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I do, absolutely. That came across in the committee’s evidence sessions. As I watched them, I could see the importance of having that anecdotal evidence. I appreciate that it is not data, but it adds to the data and makes it more accessible. That is why I am pleased that Public Health Scotland has appointed the co-ordinator whom I mentioned. I am also pleased about the collaboration that is happening across the sector. As Dr Clutterbuck said in his evidence, that is not new. In fact, this area of medicine has been a trailblazer in recognising the importance of various elements working together. The health boards, and indeed the whole of the health sector, can look at that.

I understand people’s frustration. Am I working hard to move things on? Yes, I am. Further, I hugely respect the work that was done prior to my taking on this role.

There has to be a focused approach. We have been funding Waverley Care, which is signed up to fast-track cities and works closely with people who are living with HIV to ensure that their voices are heard. In an awful lot of cases, it is the peer-to-peer conversations that help to spread awareness. Waverley Care has been helpful in creating videos on how to access post-exposure prophylaxis, for example. That is an important way of targeting the right support.

I represent Argyll and Bute, and Oban has a fantastic pride march. Rothesay, on Bute, is also having one this year. Those are really important awareness-raising events. The Terence Higgins Trust, Waverley Care and various other people come to Oban. It is a really warm and happy event, and a lot of information is exchanged, which is a really good way of doing it. It is locally based and, again, the message is being spread.

Absolutely.

When we talked about the possibility of an opt-out pilot, we thought it important to choose a variety of health boards to participate. They include Lothian, which covers an urban area; Grampian, which includes a mixture of areas; and Highland, which covers a more rural area. We have therefore covered a cross-section of Scotland. It is important to say that the group that had been involved in considering whether opt-out testing was the right way forward had asked for such an approach.

We are often caught between a rock and a hard place on such matters. Should we take action quickly? Should we ask health boards to apply for a pilot quickly, so that we get a response from it and receive data? Alternatively, should we wait longer, which can often result in our being asked why we are not doing it? On balance, I think that we made the right decision to fund pilots in those three areas, because they cover different elements of the Scottish mainland and the islands.

I would never say never. Depending on the prevalence of the virus in Scotland, and how elimination is progressing, those could be appropriate. If there are changes in the population in Scotland through migration, we need to make sure that we are nimble. That is one of the things that the delivery plan allows us to be. It allows us to ensure that we focus on the right areas to hit the HIV elimination target in 2030.

It would be right for the evaluation of the opt-out pilots to start once the pilots are finished and I do not imagine that it will take too long.

We need to recognise how game changing PrEP has been in Scotland. There are currently about 8,000 people living with PrEP as part of their daily life. That is a positive story.

You are right. In Scotland, we have reached the point at which we have to find the people who are in the less obvious communities. As I highlighted earlier, that is why the work that the third sector organisations are doing, alongside academics and clinicians, to ensure that we can find those communities in the best way is important. Nicky Coia referred to the Glasgow injecting community and noted that the safer injecting rooms might help.

We have created a PrEP short-life working group, which will consider how we manage and maximise PrEP eligibility criteria and, perhaps, consider the expansion of PrEP prescribing. I go back to the answers to the first set of questions about stigma. We need to find the best way to ensure that people who have HIV or might have HIV have the best way of accessing the services that we provide. I hope that the delivery plan will help with that.

You are right. I always balance up the demand to take action at speed with the need to ensure that the information is as robust as possible. Public Health Scotland has just appointed an HIV co-ordinator who will monitor and manage the situation, which is a positive way forward.

I think that legislation needs to be reviewed, so I am interested to hear how committee responds to that in its report.

It is difficult to get inside the thoughts and views of a woman who is accessing abortion services. I want to ensure that they can do that as safely as possible, avoiding the demonstrations that are specifically directed at them at a time of, I am sure, great stress and emotion. That is what the bill sets out.