The paper is light on detail and heavy on cherry-picked examples, but the First Minister confirmed one thing today when she said:

“If we are in the Single Market, and the rest of the UK is outside the Single Market, then yes there are issues in terms of regulatory and customs requirements”.

The Government paints a rosy picture of trading bliss within the EU, but glosses over the barriers and challenges that lie in the way. The paper that was published today says next to nothing about the actual practicalities of independence. Will the cabinet secretary take the opportunity now to confirm to the democratically elected members of the Parliament, as the First Minister did in her answer to a journalist, that with independence, there would be a hard border between Scotland and the rest of the UK? What analysis has the Government done on the impact that that would have on Scotland’s businesses, economy and wider public services?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app would not connect, and I would have voted yes.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I could not connect. I would have voted yes.

Since I lodged this question, as the cabinet secretary refers to, reports have shown that, yet again, there has been an increase to waiting lists, and there are now over 700,000 people waiting. Long before the pandemic, data was showing that NHS waiting lists were rising year on year; 120,000 people were waiting in March 2020. The cumulative impact of waiting lists clearly shows that the Government’s recovery plan is not robust enough to tackle this significant challenge.

Will the cabinet secretary commit today to real and meaningful action to tackle delayed discharge; to implement a real NHS cancer plan, including funding for more temporary clinics and dedicated treatment centres; and to proper pay and conditions for staff in health and social care?

To ask the Scottish Government what new steps have been taken to tackle national health service waiting lists, which now reportedly stand at over 680,000 patients. (S6O-01212)

The booster programmes are vital in Covid recovery, as they protect the most vulnerable and, crucially, give confidence to many unpaid carers who feel left behind as things move forward.

The interim guidance for the coming winter booster programme does not include unpaid carers. From speaking to carers, I know that that is of great concern, particularly with the advent of the BA.4 and BA.5 variants and the impact on those for whom they care.

Will the Deputy First Minister commit to working with the health secretary to deliver winter boosters for unpaid carers? What further action is the Government taking to support unpaid carers, many of whom feel abandoned, in the recovery from Covid-19?

The member survey by the RCN, coupled with new statistics today that show record nursing vacancies in Scotland, is shocking. Nurses are at breaking point, and there are reports of nursing staff walking off wards due to stress and the pressure that they are being put under. That comes after 15 years of the Government slashing bed numbers, failing to tackle delayed discharge and failing the nursing profession by cutting training places and presenting no meaningful workforce planning.

I put that issue to the Deputy First Minister at First Minister’s question time a few weeks ago. He said:

“we are working to ensure that we can address the issues that are of concern to members of the Royal College of Nursing.”—[Official Report, 26 May 2022; c 20.]

With yet more deeply concerning evidence, what exactly is the cabinet secretary doing to address those extremely serious issues, which threaten not only the wellbeing of staff but the safety of patients? Is not it time to offer nurses a proper pay award and decent terms and conditions?

As the First Minister knows, delayed discharge rates are soaring. With an increase of 8 per cent in March this year, that means 1 in 10 beds is occupied by a person who is ready to be discharged. That is a result of continued failure by the Government to properly fund social care in Scotland and to support the workforce. Does the First Minister accept that if her Government was serious about freeing up bed capacity in our NHS it would properly fund social care and show that it values social care workers and unpaid carers by committing to a proper workforce plan, decent terms and conditions and a wage of at least £15 per hour?

In the past two years, Covid-19 has dominated every part of our lives, particularly our actions on health inequalities. I am keen to get a sense of the witnesses’ views on the Covid-19 recovery plan. What should be prioritised in the plan to tackle health inequalities? I appreciate that that is a big question.

I am keen to understand more about the policy interventions that we can make in a devolved context. The committee has heard quite a lot of evidence and had quite a lot of discussion about what happens at the reserved and devolved levels, but I am keen to get a sense of what policy makers can do in the devolved context to make a difference. I ask Ed Pybus to start, because I know that his organisation, CPAG, has been close to the work around the Scottish child payment. Ed, I am keen to get your sense of how we can go further.