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Good morning. I have a question about the impact of the state of palliative care on people’s decisions to take up the opportunity to have assisted dying. Is there any evidence that the state of palliative care has an impact on such decisions?

Thank you, convener. I really appreciate having another opportunity to support these petitions.

Having been here several times before, I have tried to find something different to say today and, as a result, have had a wee look specifically at the A77, which is in my region. I know that Mr Carson will speak to the issue of the A75.

I looked at the A77 trunk road and the number of times that it had been closed with diversions in place. Those diversions go along a B road where it is difficult for two cars to pass, let alone a convoy of 44-tonne trucks, and I know from speaking to one of the haulage companies that whenever there is a diversion on to that road, its trucks get damaged. Indeed, a few of them have been tipped into the field trying to pass each other. Between January 2023 and this September, the road had been closed with that diversion a total of 214 times.

I do not know how else we can frame this. Given that this is a trunk road and an arterial route to Cairnryan, the third busiest port in the UK, and given that 45 per cent of goods coming in from Northern Ireland come through that port, the route cannot be seen as anything other than very important. Driving down that route, especially at certain times of the day, will definitely give you an indication of why this is such a pressing issue.

What is more, we can now evidence what happens when action is taken, because of the bypass at Maybole. The huge impact that that has had on the town of Maybole and on the time that it takes to get down that route is evidence enough. We should, at least, be able to bypass Girvan, where you get a massive hold-up in traffic. These convoys of trucks used to go straight through the centre of Maybole. I have had the opportunity to go down the route in a 44-tonne truck; it is not something that I would advise, to be quite honest, but it is certainly illuminating.

As you have indicated, convener, STPR2 was supposed to have delivered a plan. It has been going on for as long as I can remember in this Parliament, and each time it gets watered down. The way that things are going, I fully expect the next one to say that the grass verges will be cut every second year or something.

This work has to be done. The cost of the Maybole bypass was £30 million, which I know is a lot of money, but I would just note that something like 0.4 per cent of the transport budget has been spent in the south-west of Scotland over the past 10 years. We are definitely not looking for special treatment, but we would like a little bit of parity and a little bit of understanding.

I was interested in the previous petition that you heard, which concerns the economic issues that the south-west of Scotland faces. We need to get some answers on the issue, which has been going on for as long as I have been in the Parliament. The can keeps getting kicked down the road and the solution keeps getting watered down by the Government. We have absolute evidence as to why it is imperative that the A77 gets the treatment that it deserves.

The only interest that I have to declare is that my daughter is a national health service healthcare professional.

Good morning. I should say that I am late to this investigation, so I apologise if my questions cut across things that have been dealt with before.

I was very interested in what Professor Smith said about the importance of using a rigorous scientific process. I completely agree. With regard to the Cass report, you have commented on social transitioning in schools not being a neutral act. That concerns me, because having spoken, as a member of another committee, to teachers, I know that they are often on the front line in recognising the potential need for medical assessment or intervention in relation to issues with youngsters seeking professional or medical advice. Should we be, or are we, looking at updating school guidance to give our teachers the tools to enable them to recognise issues and to signpost people towards potential help?

I will follow up on Paul Sweeney’s point about the dark side of potential suicides.

Professor Smith, you spoke about the need for a more wraparound and holistic approach to dealing with this vulnerable group. That is exactly what we need, but the reality is that it is extremely difficult to access mental health services at the moment. We hear from teachers that some people are waiting up to five years to access mental health services and that some waiting lists have closed. How do we square that circle? This is a significantly vulnerable group of young people who are looking for help, but that help is not there in reality.

Can you give us an indication of the timeline to complete due diligence and announce whether a bid has been successful?

Likewise.

We could have a full session on that, but I will leave it there.

I have an interest in that area, because it is the one that I came out of before I came to Parliament. As you said, a basic platform that allows for innovation and technology will help to tackle waiting lists, staff shortages, general health and economic inactivity. I am pleased to hear that that is the direction of travel that the Government is going in.

We are short on time, so I will move on to talk about Prestwick airport. We discussed that when the cabinet secretary was here previously. The committee went down to Prestwick airport and had a very good visit. I want to tie off something that we talked about the last time. I mentioned that there was concern about the previous chair fronting a bid for the airport to the Government while he was still the chair. That is obviously a conflict of interests, which you acknowledged at the time. Can you give us an update on where we are with that?

In the 2024-25 budget, there is a significant increase—some 38 per cent in real terms—in the digital budget, which is very welcome. I will unashamedly ask about the potential outcome that you see for the NHS. The whole of the UK is behind the curve on digital infrastructure and information technology adoption. I note that the previous UK Government looked at investing £3.5 billion in that specifically. What outcomes do you expect in the NHS from the significant increase in digital investment?