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The minister mentioned the Northern Ireland Executive. It is my understanding that it paused to collate more evidence on the matter. Has there been any further correspondence with the Northern Ireland Executive directly? Is it now moving forward, or would Scotland be an outlier in doing so?

Jan, do you have anything to add?

I absolutely understand where you are coming from on the point about the labour market. I just think that there could be opportunities and that, with the remit that we have in the Scottish Parliament, we could be looking at this as well to make sure that we are doing everything that we can do within our powers to promote the sectors that need workers to come in. That could also resolve the depopulation that is becoming an issue in Scotland. Under the Scottish Government’s devolved powers, what could we be doing to address the labour shortage and make sure that we are getting people into the roles that are so vital for exporting?

I will pick up on Ewen Cameron’s point. The work that you do to support businesses is vital in order to ensure that the issues can be resolved, and quickly, so that the businesses can thrive. There have been challenges related to Brexit and labour market visas. However, those challenges can sometimes present opportunities.

I cannot help but think, particularly when we are looking at the labour market, of the opportunities for the Scottish Government to look at its workforce planning to ensure that there are more opportunities—apprenticeships, for example—and that young people are aware of the opportunities in business, whatever sector they would like to go into. That would maybe help to address the depopulation issue in rural communities and ensure that people do not move from those communities, which are vital, into the central belt. A lot of work can certainly be done here in the Scottish Parliament.

I want to touch on the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership—that is a bit of a mouthful—and the expansion of trade agreements in relation to some of the industries that are doing well, including whisky and salmon, to mention just two of them. Given that Scotland has two Governments, how can they both work better to support businesses post-Brexit, to ensure that they are opening themselves up to those new markets through that trade agreement and to ensure that any of the teething issues that we have spoken about today can be resolved?

I am hoping to pick up on the concerns about supply of veterinary medicines. I know that discussions on the matter are on-going, but could the panel provide an update on any progress that has been made on engagement among the UK Government, the European Union and, of course, people in that sector? What role and remit have the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly in monitoring progress on and trying to come to an agreement on the veterinary supplies issue? Stuart Anderson, do you have any insight into that?

Thank you. It is definitely in everyone’s interests to reach an agreement as quickly as possible, then.

Thank you, convener—I very much look forward to working with everyone on the committee. I have no interests to declare just now, but should that change, I will notify you and the clerks.

Thank you. Nichola Mallon or Stephen Kelly, do have you anything to add to what Stuart has just said?

We are all hoping that an agreement will be reached but, if it were not, how would you assess the risks to food supply chains for Ireland and Northern Ireland and access to the EU single market?

I thank everyone for their contributions so far. This is a hugely important topic. Our discussion has brought to light how much work needs to be undertaken, by both the committee and the Scottish Government, to consider not only how we prevent suicide but how we ensure that the right support and funding are in place to support everyone who is going through what must be a hugely difficult time.

I will focus more on issues that are affecting men, because the statistics and the facts speak for themselves: 75 per cent of people who died by suicide in 2021 were men. At the start of the meeting, we heard from Neil Mathers the statistic that men are three times more likely than women to die by suicide. Although we need to look across different groups of people, and some will fall into more than one group within society, we must also focus on why that is happening, in particular among men in certain age groups and demographics. We must also ask why that has not been brought more to the forefront of the Scottish Government’s strategy and what it needs to do to address that issue.

I will start with a question for Jason Schroeder. Earlier, you mentioned having a strategy and said that we should not be scared to look at different groups on their own. Will you expand on that a little, from your experiences with men’s sheds, to re-emphasise not only their importance but the recent difficulties that you have experienced with funding for that vital project?