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I imagine that the piece of work that is coming the NHS’s way will not be insignificant.

I have a question for Mark Taylor. Even at this early stage, do you feel that all the risks have been accurately identified and quantified? I am thinking of things such as VAT, over which we still have large question marks. Do you feel that enough work has been done on that, so that we can understand its impact?

So there is not yet one place where all the risks have been written down so that we can all see them.

To pick up on that point, might health boards, too, have to change radically as the national care service comes into being? Would there be a reduction in the number of boards?

I know that the bill process is at an early stage but, given that the NHS would be a key partner in delivering a national care service, surely there have been some discussions to enable the Government to get to the point that it is at now. Has that not been the case?

From the written submissions and what you have said, there seem to be a number of risks. We have heard about transition costs, the number of boards and a doubling of the running costs, as well as uncertainty on VAT, pensions, staff numbers, scope, impact on the third sector, IT systems, records and training. We have already covered a huge number of unknowns. How do we keep track of them and know what the costs will be to mitigate some of those risks? Can you think of any other unknowns that should be added to my list?

I will come back to VAT, which is a big risk. In the worst-case scenario, how much are we talking about?

That leads me to my next point. There will be a choice for local authorities, because the statutory duty will move away from them on to the Scottish Government. As Mr Mason said, provision often costs more than local authorities actually take in, and local authorities could, if they wish, say, “Well, we don’t want to provide this service any more—over to you, national care service; you can buy this building if you want.” Would that be right?

I have one other slight question. Some local authorities have arm’s-length external organisations providing care. I guess that, in future, it would have to be decided whether an ALEO would remain part of the local authority or whether it would potentially move across to the national care service, or continue to provide care as a provider. Is that right?

As a final final point—sorry, convener—I think that you mentioned earlier that boards might differ in how they provide service. I am not sure whether that is what you said.