia, which can also be life-threatening. Therefore, unsurprisingly, living with type 1 can disrupt one's life on a daily, sometimes hourly basis. It is incredibly important to me as co-convener of the cross-party group to use that platform to explore what can be done to help those who live with diabetes. Helping families with diabetic children manage the disease is something that I am particularly passionate about. As I saw during my time as a nurse and how difficult it can be when you are listening to parents telling the stories of their daily life and the behaviours that you have to adapt to, it is especially difficult for the parents of children who do not know the symptoms of hypoglycemia and are not aware of the symptoms and therefore they need to be monitored really closely through the night. I emphasise that some parents wake their kids three times during the night to do a finger stick for a blood glucose sample. Being unaware of low blood sugar can have its real difficulties, as I have talked about. Wake in your children to check their blood glucose levels that are exhausting for all those involved. A child diagnosed with type 1 at the age of five can face up to 19,000 injections and 50,000 finger sticks by the time that they are 18. That can be five or more finger sticks a day. The junior diabetic research fund is an excellent charity working to give a voice to those children and their families and drive forward research until we find a cure. The research is crucial. I remember in 1978 testing my urine for the presence of sugar and now we have come a long way. The charity was founded by some of the world-leading research doctors. It is happening in Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and there is some great funding that has been added to it, about £3.9 million. A big step that we can take and what we are taking to make the lives of persons with type 1 easier is to develop and help fund the new and innovative methods of meeting the challenge of continually monitoring glucose levels. For example, we have continuous glucose monitoring and we have WeGizmos, like I have got one, flash monitoring that allows greater scrutiny of blood glucose levels, allowing young people to lead independent lives, doing things that their peers take for granted, like travelling to uni on public transport or obtaining a driver's licence or even a job. Last year, a new plan to improve the management of type 1 diabetes was backed by £10 million of investment by the Scottish Government. So I thank Claire again for bringing forward this debate and I am confident that Scotland can continue to lead the way in both development and implementation of technology to help those with type 1 diabetes and find a cure. Thank you very much. The last of the open speeches, Annas Sarwar. I join other colleagues in congratulating Claire Adamson for bringing forward this debate. I also genuinely thank her for her compassionate and passionate way that she has supported this issue. She joined me at the cross-party meeting that we had with JDRF and the contributions that we heard particularly from the young families that I thought was extraordinary and moving. She mentioned young Anna, who I think touched all of us on that day. We thought that politicians were centre of attention but I can assure you that young Anna was centre of attention that day. I also pay tribute to the JDRF, who are the leading global charity on this important issue and who are leading research that will benefit not just Scotland but actually benefits people right across the world. I also thank you to the JDRF for their hard work and dedication on the very important issue. Other colleagues have already mentioned some of the statistics, but I just want to run through some of them again really quickly. Scotland has the third highest incidence of type 1 diabetes in the world. More than 29,000 people in Scotland live in the condition. As Alex Rowley said, it is increasing at a rate of 4 per cent each year, particularly in children under five. At the same time, through Scottish-based research, we have £3.9 million in research coming from the JDRF and there are research projects based in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee, which are looking at complications and treatments of type 1 diabetes. I want to focus my remarks today on how we can improve matters in Scotland and some key asks to Government and key asks to all political parties. What is it that drives people who suffer from type 1 diabetes? It is the hope of a cure and we have that sense very clearly from the families at our meeting. That is why the 19 research and university higher education institutions that are playing their part collaboratively between industry, academia and clinicians recognise worldwide that Scotland can be the global leader on type 1 diabetes. That is something that we can take pride in right across this chamber. If we in Scotland could find that global cure to type 1 diabetes. I welcome and congratulate the Scottish Government via the chief scientist's office, who has pledged £1 million annually to research of type 1 diabetes. I wonder from the Government if there is a plan to expand the level of funding towards research as we progress over coming years. Secondly, there is the JDRF working closely with the chief scientist's office to develop research fellowships in Scotland. Is this something that the Scottish Government too will be committed to in terms of supporting the fellowships so that we can widen the