Seòmar agus comataidhean

I have a final wee supplementary point. Part of that is about working with other stakeholders, such as local authorities, as you have highlighted. I am also reading about HebNet CIC, which is a superfast broadband provider for the small islands of Canna, Rum, Eigg and Muck. Obviously, the Scottish Government will need to work and engage with other stakeholders in order to implement the roll-out.

I have a quick supplementary question to Paul O’Kane’s question. Other countries in Europe have also gone through the pandemic, and we need to look at what they are doing and learn from them. Have they changed their alcohol consumption habits during the pandemic? How are we learning from and working with other countries? We need to learn from them in relation to the World Health Organization’s global challenges on alcohol harms and prevention.

I would like to hear from the minister about how we are tackling alcohol harm in the light of inequalities. The briefing that we got from SHAAP talked specifically about how LGBT people use and misuse alcohol and sometimes feel that the services that are available focus on heterosexual people, or that those services might need to have more person-centred and holistic approach.

How do we help to support a reduction in alcohol harm in hard-to-reach groups or in areas of greater inequality?

I represent a rural and remote area. I know that you will be familiar with the challenges in those areas. Can you tell us a wee bit about how we are tackling alcohol harms in remote and rural areas?

No, I think that that is okay. If the framework allows for or enables divergence, that means that it supports the continuation of a Northern Ireland protocol that has been established to allow Northern Ireland to continue to be aligned with the EU regulations—is that right?

Thank you.

We have heard evidence on alcohol brief interventions and what they mean for people. They could—or should—be an easy win in addressing poor health outcomes related to alcohol. We have also heard evidence on how ABIs are working. How can we support a variety of opportunities for ABIs to take place?

I have a final wee question. The pandemic has affected alcohol intake and how we support and deal with people. I remind everybody that I am still a nurse. I am interested in how the pandemic has affected ABIs and what we have learned from that for doing ABIs differently. I am thinking of the attend anywhere service and NHS Near Me for video interventions, too.

The Northern Ireland protocol interests me because I am interested in the port of Cairnryan and the transport of goods between Cairnryan and Larne and Belfast. How will the food composition standards and labelling framework impact on or affect the operation of the protocol?

Under the UK withdrawal agreement, Northern Ireland remains in the UK customs territory while remaining aligned with EU regulations. That means that Northern Ireland has to do what the EU regulations require. Scotland did not vote to exit the European Union. Could Scotland also align with EU regulations and work in the way that is intended by the Northern Ireland protocol? I would be interested in pursuing whether we could basically work as part of a Northern Ireland protocol if we chose to continue to align with EU policy.

I will pick up a point for clarification. If general practitioners and general practices are no longer incentivised to deliver alcohol brief interventions, does that mean that we have to think about alternative ways of delivering them? We often talk about a GP or practice nurse as the first port of call for many people when alcohol might not be their issue but it has led to whatever health issue they now have and whose symptoms need to be addressed. How do we support GP practices to deliver ABIs more widely if they are no longer incentivised to do so?