 Mae'r ffrifonau yn ymgyrch, ac mae'r dweud, ddigestdyn niwedig yng ngwych iawn 5.761, oedd yn cymryd Majesty Wachelwyach, gan unrhyw ddif ar awgwrsg wraffol, yn gyfyrd, yn cywyrddiannol iawn. Mae'r ddibai'r prif? Rydw i gyda'r ddigestdyn wedi iawn, rydw i'n gweithio i gweithfaith yn cyfryd, ddigestdyn niw'r ddigestdyn niw'r ddigestdyn niw, rydw i'n gweithfaith. Felly mae rhai i gaes y trofodol i'r ffrindiau yn yr hyfrigiau, rwy'n rai chi'n eitahu i dd widenfalddau i ddannu eu ddwid如此au i knenwyr gwaith iawn. Felly, mae'r ddweud i ddweud i ddweud, ma'n ddweud i ddulltogau a'r ddulltogau i ddweud i ddweud i ddweud i ddweud. Felly, gan rhai i ddweud i ddweud i ddweud i ddweud i ddweud i ddweud i ddweud i ddweud i ddweud As part of the motor neurone disease global awareness week, I thank all the members who have come along today in the chamber to show their support and to their continued support to help the motor neurone disease community and also to find a cure. I also warmly invite members to the parliamentary reception that I am hosting in the garden lobby later this evening at 6 o'clock. We can hear directly from motor neurone disease Scotland and their patrons and people who support them as well. As you know, motor neurone disease is indiscriminate. It knows no borders, no class, no race, no gender. It does not discriminate based on income or status, nor does it hold judgement on rich or poor. It is unrelenting, it is terminal and it is cruel. As events of the past few weeks have shown in Grenfell and in Finsbury, in the face of cruelty we find community. Global awareness day is that community, a specific day that binds people together, a day where we all stand united in awareness of motor neurone disease and, of course, we stand united in search of a cure. This awareness day does exactly what it sets out today, get people talking about MND, to spread the awareness of the issue, to campaign and to raise money. That money is vital, as it always is. It is precisely why the Scottish Government has listened to motor neurone disease Scotland and why we listened to the late Gordon Aikman, a friend to many in this chamber. The Scottish Government pledged to invest more into research for motor neurone disease and, as far as I can see, it is beginning to deliver that. The Scottish Government pledged to give motor neurone disease patients a voice. Through the inspirational work of Professor Shandran and his inspiring team, whom I have met many times at the Ewan MacDonald research centre, they are delivering to give motor neurone disease patients that literal voice, as well as a holistic care approach. However, we will not stop there, because we cannot stop there. The work of MND Scotland will guide the way that it is going to be done. I know that they are insistent in doing that, as many of us in the chamber commend them for it. As you know, I have a long relationship with motor neurone disease Scotland. The support, advice and advocacy for them, not only for me, but for the 450 people in Scotland who are currently living with MND, have been invaluable to not just my family but many families. Let us make no mistake about it. Those living with motor neurone disease do not have long, so we do not have long. It is a race against time that, until this moment, the race has only ever had one outcome. The average life expectancy after diagnosis is 14 months. In real terms, that is nothing. That is just mere hours with our loved ones, just brief moments with friends. As some might say, in Scotland in the United Kingdom, the equivalent of at least three general elections. I am just trying to bring a bit of likeness into that, but that shows you how short a time that people have. Every moment of that time is utterly precious. Every moment is accounted for. Whilst we celebrate in the time that we have left, we must also make the reality better for those who must go through that MND journey. That MND journey has just been made a little bit easier. In partnership with ScotRail—literal journey that I am talking about here—MND Scotland have only yesterday announced a journey to a cure, a pledge from ScotRail to increase the accessibility of their trains for passengers living with motor neurone disease and many other conditions. We must also realise that MND is not just neurological condition. Where possible, it is incumbent on us to make that journey just a little bit more comfortable for those with motor neurone disease and those who care for them. That is why I am reiterating my call today for the Scottish Government to let's get benefits right for MND patients. Let's grant lifetime welfare awards for those living with lifelong terminal illness, because that life is quite short. Time is precious. For those 14 months from diagnosis, time is running out. It's a countdown. The clock is ticking. MND patients shouldn't be at the behest of a DWP official. They shouldn't have to rely on the mercy of an individual in the welfare system. Let us all together ensure that those precious moments that they have left in this earth are spent with happiness and with dignity, not destitution and worry over their welfare. My relationship with motor neurone disease is well told and well versed in this chamber and wider, and I make no apologies for it. Ten years I have been raising this issue in this chamber, and in those ten years I have seen good advances. For me, since the age of nine, it was an