research, aim at prevention, treatment and a cure for type 1 diabetes? Importantly, there is so much important research happening in Scotland. Can we have a commitment that research will not just be published and recognised but demonstrated in terms of the actions that we take here in Scotland to try to widen access, to try to widen the use of pumps and to share that knowledge and best practice with other parts of the UK and other parts of the world? One of the overarching messages that we got from our meeting was from people saying that we need public awareness to stop the confusion of type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. I hope that we played our part today in trying to create that awareness. However, how we can create awareness more generally in the public would also be helpful. The availability of insulin pumps, we have heard about the expansion of the availability of pumps and extra funding, which is to be welcomed. At what level will that be rolled out across all parts of Scotland? We do not know the details yet in terms of individual health boards to make sure that we do not have any kind of post-school lottery between health boards so that we can have a uniformity of access to insulin pumps right across Scotland. In terms of the continuous glucose monitoring, how we can accelerate the delivery of that and have it uniform right across all parts of Scotland. Finally, as someone who employed an individual with type 1 diabetes, I do not think that we recognise the impact that type 1 diabetes can have on an individual, whether they be at school, in a college, in a university or in the workplace. More work can be done to make sure that we educate employers and educators about how they can support people with type 1 diabetes in a much more meaningful way. I end by just saying, I genuinely hope that, in Scotland, we can find that cure and be a beacon of hope for the rest of the world. I now call Eileen Campbell to wind up the debate. Around seven minutes, please, minister. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I also like others. I thank Clare Adamson for today's debate. I also welcome the GIDRF and others who have impacted on type 1 diabetes to the chamber this evening. I congratulate the efforts that are described by Clare to raise so much, whether that is at Strathclyde Park, up Kilimanjaro or hauling anvil up Goatfell. The Scottish Government recognises the challenges faced by people living with all forms of diabetes on a daily basis. However, today's debate is focused rightly on type 1 diabetes, and I believe that Scotland has a strong track record on helping people with type 1 diabetes to live longer, healthier lives. The Scottish Government does not, however, act alone or have all the answers. The cause for type 1 diabetes is not known, it is not linked to lifestyle factors, and at the moment there is no cure. 80 per cent of diabetes complications are preventable or can be delayed with early detection, good care and self-management. That is what makes Graham Day's contribution so profound, and I too pay tribute to his constituents, Helen and Malcolm, following the tragic loss of their daughter, Clare. That shows that we must do more to make sure that we can make improvements across Scotland. Our Scottish Diabetes Survey is informed by Sky Diabetes, probably the most complete diabetes register in the world. We know from the survey that there are now more than 30,000 people living with type 1 diabetes in Scotland. The survey is an incredibly important tool in helping us to achieve improvement and enable us to see and monitor changes over time. It shows us that, while the numbers of people with type 1 diabetes are increasing, the rate of increase has remained relatively static within the under-five-year-olds group that the picture is similar. That is why research is so important. GIDRF's work is hugely valuable, as Clare Adamson, Anna Sarwar and others have rightly reflected. Through their research, which includes investment of almost £4 million at Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, their support and their advocacy services, it is valuable not just to Government but to society as a whole. In 2015, the Scottish Government published the health and social care research strategy delivering innovation through research, which sets out an ambitious agenda for change. It required new ways of working and identified four areas that are critical to our future success. They are efficient support for research, partnership and Scottish patient and public, targeted deployment of resources and investing in the future. In that context, the chief scientist office of the Scottish Government invests over £60 million each year to support the health research infrastructure to buy into UK-wide funding programmes and to directly fund research studies primarily through its two response mode committees. In order to improve our understanding of the impact of changing diabetes care on our population, the complications associated with diabetes and the development of new therapies, the CSO also funds the Scottish Diabetes Research Network. That network supports the setup and delivery of clinical and epidemiological research across Scotland. Recent studies have included a range of commercial trials of novel therapies for people with diabetes, a groundbreaking multi-centre trial of insulin pump therapy and rates of amputation in people with diabetes. Scotland can also draw on a series of unique research assets to support research in