Committee
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee 10 March 2026 [Draft]
10 Mar 2026 · S6 · Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Item of business
Public Health Scotland
Paul Johnston
Watch on SPTV
That is a great question, and it shows why evidence is so important. We must proceed on the basis of the clear evidence about what will work, and not on the basis of anecdote or even false information about what will work. We see it as crucial that we tackle false information where it occurs.One of the most impressive bodies of evidence is from Professor Sir Michael Marmot. We invited him to come along and speak to us the first time that we managed to get Public Health Scotland colleagues together in person after the pandemic. It was very inspiring to hear about the lifetime of work that he has done as a leading public health expert with international recognition.Michael Marmot developed eight areas of action for improving health. All of them recognise the need for individuals to be empowered but also the need for action at a system level, nationally and locally. What we found particularly inspiring about his framework is that it does not say that we can take action only when there is plenty of money in the system; it says that we can use money in a different, more targeted way so that those with the poorest health are supported.As Nairn Angus-McDonald was saying, we are pleased to be working intensively in North Ayrshire, as well as in South Lanarkshire and Aberdeen, using the Marmot principles. There is no extra money, but we are finding out what it will look like for the local authority, the health board and the community planning partnership, using the principles, to look in detail at the data that we can provide from the Scottish Public Health Observatory and then agree on specific areas of action that will lead to improvements in health. That work is on the go right now—we were discussing it with colleagues in South Lanarkshire just yesterday—and we want to see it spread much more widely across Scotland in the period ahead.That is local action, but national action is also vital. That is why we have written to all political parties in the Scottish Parliament, and we have shared with the committee our briefing, which sets out the range of further areas of action that, based on the evidence, we consider that the Parliament should prioritise in the next session. Those areas of action go across the domains of health.
In the same item of business
The Convener
SNP
Our second item is an evidence session with representatives from Public Health Scotland. I welcome to the committee Councillor Nairn Angus-McDonald, who is a...
David Torrance (Kirkcaldy) (SNP)
SNP
Good morning, everyone. What is the status of the public health priorities that were published in 2018, and what progress has been made against them?
Paul Johnston (Public Health Scotland)
Thank you for the opportunity to give evidence this morning. I am delighted to be here.The public health priorities were developed as part of the public heal...
David Torrance
SNP
Is there a gap between evidence and practice in public health? Do we lack evidence to help practice?
Paul Johnston
Scotland’s has fantastic evidence about what needs to be done to improve the health of the nation, but that evidence can always be developed further. Public ...
Alastair Boyle (Public Health Scotland)
I will add to that. First, we are very grateful to be here. We are also quite excited, as this it is the first time that Public Health Scotland, as an organi...
David Torrance
SNP
I have no further questions, convener.
Emma Harper (South Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
We have heard at committee that five-year-olds in the United Kingdom are up to 7cm shorter than their counterparts in Europe, although that evidence is being...
Paul Johnston
I am afraid that I do not have the specific details—I cannot tell you how our evidence sits alongside what you have just said about the height of children. I...
Emma Harper
SNP
Height is only one measurement, is it not?
Paul Johnston
Yes, exactly.
Alastair Boyle
We will absolutely get back to you on that. Our organisation is very grounded in the why. I remember young children coming to Scottish Fire and Rescue Servic...
Emma Harper
SNP
The good food nation plan will work alongside the climate change plan, the population health framework and everything else in order to address what we need t...
Paul Johnston
We are working closely with others to support the implementation of the good food nation plan. We absolutely agree that the Scottish Food Commission has an i...
The Convener
SNP
On the theme of national strategy and public health priorities, I note that priority 3 in the “Public Health Priorities for Scotland” is to have a“Scotland w...
Paul Johnston
We do recognise the importance of mental wellbeing. In our Public Health Scotland strategy, which was published in the past few weeks, we set out a vision fo...
The Convener
SNP
Do you recognise that there is a difference between mental wellbeing and mental ill health?
Paul Johnston
Yes, absolutely. We also speak about the importance of connection and of a sense of purpose, which takes us into the importance of communities where individu...
The Convener
SNP
I place on record my entry in the register of members’ interests, which says that I hold a bank nurse contract with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and that I ...
Elena Whitham (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (SNP)
SNP
Paul Johnston, you have already touched on the theme that I will cover, which concerns the ways in which persistent health inequalities can stall life expect...
Paul Johnston
I am happy to start and am sure that colleagues will want to say more.That is absolutely at the heart of what Public Health Scotland wants to address. Pretty...
Alastair Boyle
In a second, I will bring in board colleagues who are representatives of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.As a board, that is exactly where we ar...
Councillor Julie Bell (Public Health Scotland)
The question speaks to the sense and opportunity in that co-sponsorship arrangement with COSLA. Much of the delivery will be down to local authorities, commu...
Elena Whitham
SNP
That leads me to the next question, which I was already starting to formulate. We understand that we can directly link stalling life expectancy and the widen...
Alastair Boyle
I will bring in Nairn Angus-McDonald in a second, but I think that that is exactly the challenge. That is where we are. Early on during Covid, there was an e...
Councillor Nairn Angus-McDonald (Public Health Scotland)
I am mindful that we are before a Scottish parliamentary committee with former ministers and shadow ministers, but I think that if we are to tackle Scotland’...
Elena Whitham
SNP
When resources are definitely tighter, the fact that we will not see the benefits until perhaps a decade later makes the argument difficult.Paul Johnston sai...
Paul Johnston
That is a great question, and it shows why evidence is so important. We must proceed on the basis of the clear evidence about what will work, and not on the ...
Elena Whitham
SNP
Maybe we should be looking at the Marmot principles and the Christie principles together when we make any decisions across all public services. Thank you.
Brian Whittle (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
Good morning. I have been listening intently to what the witnesses have been saying. I am looking at prevention. After hearing about the causes of good healt...