I am more than happy to do that. The member will be aware that I engage regularly with local authorities and with a diverse group of leaders in sport and physical activity across Scotland. That is exactly the sort of territory that we like to get into. As I said, my response to the report is an interim one. In some areas, you have asked for answers that lie outside my portfolio, but I am absolutely determined to get in about that and to ensure that we deliver real and lasting change for women and girls, which, I am persuaded, starts in the playground.

Although there are many pressures in our society that can lead towards less active lifestyles and a decline in activity levels, the good news is that Scotland is bucking the trend. The most recent Scottish health survey showed a significant increase in the number of women meeting the UK chief medical officer’s recommended level of activity—a 4 per cent rise, from 61 to 65 per cent. The survey also showed that the gap between men and women in levels of participation is closing.

Although that is positive news, I am not complacent. We must continue working to ensure that more women meet the CMO’s guidelines, given the consequent impacts on long-term health and wellbeing. We await the results of the 2022 Scottish health survey, which will be published on 5 December, and I hope that we will continue to see a positive trend. We know that a higher proportion of boys than of girls meets the physical activity guidelines. That difference is significant among those aged 13 to 15, where there is a 20 per cent difference, with 73 per cent and 53 per cent respectively meeting the guidelines.

That particular drop-off in female physical activity is one that we have all been aware of for some time and I am grateful that the committee has focused on that. The reasons for that are multifaceted and require different interventions, but a lot of fantastic work is going on across the sector to address the issues. Our active schools programme is successfully engaging girls in sport and physical activity in every local authority across the country, and we have committed to ensuring that that programme will be free for all children and young people by the end of this session of parliamentary session.