Seòmar agus comataidhean

I would be interested in getting further information on what common staffing methods are. I know that, in intensive care units, one-to-one care is often provided—that is, one nurse to one patient—whereas, in a recovery room, it is two-to-one care. In the operating room department, no one can cut skin until a certain number of people from the department are present. Staffing levels are based on, for example, the type of anaesthetic and surgery, and whether the patient is awake. That is based on my experience in the perioperative environment, but we also have new roles with physician associates, anaesthesia associates and surgical assistants.

I would be interested in fleshing out the detail on what the instrument means, rather than looking at reducing work hours. I do not think the cabinet secretary has betrayed anybody—that aspect is in process; it is an on-going discussion.

Good morning. What action is sportscotland taking to support sport taking place in rural, remote and island areas?

Is there variation between regions or between rural and urban areas in the sports that people pick up? For example, Stranraer and Dumfries have Olympic and world-class curling. Dumfries has an ice hockey team, the Solway Sharks, but the women’s and men’s teams have to play in England, because it is easier to get to Sheffield, for example. There are teams there, whereas there are no teams nearby in Scotland.

Stranraer is developing a water sports hub, which is great because we will have people on the water paddle boarding and sea kayaking, which I have done down there—it is amazing, and it is good for your mental health. Is there a regional aspect to what gets funded or is it based on what sport is taken up?

Okay. I have a final wee question. The six nations rugby is on now, and it is pretty exciting to watch. I am meeting Scottish Rugby on Thursday, with a specific focus on girls in rugby. You can be any body shape and have a position on the rugby field, which is absolutely fab. Does sportscotland collaborate with Scottish Rugby on promotion and engagement so that more young women can play rugby?

It is not necessarily sportscotland’s responsibility to do such a wide sweep of the physical activity out there. Yesterday, I was at the convention of the south of Scotland, and we focused on transport and getting folk on their bikes to the bus or on their bikes to a train, but there did not seem to be a lot of people asking whether they can hang their bike on the train or the bus somewhere. It is about agencies collaborating and working together, so that is not sportscotland’s responsibility.

That is what Maureen Campbell seems to be saying about local authorities working together in collaboration, getting out of silos and so on. We have had lung health choirs singing in the Parliament. That is a physical activity but it is not within sportscotland’s remit. The people who perform in the lung health choirs say that they are so much more physically able because of how singing helps their lung health when they have conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. I am interested in your thoughts on that.

My point is that it is a wider issue that is not just your responsibility. It is about everybody collaborating and working together to improve physical activity for folk in Scotland.

Good morning. I am interested in how the bill changes the process for creating and approving deer management plans. What will a deer management plan look like?

You mention new sections 6ZA and 6ZB of the 1996 act. I am looking at new section 6A of the 1996 act, which talks about

“the relevant owners and occupiers of a particular area of land”

and about

“requiring those owners or occupiers to prepare and submit a deer management plan”.

Can you clarify that? I am thinking about tenant farmers, who have deer management issues, too. Can you clarify whether the deer management plan notices will be given to all landowners and occupiers, or to landowners or occupiers? Who is responsible for creating a plan, if I am a tenant farmer but it is the landowner who receives the notice?

Is the firearms licensing through the deer stalking certificate 1?

The bill includes provisions about changing national park legislation. What does the Scottish Government want to achieve overall by reforming the national parks legislation, and how will national parks and their management change as a result of the bill?

Would the proposed legislation impinge on or constrain current economic development? I am thinking about the consultation that has just finished in Dumfries and Galloway, which is a big food-producing region. We focus on food security and the region is important in terms of beef, sheep and dairy produce—48 per cent of Scotland’s dairy herd is in the south-west. Will the bill’s updating of national park legislation constrain economic activity?