Sexual Health and Bloodborne Virus Oversight Committee minutes: November 2025 2025

Attendees and apologies

Chair

• Jenni Minto MSP - Minister for Public and Women's Health 

Attendees

• Alan Eagleson - Terrence Higgins Trust
• Andrew McAuley – Scottish Health Protection Network (SHPN) Blood Borne Virus (Non-Sexual Transmission) Group Co-chair 
• Angela Davidson - SHPN Sexual Health Promotion Specialists Group Co-chair 
• Nicola Steedman – Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Scottish Government
• Anna Glasier – Women’s Health Champion, Scottish Government
• Becky Metcalfe - SHPN Clinical Leads for Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) Co-chair
• Ciara Cunningham – SHPN Clinical Leads for SRH Co-chair 
• Dan Clutterbuck - SHPN HIV Clinical Leads / HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Implementation (TEDI) Group Co-chair
• Daniela Brawley - SHPN HIV Clinical Leads Co-chair
• Duncan Mccormick – Public Health Scotland (PHS) / SHPN Viral Hepatitis Strategic Group Co-chair
• Fiona Quinn – Deputising for Daniel Kleinberg, Scottish Government
• Gill Hawkins – Senior Medical Officer, Scottish Government
• Grant Sugden – SHPN Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus (SHBBV) Coordination Network Co-chair Waverley Care
• Julie Craik - SHPN SHBBV Coordination Network Co-chair
• Kirstin Mitchell - SHPN National Monitoring Assurance and Research Group (NMARG) Co-chair
• Kirsty Roy – PHS
• Lorraine Fleming – PHS
• Naomi Bulteel – SHPN HIV Clinical Leads Co-chair
• Nicky Coia – SHPN Sexual Health Promotion Specialists Co-chair
• Rebekah Carton - SHBBV Team Leader, Population Health Resilience and Protection, Scottish Government
• Sharon Hutchinson - SHPN NMARG Co-chair
• Sinead Cook – Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare
• Sonya Scott – PHS
• Stephen Barclay - SHPN Viral Hepatitis Strategic Group Co-chair
• Wendy Mitchell - SHPN Blood Borne Virus (Non-Sexual Transmission) Group Co-chair

Apologies

• Daniel Kleinberg - Deputy Director, Population Health Resilience and Protection, Scottish Government 
• Gill Hawkins - Senior Medical Officer, Scottish Government

Secretariat 

• SHBBV Policy Team, Scottish Government

Items and actions

Welcome, apologies and actions from last meeting 

The Minister welcomed attendees to the third meeting of the Committee. Due to time constraints, members were invited to introduce themselves when speaking. Apologies were noted as above. The Minister also welcomed Angela Davidson, Naomi Bulteel and Sonya Scott who have joined the group. 

Rebekah Carton advised that the actions from the previous meeting had been completed and were now closed. The group were content with the minutes from the previous meeting, which will be published on gov.scot.

Key issues from HIV and hepatitis C workstreams:

HIV Transmission Elimination Update 

Grant Sugden provided an update on the HIV Informed workforce education resource which is launching on World AIDS Day. The microsite builds on the national anti-stigma campaign in 2023 and contains videos and downloadable resources aimed at informing staff and tackling HIV-related stigma in health and social care settings. This has been a collaborative project involving people living with HIV and aligns with key objectives of the HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan. Discussion is underway regarding a second phase of the project. There was short discussion on how success will be measured. 

Hepatitis C 

Rebekah Carton provided an overview of action taken around hepatitis C (HCV) targets since the last meeting. HCV treatment targets were issued in July 2025 – these were reduced in line with a decline in the estimated number of people living with untreated HCV. New testing uptake targets were also issued for alcohol and drug recovery services and prisons. It was noted that community pharmacy dispensing of HCV medicine continues to be a challenging in some areas, however the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer is working to resolve the issues.

There was discussion on the variation in testing uptake between areas, suggesting scope for improvement. It was noted that a quality improvement approach and shared learning may help to increase uptake. The group also discussed the potential role of Point Of Care Testing, developing systems to record and monitor uptake, and the importance of information and marketing materials. 

The Minister noted thanks to Stephen Barclay for support with developing annual targets and reflected on the benefits of shared learning, including the success of High Intensity Test and Treat programmes in prisons. The Minister will continue to feed into the cross-ministerial group for prison healthcare. 

Deep dive into long-acting reversible contraception

Sonya Scott presented to the group discussing why unintended pregnancy is a priority for population health, impacting women’s health, economic stability, and NHS resource. It was noted those experiencing unintended pregnancy often face reduced income and slower career progression, while mothers and babies have poorer health outcomes. Terminations cost two to four times more than long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), yet termination rates have risen sharply in recent years whilst LARC uptake has declined. Around half of terminations are repeats, often within short intervals, highlighting missed opportunities for effective contraceptive support. Trends in LARC provision have shifted and possible actions were identified, including strengthening primary care engagement and improving access to post-partum and post-abortion contraception. 

Angela Davidson provided an overview of the growing issue of hesitancy towards hormonal contraception. It was noted accurate information often fails to reach people and it is often difficult to respond to misinformation. The group discussed potential responses to the issue, including how to build public trust to counter misinformation. Emer Appleton from the SHBBV Scottish Government team confirmed an academic-policy knowledge exchange fellowship project will being in 2026 to explore hormone hesitancy, The Scottish Government policy team are also working with Board Chief Executives to progress work around contraception and abortion care. 

The group discussed that influence within primary care is limited however options such as central teams delivering LARC clinics in GPs were discussed. NHS Boards are exploring new care models to meet demand and whilst GP cluster models show appetite for LARC provision, the group agreed funding remains a key barrier. Information and marketing approaches were also discussed. 

The Minister supported engagement with youth organisations, including the youth parliament, and initiatives such as One Key Question.

Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Plan – Next Steps

Rebekah Carton provided an overview on next steps following the end of the current Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Action Plan in 2026. It was proposed that Scottish Government could offer a number of one-year grants to maintain momentum in 2026/27, followed by a multi-year funding programme to support the newly published plan towards the end of 2026. 

The group noted important strategic overlaps with other plans including cervical cancer elimination, where it was noted that Sexual and Reproductive Health Services have a role to play in terms of offering catch up vaccination for HPV. The importance of long-term funding to support the sustainability of third sector services was also highlighted, as well as appropriate governance to support delivery of actions. 

Any Other Business (AOB)

No AOB raised.

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held on 12th March 2026.