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Thank you. Ivan, do you want to come in?

I thank the members of the panel for coming along today and for the work that they have done previously, as it will really help the committee in progressing our inquiry.

We will have a brief suspension to allow for a changeover of witnesses.

As I have not had any indications that any other members wish to ask questions, we will move on to agenda item 3, which is the formal debate on the instrument on which we have just taken evidence. I ask the minister to speak to and move motion S6M-11853.

I have had no indications that any other members wish to speak. Minister, will you sum up and respond to the debate, please?

I am sorry, but we will have to move on. You have had 12 minutes of questions and answers, and we have lots to get through. We will move on to questions from Tess White.

Thank you. Sandesh Gulhane has a declaration of interest.

We continue our post-legislative scrutiny of the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 with a second panel of witnesses. I welcome to the committee Dr Pete Cheema OBE, who is the chief executive of the Scottish Grocers Federation; Bob Price, who joins us online, is the director and policy adviser of the National Association of Cider Makers; David Richardson, who also joins us online, is the regulatory and commercial affairs director of the Wine and Spirits Trade Association; and Paul Waterson, who is the honorary president and former CEO of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association.

We move straight to questions, and I will kick off. In the earlier evidence session, we heard from alcohol health charities. I will paraphrase slightly here, because I do not have the Official Report in front of me. One of the panel members spoke about minimum unit pricing being one of the most scrutinised public health measures that there has been. Previously, there were robust challenges to its introduction from sections of the alcohol industry. To what extent do witnesses contest Public Health Scotland’s conclusion that its evaluation of MUP showed strong evidence that the policy had reduced the number of chronic alcohol deaths and hospital admissions? Who would like to start?

Sorry—I did not quite catch that.

Therefore, you are challenging what Public Health Scotland has said.

Okay. Thank you.