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It is one that we do not speak of at all.

It definitely does. I am hugely concerned about the situation, for the reasons that you have articulated so well. As you said, it is so important for there to be safe places for men to talk. As women, we will congregate to get all the weight off our shoulders, but men will not automatically do that. You highlighted an excellent point about the need for role models to bring up the next generation of men who can be confident in themselves, and it is hugely important that men have somewhere to go where they know for a fact that they will be welcome and able to be open and that will not be an alien place to them.

On funding for men’s sheds, I am terribly concerned about the impact that the closure of men’s sheds would have on already concerning statistics for men in general. What is the timeframe? You mentioned eight to nine months. What happens? Do men’s sheds in rural areas close first, or is it those in urban areas? How could that be condensed? I am pretty certain that every men’s shed across Scotland has a worth and a purpose and serves many men—I think that you have 3,000 members.

If that does not tell us how important men’s sheds are, I do not know what will. We can link men’s sheds to other issues. We have veterans groups for a purpose, we have Women’s Aid groups for a purpose, and I whole-heartedly believe that we have men’s sheds for a purpose.

Thank you very much, Jason. I am sorry that I did not widen my question, but I believe that we need to emphasise one of the biggest groups who are impacted by suicide. I understand that the same issue will affect all the groups who are covered by charities that are represented here today, but I felt that that needed to be put on the record. I do not know whether anyone else wants to come in on that point.

Would anyone else like to comment?

That is definitely a point that we should address.

It is about data harnessing to create prevention. If we do not know what the causes are, we cannot prevent it. It is a cycle and we need to get it right. There are a lot of factors. Although we have a strategy, there are still links missing from the chain, so there is a lot more work to do.

Thank you very much for that. That is another issue that is close to my heart, so thank you very much again for raising those points. Convener, I am conscious of time, but thank you very much for that.

Good morning, panel. This has been an interesting and informative session. I thank you all for your contributions so far.

I will pick up on the theme of rural communities that has run throughout our discussion. I am interested in hearing about parity among health boards. It seems as though boards outwith the central belt are struggling, not only on tackling the stigma surrounding HIV but on the education aspect. I will put this question to Dr Howe first. Given your expertise, how would you suggest that we tackle and target health boards effectively, in particular if there are depopulation and recruitment issues?

Thank you. I am not sure whether anyone else is looking to come in, convener, but I am certainly finished with my questions.

As you said, training is a step into the profession, so that needs to be addressed. We can certainly raise that issue directly with the Scottish Government by asking how it intends to tackle it.

Finally, on the education aspect, how do we close the generational gap in having parity among schools, to ensure that younger people have a greater understanding of HIV and AIDS, which would help to eliminate stigma as we move forward through the generations? Is that being explored? How do we ensure that we are targeting rural schools so that we can have full parity across Scotland?