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I do not know whether it will make that easier, but it will give us the ability to be much clearer about the outcomes that we are looking to achieve with that investment and the public expenditure that goes into social care, and it will give us the ability to seek to achieve much more consistency.

It has benefits for staff, such as allowing for collective bargaining, which I know is an important issue for trade unions. The creation of a national care service will be critical to supporting us to achieve a more attractive place for folk to work, greater consistency in how services are delivered, and better alignment with the needs of our NHS. It will also help us to get greater consistency in how funding is used and ensure that it is being used to achieve better outcomes for individuals who need to make use of those services, in a way that we do not have at the present moment.

There were no significant works and there was no major disruption to services. In the few areas where work was needed, it was done as part of normal routine maintenance work.

The capital budget for the Baird hospital and ANCHOR centre projects is what was originally agreed. Within the overall project—

Yes, I think so. There is always an ambition to invest much more in preventative healthcare where we can. That is challenging when we are in a very difficult financial environment and given the significant demand that services are facing. Notwithstanding that, however, we should do that where we have the opportunity. We have committed to exploring issues around a public health levy over the next year and I think that, if its introduction is agreed to, it would provide an opportunity for investment in other areas of preventative spend.

We should also recognise that innovation in technology can play an important part in some of the preventative approaches that we pursue. I mentioned the work on diabetes. New digital technology could have a real impact in reducing the side effects that people can experience as a result of diabetes and in helping them to live more healthily. We know that that will have a preventative effect in the future because of the benefits that come from it. We know that the use of AI in radiography can help to identify issues at an earlier stage and allow for earlier intervention, which could further reduce expenditure in the future.

Technology and innovation can play a really important part in ensuring that we do more in the preventative space, and any additional investment that might come through a public health levy in future years to support that would be very welcome.

You are right that mental health services are about 8.8 per cent of our expenditure at present and I hope that we will have those services at 10 per cent by the end of this parliamentary session. That will depend on future budgets and the availability of finance, but it would certainly be our intention to do that. As I said earlier, however, there has been a very significant uplift in mental health expenditure since 2020-21. The level of Scottish Government investment in the area has more than doubled, but 10 per cent is still our ambition. We are at 8.8 per cent and we need to look at whether budgets in future years will allow us to continue the increase to achieve a 10 per cent allocation.

It is an operational issue, so I would expect it to be dealt with by boards. They have a whole executive team, so if there was an issue around safe staffing in a particular ward, I would expect that to be escalated through the board’s local management structure—eventually, I presume, to the director of nursing and, if necessary, to the chief executive.

If a wider systemic problem was being experienced and it was brought to our attention, we would certainly want to raise that with the board. In terms of day-to-day operations, it would be the responsibility of the individual board to deal with the matter. However, if there was a wider systemic issue, I would certainly be concerned about that and I would want to take action if there was a problem in a board.

Eventually, it will be a self-funding model, but the proposed arrangement will operate for the initial couple of years, in order to get the regulatory process up and running. As the workforce expands, it will be a self-funding model, which is the way in which most of the regulators now operate. The proposed arrangement is part of the initial process to support the GMC in taking on the regulatory role.

At present, PAs are unregulated. In Scotland, we have a very small cohort of around 150 of them operating in the NHS. Back in 2016, we issued direction around the type of role and the scope of role that could be held by a PA in NHS Scotland, so that is already defined. As the GMC takes on the regulatory function, it will be responsible for setting out the relevant definitions and the terms of those definitions.

I understand the concern. I will ask Nigel Robinson to say a wee bit more about the practical application of the process and how the GMC might address some of these issues.

We are looking for the national board to take forward that work. I will let Scott Wood say a bit more about that, but we need to ensure that there is a consistent approach.