all-too-familiar disease in my family. Now, at the age of 21, I understand that, maybe a bit older than 21, but I have become much more averse in how it affects other people's families, too. What do we do, Presiding Officer? We honour those people. We honour my dad. We honour my friend Owen McGee. We honour other friends and our friend Gordon Neckman, Ewan MacDonald and Jimmy Johnson. My family sends heartfelt wishes to the family of Doddie Weir and we honour him today and his brave decision to come out and tell us yesterday of his trials with motor neurone disease. How do we honour them? With debates like these, with the reception that you will be also welcome to tonight, with skydiving, with fire walking, with zips sliding and every other thing that motor neurone disease Scotland seems to be able to get us all to do. Our monthly charitable donations and contributions to research and development and support, all of those matter, all of that help matters. When our friends and their families lose their voices to motor neurone disease, we honour them by raising our voices in this chamber, outwith this chamber and any opportunity that we have. We raise our voices higher in seeking better systems, in seeking support for that research, in maintaining hope. Yes, hope for some people when all hope has gone is up to us to pick that up and run with it. If we can do that together in this chamber, across this land and across this world and global awareness day, together we can cure MND. I think that I call Kezia Dugdale to be followed by Clare Haughey, Ms Dugdale please. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I start by asking members to take a look at my register of interests where it says that I give all my external earnings to motor neurone disease Scotland. I thank Christina McKelvie very much indeed for hosting today's debate. As she mentioned in her speech, she's got a long-standing, passionate interest in this disease and a long-standing commitment to finding a cure for it. She also, in her speech, referenced the news that we heard today about Doddie Weir, that Scotland giant of the rugby field, who now faces his own MND diagnosis. She also mentioned that this is not the first sport star that we've heard of who's got this condition. If you think of Fernando Rickson, Jimmy Johnstone, Yus Van Der Vest-Hazen, the South African rugby player that used to torment Scotland on the rugby field, even Lou Gehrig, who was an American baseball player in the 1920s, had the disease and for many years in America, MND or ALS was called Lou Gehrig disease in his memory. There's undoubtedly a link between MND and sport, at least we think there is. We don't know, because we don't really know enough about MND and why people get it, that's why we've got to do more research to find out about this disease and indeed find a cure. We think there's a link between head and neck injuries and people who get MND. Again, we don't know, which is why we need more research money. We think that 5 to 10 per cent of people that get MND get it genetically, 90 per cent of people get it through environmental factors. Again, we don't know. My dear friend Gordon Aitman was an international gymnast for Scotland. Again, he could be one of those sports stars who got it because of his history of competitive sport. We don't know and he'll never know why he got that. The last time I saw him was at the Ewan MacDonald centre visiting much of the work that I know that Christina McKelvie has seen over the years. It was in fact the last time I saw him was when we were both showing some fantastic new research that the Edinburgh University had done using zebrafish, a tiny, tiny little fish that can grow motor neuron cells, cells that regenerate themselves to affect your muscle tissue to help you to speak to do everything else. Experts at the Edinburgh University now think that they can produce drugs that will help those zebrafish to multiply those cells in their body. Once they've cracked that, they can take that technology and use it in humans and perhaps get humans to regenerate their own metronuron cells. That in itself could lead to finding a cure for it. It was truly inspirational to see that work and it's global and world-leading in its potential, but again it's poorly funded. There are three countries in the world that could find a cure to motor neuron disease—Canada, Israel and Scotland. Wouldn't it be fantastic if it was Scotland that set a national ambition to be the country that found the cure to motor neuron disease and would appeal to the Scottish Government to perhaps take on that idea? I left that centre kissing Gordon goodbye. I said that I would see him later and then I never did. Forever we debate the issue of motor neuron disease in this chamber, I will speak in his memory and some of the things I hope that he would want us to talk about. Christina McKelvie touched on this, but we can't ignore the fact that today is the day of the Queen's speech. That Queen's speech will contain further cuts to the social security system that we collectively built as a nation. One of the things that the Tories will cut is the motability scheme. This is something Gordon had. He got a car, a Jeep car, a high car, so that he could climb into it without having to move his legs too much. The car was adapted so that he could use the gear stick. It had additional sensors that acted faster for him whenever there was a