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If no one is actually taking up the guidance that you are issuing, you will forgive us for feeling that that aspiration rings hollow.

On top of that, you said that you are concerned about vapes coming in from China in particular. One member of your organisation is a medical biotechnology company based in Shenzhen, and another is the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce. How do you square the concern about vapes coming in from elsewhere with the membership of your organisation?

Price is also a major issue that we have heard many concerns about with regard to the accessibility of the disposable vapes to young people. Some of your members are selling vapes with 20mg of nicotine in them for as low as £4.99—that is about the price of a Tesco meal deal; it is children’s pocket money. What are you doing to ensure that the prices of vapes are outwith the reach of young people? Would you support a form of minimum pricing per milligram of nicotine or something similar to make sure that they were outwith young people’s price brackets?

On preventative healthcare, given budgetary pressures across the board in all services, but particularly in health services, how is the Scottish Government ensuring the financial sustainability of health services amid rising costs? What resource allocation strategies are being employed to balance immediate acute needs with long-term planning and a shift towards preventative healthcare, particularly in remote and rural places that are facing the challenge of demographic changes in the workforce and patients?

We have explored some workforce issues. How does the work to support the workforce link in with the wider need for reform?

So, you would acknowledge that price is an issue for children and young people, as we have heard from many parents?

A range of trans organisations and people have said that the report’s recommendations and the narrative surrounding it give the impression that transition would be the worst outcome for a young person. How would you respond to people who get that impression from the report?

Good morning, Dr Cass. Do you believe, and does your research show, that puberty blockers or gender-affirming hormones could be the right intervention for some children or young people?

I think that Emma has covered most of what I was going to ask. Given the sort of issues that we have just covered around nutrients and reducing recommended amounts of meat by 20g or other amounts, and that a lot of evidence is coming out about how diet could change with climate recommendations and so on, how does Food Standards Scotland approach communication around some of that? There is the “Eatwell Guide”, but there is no guarantee that some of the evidence that comes out over the next period will not impact some of its recommendations.

The matter is quite nuanced. It might be for higher consumers, rather than for everybody, to reduce. There are potential knock-on impacts for groups that could be more affected by some of those changes than others, such as those in the lower ranges of meat consumption—there is a lot in that question, too. How do we approach that information environment as a whole? How do we ensure that we take in some of those underrepresented and potentially vulnerable groups in doing all of that?

Thank you. I have a final question. You have mentioned research in your other answers. What, in your view, does good research look like in this area, and do you think that it is important that trans and non-binary people are involved in all stages in co-producing it?

The committee has recently heard about the impact of MUP from people with lived and living experience. For me, that has added, to the evaluation, a real-world context such as we have welcomed in many other areas of the committee’s work. Those voices need to be amplified and to continue to be involved. I am pleased that the minister has indicated her willingness to continue to put that at the heart of policy development, as we move forward.

We need to ensure that there is an appropriate mix of support and treatment for people who require them, and that we tackle barriers for groups who currently have difficulty in accessing treatment. I accept and trust the minister’s assertion that minimum unit pricing is not a silver bullet. One of the most important actions that we need to take is to tackle the alcohol environment that we have in Scotland. For me, that should include our examining how advertising affects children and young people and at-risk adult drinkers, as well as our implementing a public health levy. I am pleased that provision for such a levy was included in the budget as a result of discussions between the Government and my party. Tackling alcohol harm must take a multipronged approach and must address all the barriers to services that people face.

I will be pleased to support both instruments.