Image source, bbc/Getty Images

That's all from Holyrood Live on Tuesday 24 September 2018.

MSPs backed the Scottish government after a debate on future UK trade arrangements post-Brexit.

The motion from Trade Minister Ivan McKee highlighted the publication of Scotland's Role in the Development of Future Trae Arrangements.

Mr McKee insisted: "Scotland must have a voice in future trade arrangments."

However Tory MSP Adam Tomkins argued the Scottish government was taking a "wrecking ball to the Scotland Act" and was not respecting the devolution settlement.

Public Health Minister Joe Fitzpatrick describes free eye tests as one of Scotland's success stories in health.

He notes in addition to sight tests, eye checks can also reveal a number of other conditions.

The Scottish government is committed to ensuring community eye care is accessible to everyone the minister asserts.

Support in the community, close to where folk live, can provide the high-quality care that people need, he adds.

Mr Fitzpatrick also says community care reduces the burden on GPs and other areas of the health service.

He highlights efforts to move to electronic systems, which will see referrals submitted electronically and for eye-care professionals to be able to share information on patients more easily.

Mandatory annual training for optometrists will be introduced soon and eye tests will move to annual rather than two-yearly for people who are sight impaired, the minister concludes.

Image source, bbc

Artificial intelligence can diagnose eye disease as accurately as some leading experts, research suggests.

A study by Moorfields Eye Hospital, external in London and the Google company DeepMind, external found that a machine could learn to read complex eye scans and detect more than 50 eye conditions.

Doctors hope artificial intelligence could soon play a major role in helping to identify patients who need urgent treatment.

They hope it will also reduce delays.

Read more here.

Labour MSP Anas Sarwar pays tribute to the RNIB and the Royal Blind for the work they do in lobbying parliament and providing support to the public.

He highlights how visual impairment can have a huge impact on access to services and employment, and even on how they can watch TV.

"I can't remember the last time I went for an eye check," the Labour MSP admits.

But he welcomes the fact that a third of people in Scotland have accessed free eye tests.

"We can spend to save," he insists.

Image source, bbc

Tory MSP Brian Whittle says this is an important opportunity to highilght the need for good eye health.

Mr Whittle states the importance of eye checks for those with diabetes.

He also stresses the importance of stopping smoking due to the impact it can have on sight.

The Tory MSP explains stopping people losing their sight unnecessarily must be a priority.

Image source, MOORFIELDS

Doctors have taken a major step towards curing the most common form of blindness in the UK - age-related macular degeneration.

Douglas Waters, 86, could not see out of his right eye, but "I can now read the newspaper" with it, he says.

He was one of two patients given pioneering stem cell therapy at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, external.

Cells from a human embryo were grown into a patch that was delicately inserted into the back of the eye.

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

Children are developing permanent problems with their vision because they are not being given eye tests early enough, optometrists have warned.

An Association of Optometrists survey of 1,200 people indicated a quarter of school-age children had not been taken for a sight test by their parents.

Of parents surveyed, 52% thought tests would be given in primary school.

While some schools do offer screening, the tests are less comprehensive than those provided free on the NHS.

• Screens and eyesight: What can parents do?
• Game used to test children's eyesight
• Read more here

SNP MSP Stuart McMillan praises the success for free eye tests in Scotland, saying it has led to a growth in those seeing the optician.

More than 21 million tests have been conducted since the policy came into effect, he tells the chamber.

However, more work must be done to further boost uptake rates he adds.

Mr McMillan says people can be "surprisingly negligent" over eye health, particularly in areas of poverty and deprivation.

He notes the single biggest cause of eye problems among those of working age is diabetes, while the number of school pupils with a visual impairment has doubles since 2010.

50% of sight loss is preventable the SNP MSP states, which is why tests are so important.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Scottish Parliament

SNP MSP Stuart McMillan will now lead a member's debate highlighting Eye Health Week 2018, external.

This year's National Eye Health Week (NEHW) will take place from 24 to 30 September 2018, promoting the importance of eye health and the need for regular sight tests for all.

Image source, SP

The government motion is agreed to with 84 MSPs backing it and with 29 abstentions.

Image source, SP

Tory MSP Adam Tomkins sees his amendment defeated, with 29 MSPs backing it and 84 against.

Brexit Secretary Mike Russell says it is important that the expectation of citizens, around food and environmental standards for example, runs through any trade agreement.

The Tories have "given up" on debating what needs to change, he claims, and he goes on to say the party has turned its back on the its own position from previous months and years.

He insists the Scottish government's paper is a "serious paper for serious discussion" and he thanks the other opposition parties with engaging with it.

"There was a time when trading was seen as important - now nothing is important except the survival of the Conservative Party."

Image source, bbc

Tory MSP Dean Lockhart explains 61% of Scotland's trade is with the UK and he points out the value of our exports to the EU is in decline.

Mr Lockhart insists it is vital that Scotalnd has access to growing markets outwith the EU.

He says the SNP's trade paper is incompatible with the devolution process and would delay certainty in trade going forward.

The Tory MSP says the SNP paper is proposing a veto at every step of the way on any trade ageement.

He states the SNP's position on future trade deals is "contradictory, confusing and lacks credibility"

Labour MSP James Kelly says a no-deal Brexit will cause issues with alignment with the EU and this will have a negative impact on economic growth.

He also suggests not involving the devolved institutions in trade deals could result in a lack of scrutiny and backroom deals.

The opportunity to legislate and regulate firms which are awarded public sector contracts - for example making payment of the living wage mandatory - as a result of Brexit is highlighted but Mr Kelly warns this could be curtailed by other trade arrangements.

He concludes by calling for clear rules, agreement and consensus on future trade deals.

Labour will not rule out including the option of staying in the EU in any future Brexit referendum, Sir Keir Starmer told the party's conference.

The shadow Brexit secretary said all options should be kept on the table, including a so-called People's Vote, to "stop a destructive Tory Brexit".

But a senior Unite official said another vote would "reopen the wounds of Brexit" not heal them.

Labour members are debating the controversial issue, with a vote later.

Labour's policy is to force an election if MPs are deadlocked over Brexit but members have succeeded in getting a debate on getting a fresh referendum on to the agenda at the conference in Liverpool.

• Starmer insists Labour 'clear' on EU vote
• Kuenssberg: Labour's conference '360'

Theresa May has warned that the Brexit negotiations are at an impasse and there will be no progress until the EU treats her proposals seriously.

She has accused EU leaders of showing the UK a lack of respect after they rebuffed her Chequers plan at the Salzburg summit without, she said, any alternative or explanation.

With the clock counting down to the UK's scheduled exit on 29 March 2019, where does this latest row leave the chances of a deal and what could happen next in the Brexit process?

Read more here.