danger so that he could respond in tight. That car gave him the freedom and independence that he needed for three months when he was still able to drive. I'm not sure he would get that today under the Tories and I sincerely regret that. The reality is that we now have powers in this place over PIP, DLA, attendance allowance and carers allowance. We have the power here to guarantee automatic entitlement to benefits. Like Christina McKelvie, I very much hope that the Scottish Parliament will grab that opportunity and run with it. It is MND global awareness day. We have to remind ourselves why we have to keep explaining what MND is and keep telling its story. Christina McKelvie made the point that so many people who get MND die so quickly. It is not commercially viable enough to spend money researching the disease because people die too quickly to get the drugs that they need to cure it. That is why each and every one of us who has been affected by MND needs to use that experience to speak up for the disease and aspire to find a cure here in Scotland. Thank you very much. Clare Haughey, to be followed by Donald Cameron. Can I thank Christina McKelvie for bringing this debate, allowing us the opportunity to recognise the important and inspiring work that is being done by MND Scotland? There can be no doubt that Gordon Aitman's brave and very public battle with this progressive condition, although at the same time raising more than £600,000 for MND research, has raised both public and political awareness of motor neurone disease and the profound effect that the condition has on both patients and their families. Gordon was full of praise for his specialist nurses and carers and, through his Gordon's fight-back campaign, was successful in securing his primary objective of getting the agreement of the Scottish Government to double the number of MND specialist nurses in Scotland. They are now also paid by the NHS and this allows charitable donations through which MND nurses were previously paid to be channeled into better support, care and research for a cure. We can only imagine how devastating an MND diagnosis is for the individual receiving it. Learning about how the condition progressively impacts all physical functions will be terrifying and coming to terms with the fact that the loss of mobility and, indeed, the inability to move at all is unimaginable. Understanding that intimate personal care will be required, the fear that the time will come when communication may come down to electronic aids, signals or even just the blink of an eye. The understanding that intensive support and loss of independence is inevitable and then there is the realisation of the impact this will have on your family and friends who have to witness it all. The absolute knowledge that you cannot do anything to stop this progressive disease. This diagnosis has an enormous impact on the lives and wellbeing of the patient's family and loved ones and there is no certainty about the future where patients experience the progression of the disease differently and at different rates of acceleration. 24-hour care is always going to be inevitable and the financial implications of loss of earnings brings added stress to already unimaginable suffering. Facing into a future of no certainty means that psychological and emotional support are essential for both patient and their loved ones. Importantly, for those affected, MND Scotland offer counselling services and complementary therapies for patients and their families. In addition to the excellent care given by NHS healthcare professionals, MND Scotland also provide a wide range of other supports for both patients and their families to help them to cope, not only just with the physical aspects of the condition with things like equipment loans services but also with practical aspects such as welfare and benefits. Whilst good progress has been made on several of the objectives promoted by Gordon's Fight Back campaign, work is still required in other areas and one of those is on fast tracking of benefits. It is simply not acceptable that people with terminal diagnosis such as MND should have to wait long periods of time before receiving the DWP benefit awards that they are due and urgently require. I therefore welcome the work that is being done on behalf of the Scottish Government by the disability and carer benefits expert advisory group to look at automatic and lifetime awards for those with terminal conditions. With our new powers over social security, the Scottish Government wants to stop the revolving door of assessments and the related stress and anxiety that brings for those with long-term illnesses, disabilities or conditions. In building a new Scottish social security system based on dignity and respect, the Government is committed to introducing long-term awards. MND is in the illness that currently has no cure, as we have heard, and research is vital both to help to find a cure but also to improve the lives of those living with MND. On this global MND awareness day, it is right for us to commend the work of MND Scotland in that area. This week, it has announced a further £583,000 of MND Scotland-funded research into this devastating illness. It is right, too, that members across this chamber should support the efforts of MND Scotland to increase research investment across the UK to bring more clinical trials to Scotland and to ensure that, as