Chamber and committees

We move to our last theme. The last set of questions will be from Natalie Don.

Bill Scott has outlined the stark reality that we face and the need to look at “Housing to 2040” and the outputs from the social renewal advisory board, as well as considering how we decarbonise and the district heating systems that will be in the offing. We also need to consider the draft national planning framework 4 and 20-minute neighbourhoods. We need to think about how all those issues link together to address poverty and specifically child poverty. There is that golden thread that we need to pull together.

I will hand over to Pam Duncan-Glancy.

Who would you like to start on that?

That takes us full circle to the mainstreaming equalities agenda and the need to embed good practice at every level and in every area of work.

We move on to questions on theme 2, which is about the evidence base and modelling, and theme 3, which is about coherence and targeting. Pam Duncan-Glancy will start us off.

Welcome back, everyone. Our focus with our second panel will be on public policy research and analysis addressing poverty. I welcome Jack Evans, Scotland policy and partnerships manager at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation; Philip Whyte, director of IPPR Scotland; and Emma Congreve, knowledge exchange fellow at the Fraser of Allander Institute.

I will invite members in turn to ask questions on different themes. Theme 1 is on child poverty trends and the economic context, and I bring in Miles Briggs to ask about that.

We need to wrap up.

Marion, that is a very important note on which to wind up this panel. The committee is running an inquiry on problem debt and poverty. I am sure that some of you have already submitted responses to it, but if there is anything on that subject that you would like to follow up with in writing to the committee, that would be most helpful.

Thank you for joining us this morning.

Pam, do you want to move on to your second theme?

That is okay.

As we have no more questions from members on this part of proceedings, we move to the formal debate on the motion. I remind the committee that only members and the minister may take part in the formal debate. I invite the minister to move the motion.

Motion moved,

That the Social Justice and Social Security Committee recommends that the Social Security (Up-rating) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2022 be approved.—[Ben Macpherson]

Motion agreed to.

I invite the committee to agree that the clerks and I will produce a short factual report of the committee’s decision and arrange to have it published later today. Are we agreed?

Members indicated agreement.