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Cabinet secretary, we were speaking about the national care service and you said that there is £1 billion in the social care budget. How much of that budget line relates to the NCS and how much relates to adult social care funding?

Can we talk about money? The cost of regulating a PA will be half the cost of regulating a doctor, and the Government is putting in money to subsidise the regulation process. Is that fair?

We have seen a significant reduction in mental health across our country. We have also seen significant increases in waiting times for child and adolescent mental health services; the longest wait in Glasgow was 37 weeks to be seen. The reduction in budget will surely impact and harm mental health.

In stating your top three priorities, you spoke about NHS recovery, which you mentioned in your opening statement as well. You feel that you have put a budget for that in place. Therefore, at next year’s budget time, should we expect to see significant reductions in improvement in accident and emergency waiting times and significant improvements in waiting times for procedures?

I will take an intervention once I have made these points.

I have also heard of anaesthesia associates anaesthetising children. I am also concerned about how anaesthesia consultants know how to supervise and what their level of cover is when something goes wrong. They have never been trained in supervising anaesthesia associates.

No—my argument is about the role of regulation. Of course, regulation is important and it must occur, but we cannot regulate what we cannot define. Scope of practice is a very important part of that regulation, as is supervision level. With regard to scope of practice, we know that there has been an expansion in what our PAs and AAs have been asked to do. I know of general practices that run almost entirely on the work of allied health professionals, which saves the practice money, but potentially provides a two-tier system and service to patients in remote and rural areas, where they will not, in the main, see doctors. With the expansion of that PA role also—

I declare an interest as a practising NHS general practitioner. Good morning, cabinet secretary, and thank you for coming today.

From your opening statement and from what we have heard and seen you say previously, do you feel that you have adequately resourced the Scottish NHS?

In laying out those three priorities and in your opening statement, you spoke about mental health. Is it not true to say, though, that there is a 1.6 per cent real-terms reduction in your budget for mental health services?

The BMA is telling us that patients and their families are unaware, many times, whether or not they have been assessed by a doctor. Following on from the convener’s last question, would it not add to that confusion to have the GMC regulate somebody else, seeing as it regulates doctors?