a society, we strive to bring a sensitive and dignified support system for those living and coping with motor neuron disease. I am delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to the debate. I would like others to thank Christina McKelvie for bringing it to the chamber today. Although we debated the issues around motor neuron disease back in February when the Parliament commemorated the life and achievements of Gordon Naikman, it is crucial to keep matters such as that in the public domain. Pressure and momentum must be maintained, and I commend the will of parliamentarians across this chamber in keeping motor neuron disease to the fore. The debate is particularly poignant after we learned in the news yesterday that one of Scotland's rugby legends, Doddie Weir, announced that he has been diagnosed with MND. Doddie Weir was one of my childhood heroes. Many rugby fans and others will remember his athletic prowess as he towered above others in the line-out. He was a true talisman in the Scottish rugby team to the mid-90s. That will understandably be an extremely hard time for his family and friends, but we can all be heartened by his commitment to spend as much time as possible supporting research of the condition through his support of the Ewan McDonald Centre, already mentioned by others, and raising awareness and funds. As Claire Hawking mentioned, the diagnosis of a condition like this must feel like a devastating hammer blow, but to have the ability to see light at the end of the tunnel and go out and make the best of the situation is truly incredible. What is especially inspiring about Doddie Weir is that he revealed his diagnosis yesterday in order to mark global MND awareness day and to raise public awareness. As the motion states, today is that day, and I would like to commend the Scottish Government for its establishment of the Gordon Aikman scholarship, which the Cabinet Secretary announced back in February. As she said at the time, the scholarship will fund professionals or individuals with knowledge of MND to take forward research into new and better ways of caring for people with a condition. I think that I am right in saying that MND Scotland has matched that funding, which is wonderful and welcome news. In my view, supporting research is one of the most important ways that we can do this, with the short-term aim of extending life expectancy of those with MND and allowing people greater personal freedom and dignity. Investment in research will crucially assist in the long-term aim of finding a cure. With all that in mind, I, too, would like to commend MND Scotland on its focus of research and welcome the news that it is committing a further 583,000 into research projects that will look at a number of things, look at protecting motor neurons, investigating issues around apathy in MND, links between metabolism in MND and how gene mutations react with proteins that help to protect motor neurons. I am particularly intrigued about the research into apathy, because even those who have taken on the Herculean project of supporting MND research whilst living with the condition will have days when they are too mentally and physically fatigued to do anything at all and lack motivation. The aim of this research is to assess the real-life impact of specific types of apathy on people living with MND and their families through the course of their illness. As MND Scotland says, it is an area that has not yet been explored to any great extent, and demotivational problems are rarely assessed in clinical practice. Hopefully, such research will help to guide intervention and management of symptoms and improve the lives and care of people living with MND, as well as their families. That is just one snapshot, Deputy Presiding Officer, of the important work that is going into MND research. I know that other members will go into detail into other areas, but it is so important that we in this chamber continue to talk about MND and the work of the many charities and individuals involved in research, in fundraising and in raising awareness. Once again, I commend the efforts of organisations such as MND Scotland who work day in and day out to improve the lives of those who live with MND and to find treatments so that eventually this condition can be cured. I would like to begin by giving heartfelt thanks to Christina McKelvie for bringing this important issue to the chamber today and for all her tireless campaigning over many years. Most of her neuron disease is an illness that has a devastating and sudden impact on the lives of those who are diagnosed with it and the lives of those who love them. Being diagnosed with MND, with its cause unknown and still with no cure at this time, is a truly life-altering event. Both the uncertainty of the illness, its pace and the different way that it impacts different individuals, in addition to the finality of the diagnosis, all contribute to what makes it so difficult to cope with. The all-too-quick deterioration from being able-bodied and healthy to succumbing to MND and then being unable to walk or even speak is a cruel and difficult experience for anyone to have to come to terms with. Gordon Ackman, of course, whose name we are all familiar with, was so incredibly brave in the final years of his life following his diagnosis with MND, his relentless pursuit of a cure and the fundraising that has resulted from his efforts are