I thank the Right Honourable Member from New Britain, now the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy, for his motion. As I enter the Cabinet of the Scottish Government, it is important that we work on issues within Health and Social Care in Scotland that address both the quality and accessibility of services for patients.

In line with the motion and set out in the Programme for Government, the Department for Health intends to negotiate reforms to the General Medical Services Contract to allow for the greater choice for individuals when deciding on the GP surgery that they register with. I hope that, in this work, we will be able to ensure that we remove what is often an inconvenience for many people in accessing a nearby GP practice by reforming the way that catchment areas work.

I can confirm that I, in my capacity as Cabinet Secretary for Health, intend to bring forward plans to amend part of The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Scotland) Regulations 2018 to reflect the changes called for in the motion which will in turn allow for people to register for GP services where it is most convenient for them to do so. I hope to present this to the Scottish Parliament in due course.