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Do you have any view on that, Mirren? [Interruption.] You were mute there, but I think that you said no.

I have a final query for Councillor Macgregor. We have been talking about flexibility throughout this discussion and debate. Some folk say that it is localism for localism’s sake, but other folk say that it is very important that local authorities have the powers and the flexibility to do things that best suit local circumstances. What does COSLA think about the application of flexibility? Should there be rigid rules and guidance, or should there be as much localism as we can possibly put into the system?

Is there a risk of confusing visitors with local versions of the scheme? They would go around Scotland and find different systems in different places, and the levy would be different. Some places might have a flat rate and some places might have a percentage rate.

Some businesses have said that they might have to reduce the number of bed nights available so that they do not cross the threshold, which sounds as if it runs counter to the aims of the policy. You say that it is down to local authorities to try to manage that but, frankly, I cannot see how they can avoid the issue. VAT is paid on the levy, and that is chargeable and so on.

Hello, everybody.

I wonder whether I can take us back to the earlier discussion of how we reduce mental health inequalities. The Auditor General’s report, which I am sure that you have read, points to certain groups in society, and it is obvious that inequalities in this respect basically reflect the inequalities that we see in society. I am thinking of, for example, people living in deprivation as well as the issues affecting young people, LGBT people, people with learning disabilities and, as we have been hearing today, ethnic minorities.

The funding allocated to the mental health directorate in recent years has gone up significantly. In 2020, it was £130 million a year, and now it is nearly £300 million a year. Where is the money going? Is it not being spent or targeted correctly and appropriately in your opinion? What more do we need to do in that respect?

I would like to start with Dr McDaid, but I would appreciate hearing a brief perspective on the matter from each of our panellists, if that is possible.

My colleague Graham Simpson will touch on outcomes in a wee while.

Meriem Timizar, you said that, in a number of circumstances, there is not even multilingual information to direct people from minority ethnic communities to those services. Is that the case? I mean, I am astounded, convener, if we do not even provide the information that people need to access a pathway to support services. Could you tell us more about that, please, Meriem?

Thanks so much for that, Kirsten.

Convener, does anyone else online want to contribute?

Thanks, Simon.

Jo Anderson, can you offer a perspective on that? The funding has been increasing, but are we targeting it correctly?

Thanks very much, Meriem. The committee will be keen to follow that up.

Kirsten Urquhart, I know that you have to leave at about half 10, but can you give us a little perspective on these issues and why these inequalities exist, particularly for young people? We saw in the report that young people often report much higher levels of anxiety, stress and mental health-related issues, and you described a few circumstances. However, can you give us a flavour of what we need to do more to effectively target spend where it is needed in order to reduce the inequalities that we are talking about?

Thank you.