a fitting legacy and a testament to his character. I would also like to congratulate MND Scotland for their tireless campaigning work and add my good wishes to all who are looking forward to the reception hosted by MND Scotland here in Parliament this evening. I would like to use the rest of my time in this debate today to talk about someone that I know with MND, a constituent of mine whose families have known each other for many years and that I have had the fortune of being reacquainted with over the past few months for perhaps the most unfortunate of reasons. Frank Lyons, who lives in Hamilton in South Lanarkshire, was diagnosed with MND in September 2014. Just months after Frank himself took part in the famous ice bucket challenge to his awareness of the condition, he started experiencing difficulties swallowing and soon after began to find difficulty with his speech. He was living in Australia at the time when he'd lived and worked with his wife Ray since 2007. When he first went to Dr Frank was initially told that he'd had a minor stroke and Ray thought that perhaps it was MS or Parkinson's. It was almost another year before Frank received a formal diagnosis of MND just before he was due to return to Scotland for a family wedding. He put the length of time between his symptoms first appearing and a formal diagnosis down to the fact that MND appeared to be less well known about in Australia. Navigating the nuances of a foreign healthcare system was another barrier at first to the Lyons family, confused by the difference between public and private healthcare and unsure about where to go to or who to ask for help. Frank's wife said that their private healthcare often felt like pain more for no extra care or service. At first, they had different people coming to their home and there was no consistency or continuity of care, so it made a difficult situation all the more challenging to cope with. Being diagnosed with a life-limiting condition in a foreign country with few friends or family to support them, the very least that Frank was needing was someone in his healthcare team who could oversee his care. Once he had a permanent point of contact who had come once a month, things got better. The experience of the Lyons family underlines just how important specialist MND support is. No matter where you are in the world, that continuity of care brings a certain level of peace of mind, knowing that there is one specialist point of contact who can direct specialist care. Gordon's success in doubling MND nurses in Scotland and paying them from the public push simply cannot be praised enough. The difference that will make people like Frank across the country and in the years to come is simply immeasurable. Frank, who has returned to Scotland and is living in Hamilton, has been attending the Colbride hospice that serves South Lanarkshire as a day patient over the last year. Much like Gordon, MND has not slowed Frank down. Although he has lost the use of his voice, he has been campaigning hard to expand the inpatient provision at the hospice, sending countless emails and getting the backing of the local paper that East Colbride news to back his campaign. The work at the Colbride hospice of the staff there has given Frank and Ray a better understanding of the condition. He is certain that Colbride is where he wants to stay towards the end of his illness, should he require that inpatient care. Frank is an inspiration and it is my continued hope that he will be successful in his wish to be able to remain at Colbride hospice at the end of his illness. To close for us here in the Scottish Parliament, doing all that we can to support the work of campaigners like Frank and MND Scotland to improve the lives of those with that condition, including making sure that they receive automatic entitlement and lifetime awards of benefits and looking again at the provision of free social care for all who need it has to be the priority. Brian Whittle, who will be the last speaker in the open debate. Mr Whittle, please. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I'd like to thank Christine McKinlay for bringing this motion to the chamber. Why are we here today? I've always felt that members' debates often present hollywood at its best. This chamber gives us a powerful platform to speak not only for ourselves but for others. Today's debate will be watched online, our speeches will be entered into public record and journalists perhaps will report what it said through social media. All those things help to spread knowledge and awareness of the important issues that shouldn't be obscured by the fog of party politics. Scotland is arguably more aware of the realities of motor neurone disease than most. That's thanks in no spot part to the work of Gordon Aitman and I'm sure my colleagues across the chamber will agree that one of the most important legacies of his campaign, Gordon's fight back, is the greater awareness of MND not only among parliamentarians but the public at large. The desire to spread awareness about MND that Gordon in bed continues today—sorry—he's going to call me such a big Jesse. Yesterday, my friend— The last thing you are, Mr Whittle, is that— Yesterday, my friend, the former lion in Scotland, rugby international, Doddie Weir announced that he had motor neurone disease. No, he's going to call me a big Jesse. No, he's going to call me a small Jesse because he's the