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Rural and island communities face significantly different challenges to the rest of the country. What impact do you anticipate that a one-size-fits-all approach to a national care service would have on those communities?

Dr Williams, if we are looking at a fully integrated service, GP care and primary care in general need to be part of that. However, given the change that is happening to the IJBs and, in particular, the lack of GPs and primary care practitioners in the Highlands and rural areas, does the national care service not pose a risk?

Good afternoon. One of the interesting things that you said was about the setting up of an arm’s-length body. Having spoken to the unit that is working on the bill, it is clear to me that that is not going to happen. Audit Scotland suggests that setting up a national care service could cost more than £1.3 billion. Given that that money would be taken away from health boards and local government, do you feel that it is worth it? It could, for instance, remove the potential for local government to do certain things. We were told that one council might lose its lawyer unit because work would be taken away from it.

The Scottish Association of Social Workers raised concerns that these national care service proposals could exacerbate recruitment issues, as Dr Williams mentioned in his earlier answer to me about a system that we cannot staff. Alison White, do you agree with that assessment? If so, how would the proposals exacerbate those issues?

Dr Williams spoke about the general medical services contract in his opening remarks. I see lots of parallels between the national care service and the general practitioner contract in relation to centralisation and there being a policy memorandum that was full of aspiration that was not fulfilled. A second memorandum of understanding was then created, but there were issues with the contract in the Highlands and other rural areas. It is obvious that detail and delivery are key. The national care service would be far bigger than the GP contract, which did not go well. Do you have any concerns that GPs being rolled into the national care service will have a negative impact on primary care?

Eddie Fraser talked about the workforce and recruitment. The general practitioner contract was supposed to support that, but it has failed. Are you concerned that the national care service could lead to the same problems in the workforce and recruitment?

You have just referred to “a minister”, but that is not what we have heard. In the bill, it is all about “ministers”—there does not seem to be “a minister”. Is that your understanding?

I have a question for Councillor Kelly. Inverclyde Council has said:

“The current lack of detail impacts on our ability to plan for coming years and secure investment in the sector when there are so many unknowns.”

Can you spell out for us the exact problem with the lack of detail and what it will mean in the coming years, not just for your council but for all councils?

I have a question on the back of Tess White’s point. I had a meeting with groups that provide care for disabled people. They said that once things move into secondary legislation they will not have the resource to enable them to scrutinise it. What are your thoughts on that?

The bill aims to provide consistency in social care across Scotland. Have you seen any evidence that the bill will improve quality?

On the back of that, I am reminded of other one-size-fits-all models such as the vaccination programme, for which there was a centralised service. That was great for those who lived in urban areas, but a disaster for those in rural areas. Do you foresee such issues arising here?