Chamber and committees

Professor Childs made an interesting point. I agree that we should have a permissive system for this. My worry, though, is that much of the flow of power, and much of how we go about our daily business, happens, say, over a coffee, when people are around in Parliament. How could we take that into account if people were using proxy voting quite a lot? For example, how could we ensure that women were still—if I might put it this way—in the room?

Thank you for that, Professor Kenny—

Thanks, convener.

To what extent can an institution that is designed without the embedding of gender sensitivity be sufficiently changed by reform as opposed to more radical redesign? How easy is this going to be? I can see that I have asked an interesting question. [Laughter.]

I will move on slightly but will stay with implementation. When Karen Adam MSP spoke about the audit in the Parliament, she talked eloquently about being on an all-women shortlist, which, in her words, led many people to dismiss her as having “skipped the queue”. What work do we need to do on quotas—or whatever terminology you want to use—to dispel such views?

We know that there is an issue with stalling registrations for very young children—aged between zero and two—which are 25 per cent lower since the pandemic. There seems to be a lag in areas of higher deprivation. How can the reforms be carried out in a way that minimises health inequalities? How are we going to get on top of that?

We have already talked about the shift in language and people taking responsibility for their own oral healthcare. How will the Government support those on low incomes or no income to do so?

Good morning, panel, and thank you for all your answers so far. Your evidence has been illuminating, as ever. My first question is for Eddie Follan. You have been very positive about the Government’s further engagement over the summer. Do you feel that the bill is going in the right direction? Do you feel that some consensus is now being found and that we can move on positively?

Do you have any insight into whether the recent changes to access to funds for unpaid carers have made a difference? Eddie Fraser, would you like to come in?

How can ethical commissioning change the nature of contract competition?

How are short-term and long-term needs being balanced? We heard a lot about both in evidence, especially in relation to preventative spend.