Seòmar agus comataidhean

We move to questions from Carol Mochan.

Thank you very much for your attendance today. The witnesses can leave, and members will continue with our other agenda items.

The next item on our agenda is consideration of a negative instrument—the National Health Service (Free Prescriptions and Charges for Drugs and Appliances) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023. The purpose of the instrument is to increase the prescription charge that is applied to English prescription forms that are presented for dispensing in Scotland. The policy notes state that the uprating will align Scottish charges with English charges, which were increased on 1 April 2023.

The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee considered the instrument at its meeting on 27 June 2023, and it made no recommendations in relation to the instrument. No motion to annul has been lodged with regard to the instrument. I propose that the committee make no recommendations in relation to the negative instrument. Do members agree?

Members indicated agreement.

Our meeting next week will be a session with the Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care, concerning the programme for government for 2023-24.

I am keen to pick up on a point that Pamela Milliken made about the impact of the cost of living crisis on numbers of presentations and the health of the general population. Is the crisis impacting on presentations at A and E or GP surgeries, and is it exacerbating ill-health and making health deteriorate?

Dr Loughrey wants to come in briefly on that point.

I think that David Gibson wants to come in.

We need to move on. I ask MSPs to ask short and concise questions and witnesses to give short and concise answers, because we still have quite a bit to get through.

Good morning and welcome to the 24th meeting in 2023 of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee. I have received no apologies for today’s meeting.

Item 1 is for the committee to decide whether to take items 4 to 6 in private. Do members agree to do that?

Members indicated agreement.

That answer has gone a wee bit off the question. My question was specifically about the EU. We will move on to questions from Paul Sweeney.