only man who could get away with calling me wee man. I was actually supposed to play golf for him this weekend and he does play golf like a giraffe going for a drink. It does highlight the indiscriminate nature of this horrible disease. His decision to speak out and commit to raising awareness about the condition is admirable and I intend to help him to do that in any way I can. MND sufferers like Doddie and Gordon, who choose to speak out about their condition, give us an incredible insight into the world of the MND patient. Deputy Presiding Officer, they say that a problem shared is a problem halved. It must surely follow that the more widely a problem is shared, the more manageable that problem becomes. Events like motor neurone disease global awareness day are vital if we are to address the kinds of complex problems that are involved in tackling diseases such as MND, both in how we support patients now and how we work to find the cure. I welcome the Scottish Government's creation of the Gordnagment Scholarship as part of the efforts in this country to make life easier for MND patients. Indeed, I hope that if the scholarship proves successful in generating innovative new ways to improve care of MND patients, we might see similar initiatives that are being supported for other life-changing conditions such as Huntington's or MS or dementia. In addition to improving our understanding, today it gives us an opportunity to recognise the work that has already been done across Scotland and the world to help people with MND. To MND nurses, researchers and campaigners, thank you. Perhaps the biggest thanks should go to the thousands of people across Scotland who have got out of their way to raise funds for causes such as MND Scotland. Their willingness to run marathons and pour freezing water over their heads or do anything else to raise funds should never be underestimated and never be taken for granted. To each and every one of you, we say thank you. Most of those people will go through life never meeting anyone with MND, but that has not stopped them. Those people do not need to know someone with MND to know its effects to those with the disease. They do not need to have someone in their family with MND to understand the heartache of watching a loved one's body slowly fail, aimed at their mind to remain strong. They did not need those things because they had awareness, and they have awareness thanks to the work of MND Scotland, Gordon Aikman and others who have chosen to speak out about their battles with MND. One of the oldest axioms in politics is that knowledge is power, but that is not just true of politics. The more of us who have knowledge of the conditions such as MND, the more power we have to do something about it. That is why today it is so important. That is why the work of MND Scotland is so important, and that is why Gordon Aikman's campaign makes such a difference. By sharing their knowledge of MND with us, they are giving us the power to change things. That began today by asking why we are here today. We are here to change things. It is only by talking about MND and conditions like it that we can change things for the better. Winston Churchill said, if you have an important point to make, do not try to be subtle or clever. Use a piledriver, hit the point once, then come back and hit it again, and then hit it a third time, a tremendous whack. I intend to keep harming away until things get better, and I hope that colleagues across the chamber will do the same. I call the minister to close with the Government. Seven minutes are there about, Ms Watt. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer, and I am very pleased to be able to respond on behalf of the Government this afternoon as we mark MND Awareness Week and Global MND Awareness Day. I thank Christina McKelvie for moving the motion and securing this important debate. Since entering Parliament in 2007, Christina has tirelessly championed MND awareness as a result of her own father succumbing to the disease. In the contributions that we have heard from across the parties, there have been very powerful and personal stories on how MND touches the lives of many, many families across the country. As Brian Whittle mentioned, just yesterday, his friend Dodie Weir revealed that he had been diagnosed with MND, and I am sure that we all have our thoughts and prayers with him and his family. So many members in this chamber are knowledgeable about MND that we must, I think, be able to crack it, as Kezia Huss has so clearly said that we should be able to do. It is clear from the remarks of so many members how much of an inspiration the late Gordon Aitman was and the impact his work with MND Scotland has had in transforming care for people living with the condition. As others have said, his campaign raised in excess of £600,000 for MND Scotland. That is an exceptional sum invested in research that is aimed at finding a cure for MND. This Government is proud to have worked with Gordon and MND Scotland on the hugely successful campaign. We are honoured to have played our part in helping to achieve some of the goals that he set, not for his own sake, but to make life better for others. We have invested an extra £2.5 million annually in the specialist nurse and care fund. As Clare Hock Hock said, it has more than doubled the number of MND specialist nurses across the country and ensured that all of them are