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That is very helpful.

That is good. There will be a watching brief to see what comes out next year.

My next question is about own initiative investigative powers. Can you explain what that means in practice? I know that they are already in place in Wales and Northern Ireland. How would Scotland benefit from them?

Could you talk a bit more about what legislation would be required to get to that stage? It seems, from how you have explained it, to be a worthwhile way to progress.

You may or may not know that a few members of the committee are ex-councillors. Obviously, as the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee, we are interested in the nature of complaints that are made about services that are provided by local authorities. There was an increase of 25 per cent between 2020-21 and 2021-22. We have a breakdown of the numbers, and we are looking at housing, planning and so on. Do you want to say anything more about that? Did any trends come out in that particular year? Can Rosemary Agnew give a bit of context?

Stephanie—I am sorry to interrupt, but I think that we heard that in evidence. In the short time that we have, the focus is more on what you would like your involvement in the process to be. I am conscious of the time.

Good morning, minister and good morning, panel.

At last week’s meeting, we discussed the resourcing and upskilling of planning staff, particularly in the DPEA; indeed, you have just touched on that issue, too, minister. However, in addition to that, the Royal Town Planning Institute mentioned the issue of recruitment. Can you say a little more about that? I think that it has been estimated that 700 additional planners will be required, and we have heard that Marine Scotland requires resources as well. What will the recruitment process look like over the next few years? People have said that they welcome NPF4, but they need resources to deliver it, and probably at an early stage.

Thank you, minister. That was clear.

You will be glad to know that I have only one question, as my second one has been answered. The bill is, obviously, a framework. The next stage will be the co-design and co-production process. How would you like that process to involve you? The minister has already committed to working with people with lived experience. I will come to you first, Mike.

I have a couple of questions. We talked in the previous session about the framework element of the bill. I will move on to co-design, which is the next stage. As we move forward, what would the panel members like to see their part in the co-design process being?

My second question is this. The minister mentioned last week that

“the national care service probably represents the greatest opportunity that has existed for the profession for a very long time”.—[Official Report, Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee, 15 November 2022; c 35.]

What are your thoughts on that comment? I will put that to Hannah first and then open it up.

When you say “not transparent”, what more transparency would you like to see?