diabetes, including Sky Diabetes, which tracks real-time clinical information on all people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in Scotland. It is used in all hospital clinics and 1,200gp practices, and it has been successfully employed to recruit to clinical studies. With the Scottish Diabetes Research Register, more than 10,000 patients have consented to be part of an electronic database of patients who have agreed to be contacted about research for which they are eligible. That research register uses the latest clinical data on each patient to identify suitable patients for studies, thereby increasing the efficiency of recruitment to clinical trials. Many treatments for diabetes are delivered in primary care and primary care professionals have a key role to play in achieving the aim of diabetes research and maximising access to clinical studies for diabetes patients in Scotland. Implementation of the Diabetes Research Network primary care initiative aims to expand the number of studies that can be carried out in primary care by engaging and providing support to GP practices to conduct clinical trials. Indeed, that initiative recently won the primary care award for innovation and service delivery at a diabetes UK professional conference. In relation to type 1 diabetes, the Scottish Government is also proud to have been involved in setting up the type 1 diabetes bioresource, which is co-funded by the chief scientist office and diabetes UK. Over 6,000 type 1 patients have consented to take part in the study, thereby creating the largest biobank of type 1 diabetes adults in Europe with blood, urine and DNA available for further study. That resource is well placed to enable exciting new discoveries on the cause and the treatment of type 1 diabetes. When somebody in Scotland can be proud of the strong body of research into diabetes, which we both lead and host, we are not complacent and together must rise to the challenge posed by such a serious disease that impacts on the lives of thousands of people in Scotland. The impacts of which have been articulated by many MSPs here tonight. Alex Rowley is right that the power of people's testimonies is important to ensure that we continue to make the improvements that we need. Miles Briggs and Ryan Whittle are also right to acknowledge the impact that type 1 diabetes has on young people in particular. Of course, Emma Harper's contribution and in-depth knowledge is particularly compelling so too, the authoritative way in which she spoke this evening. Although we nationally and internationally strive to find a cure for diabetes here in Scotland, we continue to work hard to ensure that people are supported by world-class diabetes services. Through our Diabetes Improvement Plan, we are progressing a wide range of actions to achieve that. Some examples include the diabetic ketoacidosis campaign, one for two consecutive years, which aims to raise awareness of sign symptoms to prompt quick referral and early diagnosis. The national glycemic target campaign knows the numbers for children and for adults to help people understand the blood glucose reading that they should be aiming for and structured education resources for people who are newly diagnosed with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Although that is only a small flavour of some of the activity, I want to talk a little more detail about three important areas in particular. The First Minister, as others have highlighted this evening, announced £10 million of new funding at the GIDRF's 30th anniversary. That funding will support further increase in provision of insulin pumps for adults and also improve access to continuous glucose monitors. We know that, for some people, those technologies can literally be life changing. At the start of 2016, we introduced a new quarterly reporting mechanism that enables diabetes teams to monitor and identify improvement across 12 key measures of diabetes care. Those measures include the nine essential healthcare checks, which are so important in keeping healthy and reducing risk and detecting signs of the complications that are associated with diabetes. Access to information to support people to manage their diabetes is equally as important. My diabetes my way is an award-winning resource that enables people to see and check their clinical results and their health information. It provides a wide range of advice and is demonstrating its value in helping people who use it to improve their blood glucose control. To further help to raise awareness of living well with diabetes from next month, we will also be running a poster campaign in community pharmacies to encourage people to make sure that they get all of their nine healthcare checks. To conclude, I want to place our thanks to the incredibly valuable work of Diabetes Scotland in supporting people who live with diabetes and, of course, to the dedication, efforts and research of the GIDRF. I would also like to offer my thanks to Clare Adamson and the other members this evening for the contributions that they have made for tonight's debate. David Stewart reminded us that Scotland led the way in the discovery of insulin treatment in 1921. We should, though, aspire to continue to lead and build on the strengths that I have and others have outlined today, because we are all united in a desire to help people living with diabetes, live longer and healthier lives and support the work of GIDRF and others to find that long-learned for cure for type 1 diabetes.