now funded by the NHS. Monica Lennon made an important point about specialist nursing care. The Borders Health Board access MND nurses from NHS Lothian. There are 14 MND patients in the Borders Health Board area just now. The Borders numbers are added to the Lothians to give the nurses that work in this area a ratio of 1.36 patients. I just wondered if the minister would be able to tell us if there are any plans to lower this ratio to ensure that patients with MND do receive the best possible care. Each and every health board will have the specialist in relation to what numbers we are, and if we can make sure that we have a bigger body of nurses and the cross-border health board working can achieve that, that is important. On the specific issue, I will try to find out if there are any plans to reduce the ratio, and if indeed it is necessary. We have doubled the number of MND specialist nurses across the country and ensured that they are all funded by the NHS. We have legislated to give a statutory right to communication equipment and support to give a voice to people who do not have a voice or are at risk of losing their own. We are also paying a real living wage to social care workers, which was another key aspect of the campaign. We have provided local authorities with £6 million in 2016-17 to increase the thresholds at which people start to pay for their care. Working with COSLA, we have already ensured that no one in the last six months of a terminal illness pays for the care that they receive at home. As we have set out in both our manifesto and our programme for government, we are carrying out a feasibility study on extending free personal care to people under 65, regardless of their medical conditions. The findings of that study will be given to ministers at the end of the summer. Significantly, we are investing in MND research, which we all know was hugely important to Gordon. Over the next three years, there will be six new-funded MND dedicated PhD posts in our universities as a result of Gordon's campaign. Kezia and others will want to know that we are working with the chief scientist's office to hold an MND research symposium later this year, bringing together experts committed to finding a cure. Members may also recall that during the debate following Gordon's passing in February, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport announced that we would create the Gordon Aitman scholarship programme. That programme will commemorate Gordon's contribution to improving the provision of specialist care and research for those with MND. I am pleased to confirm today that the scholarship, a joint partnership with MND Scotland, is now open for applications. Furthermore, thanks to MND Scotland matching the Scottish Government funding of £25,000, the scholarship will be doubled to £50,000. The fund will support individuals and professionals to develop, implement and evaluate practical interventions to improve the quality of life for people who are affected by the condition. The scholarships will continue to drive forward the improvements to MND care that Gordon had kick-started on Scotland and will be a fitting tribute to a truly inspirational person. The scholarship scheme will be administered by the nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals research unit at the University of Stirling. I am especially committed to learning from those affected by MND and a significant amount of the funding will be invested in funding a project led by those with MND themselves or their carers. I want to make sure that the momentum that Gordon created and the good work that followed continues to be taken forward. Christina McKelvie mentioned social security, and I would like to underline our commitment that when the powers for disability benefits transfer to this Parliament, a fast-track system will be in place for those who are terminally ill so that payments can get to those people affected as soon as possible. In building our own social security system in Scotland, we have committed to a rights-based approach and will exemplify the founding principles of dignity, fairness and respect. We will do so from the ground up, basing our policy, design and delivery decisions on the lived experience of those currently using the UK benefits system, those with expertise in providing advice and support, and those with experience and delivery. The recruitment of more than 2,000 volunteers to our experience panels will help us to design and test our communication channels, our application processes, our appeals framework, our decision making, our assessment process and our IT systems. We have agreed on on-going engagement with MND Scotland to ensure that they are involved in the development of our disability benefits policy on eligibility and assessment, particularly in relation to award duration and automatic entitlement. I would like to close the debate by paying tribute to the work of MND Scotland and, indeed, the tireless efforts of the late Gordon Aitman. I give my commitment that we will continue to work with MND Scotland and others to ensure that Gordon's legacy of lasting practical improvement in the lives of people with MND is delivered. I thank members for their personal and heartfelt contribution. As Mr Whittle said, it shows Parliament in a different light to the public. I thank you all for your contributions. I close this meeting and suspend till 2 o'clock.