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I will touch on payment reform, part of which has involved listening to what dentists have been saying about preventative work. As Tim McDonnell referred to, it is a matter of allowing dentists to spend more time with their patients to ensure that they get the prevention message. For example, my dentist on Islay attended the Islay show with a model of a tooth to explain that. That slightly left-field prevention message is coming across, and dentists are absolutely at the core of that. I pass to Tom Ferris.

Dentists on the high street run their own businesses, and remuneration is determined by the owner of that practice. If you are talking specifically about those in the public dental sector, I ask Tom Ferris to answer.

Yes—you are on a roll.

My answer is probably a mixed one. We need dentists on the high street, but a number of MSPs have raised concerns about the way in which high-street dentistry is being provided in their constituencies. We are very alert to that issue and are looking at it as part of our governance workstream.

That is a really important question. I referred to what I saw in Edinburgh and the fact that the PDS is not simply in Chalmers Street; it goes to other areas of Edinburgh to provide exactly the care and service that you have described.

It has been said to me on a number of occasions that the health of someone’s mouth is an indication of their full-body health. In answering Carol Mochan’s question, I talked about the cross-portfolio work. We are considering how we can pull everybody into the population health framework, especially those who are homeless.

I do not know whether Tom Ferris wants to add anything.

Thank you, convener. I am delighted to join you today to discuss these regulations.

The death of a loved one can be one of the most painful experiences that many of us will ever face. To some degree, that pain is an unavoidable part of grief itself, and there is little that can lessen it in the immediate aftermath of a death. However, as many of us know only too well, there can be solace in coming together to share the pain of the loss and to say goodbye. Funerals are a profoundly important part of that process, and, by facilitating funeral services, funeral directors as well as burial or cremation authorities can also be a source of comfort when we are at our most vulnerable.

The funeral sector is entrusted to guide families through those difficult times. They care for the deceased, and they should be respectful and sensitive to the bereaved. Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of those services are provided with care, compassion and kindness. However, on those occasions when standards are not met, an already distressing and profoundly difficult time can turn into a long-lasting source of distress and regret.

The regulations that the committee is considering today seek to prevent loved ones from having to face that additional distress and to protect the majority of responsible, compassionate businesses from the reputational damage that can arise when less scrupulous businesses fall short. The inspection regulations will give funeral inspectors powers in relation to inspecting relevant bodies, and both sets of regulations will put in place clear legal requirements that burial authorities will have to adhere to and be inspected against.

The funeral director code of practice already sets out requirements for funeral directors, and we propose that the code and the three sets of regulations—including the Burial and Cremation (Inspection) (Scotland) Regulations 2025—will all come into force on 1 March next year. Cremation regulations have been in force since 2019. Therefore, from 1 March, there will be a comprehensive package of legislation that will maintain and build confidence across the whole funeral sector.

We have developed the regulations in close collaboration with the funeral industry and other key stakeholders, drawing on their experience and expertise to ensure that the provisions are effective, proportionate and fit for purpose. That engagement included a full consultation in 2023 on all three sets of regulations. Respondents were generally supportive and their feedback has been instrumental in the drafting process.

I am proud that Scotland is leading the way on regulating the funeral sector in the UK.

I stress again that the majority of the sector is professional, compassionate and dedicated to providing the best service possible to both the deceased and the bereaved. We are regulating because we recognise the depth of distress that is caused in the rare instances when bad practice is allowed to go unchecked. The regulations build on the previous steps that we have taken to prevent such unscrupulous practices. In approving the regulations, committee members can help to ensure that the funeral sector meets the highest standards and offers greater peace of mind to the bereaved.

Although the regulations are an important step, there is more work to do and, in particular, we are focused on taking the necessary steps to introduce the licensing of funeral directors and regulate the use of alkaline hydrolysis.

I welcome the continued engagement and close collaboration with stakeholders as we move forward, and I will be happy to answer questions from committee members.

Emma Harper raises an important question about methods of cremation and burial and the decisions that people are looking to take in that regard. Wicker caskets are being used and trees are being planted as an alternative to grave sites.

Training is an important topic, and officials have been discussing it. At this point in time, there is no specific UK-wide course. We are aware of the issue, but it is important that we get the inspection regime and the regulations right. That will enable us to ensure that training is provided for our very competent and compassionate funeral directors.

In relation to water cremation, which alkaline hydrolysis is also known as, we are speaking to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to ensure that the right environmental standards are in place.

We are aware of the need for training. That issue is not specifically addressed in the regulations, but it is one that we are looking at.

Yes. A key part of the work that the Scottish Government has been doing is that it has been working directly with funeral directors to ensure that they have been closely involved in the process and have been able to give advice to ensure that we get the best, most rounded regulations.

You are right to pick up on the statistic about the difference between the least deprived and most deprived areas. In fact, this year we had the lowest gap between the least deprived and most deprived areas, so improvement is taking place. It is nothing to shout about, however, and we absolutely recognise that we have much more work to do.

You are right that childsmile is one of the key areas where we can make a difference. I am pleased that dental practices, communities and schools have re-embraced childsmile after a pretty awful time for oral health during the Covid pandemic. Registrations from nought to two-year-olds, which had fallen to 25 per cent, are up at 40 per cent this year. Again, we are seeing improvement.

I would very much prefer it if people were able to see dentists sooner than they currently do. That is what we are focusing on in delivering the wide range of outputs and changes that we are working on now.