Hansard

I will come on to say a little bit more about that. The minister has tried to distance himself from the expert group, because he obviously wants to decide what the Executive does and I understand the reasons for that. It is difficult to have another debate without knowing what the Executive's thinking is and how far it is prepared to go; we are left with a fairly unclear picture of its thinking. One of my concerns is that even before the expert group reported back, the Executive made decisions on Scotland's sexual health strategy when it suited. It ruled out the supply of the morning-after pill in schools without waiting to see what the expert group had to say on that. I do not think that the morning-after pill should be supplied in schools; I do not believe that that would be necessary or desirable if accessible, quality services that young people felt comfortable accessing were provided within the community. As Susan Deacon said, we should have a full debate and not avoid any of the difficult issues involved. It was an over-reaction for the minister to try to remove from the debate the issue of the supply of the morning-after pill in schools before we got to this stage. If we are serious about being mature enough to have a debate on these matters, the minister should not have ruled that out before the group's report was published.

My second important concern is that the Executive does not appear to know the scale of the problem that it has committed itself to addressing. In answer to several parliamentary questions that I asked, the Executive could not tell me the median waiting time for people to see a sexual health specialist or a sexual dysfunction specialist; how much funding goes to providing the public with information on how to access sexual health services; how much funding goes to promoting sexual health to patients, parents or schools; what proportion of funding of sexual health promotion is geared towards men and towards women; the extent to which the incidence of pelvic inflammatory disease is caused by chlamydia; or what services are available to men and women following an abortion, a miscarriage or a stillbirth.

In highlighting those points, my point is that, if the Executive is committed to a sexual health strategy—which I am sure that it is, and I would not take that away from the minister—it must surely have some estimate of the problems that have to be faced and of how much funding is therefore required. A lot more data collection is required.

My third concern is to do with costs. The minister laid out a number of new positions that are going to be created. There will be sex tsars and an advisory committee, plus many local co-ordinators. Those people may well be necessary and I would certainly accept the need for a strategic approach. However, that should not be at the expense of maximising the resources that are put into front-line services. If we are to adopt the proposal within the report, which says that all children in Scotland should have access to sex education and sexual health services, it will be crucial that resources are deployed to the front line.

Even though the sexual health strategy has tried to avoid controversy—and I think that it has—the nature of the issues means that the strategy will be controversial. Views vary on how to tackle the issues and on what the best approach will be. A parents group, Not With My Child, was upset prior to the publication of the consultation document that the expert group did not give enough importance to the views of parents. The group wanted more money to be diverted from sexual health services into educating parents on how to talk to their children. One parent argued that sex is pushed all the time and is used to advertise the most trivial of things, and that it is not explained to young people that there is a moral side and an emotional and psychological side to a sexual relationship. It is clearly essential that we listen properly to what is being said in our communities, so that we can address the concerns that are raised by such parents and can shape our sexual health strategy around the needs of Scotland's society. We must overcome any embarrassment that we feel in discussing sexual health, so that we can promote a culture of respect, equality and self-esteem.

We should remember that people have the right to independent thought and that adults should be allowed to make their own decisions on sexual health. The need to empower individuals to make the right choices is of key importance. Easy access to quality information and advice—no matter where someone lives—will be crucial. Although the thought of quicker access to abortions and the thought of greater condom use might upset some, it will be of comfort to others to know that parents themselves are to play a greater role in educating their children about sex. However, where parental advice is not an option, it is essential that young people have easier access to sexual health services to help them to make informed decisions about their own sexual health.