Chamber and committees

Karen Adam is next.

Thank you for that.

Thank you very much, cabinet secretary, for that detailed and informative opening statement.

The cabinet secretary will be aware of how keen I am to engage with young people and to represent their voices as often as I can. My first question is not my own. It is from Arden, a member of the Children’s Parliament, who says:

“I would love to ask how the Bill will change things for children and if children are going to help implement the Bill and be consulted on.”

Yes. Can you do it in 30 seconds?

Mr Whitfield, I see you and I am ahead of you. I give you the opportunity to come in.

Thank you, Rachel. I move straight to Fulton MacGregor.

I am going to ask a question about having an audit or review, which I think loosely fits in here. We have heard calls from witnesses for a legislative audit or review. What can you tell the committee about your response to those calls? Are you considering a review of what legislation is incompatible? Have you committed to undertaking that work? What would it involve and could it have unintended consequences? I know that COSLA has made a suggestion and that Together has offered a model.

I might pick up on the consequences of the referral and things that have had to be missed as a result, but I have another question to ask. It has been suggested that duty bearers should act compatibly with the UNCRC requirements, regardless of the bill. However, some have highlighted a risk in, say, local authorities complying only with the areas that are open to litigation. How are you going to address those concerns?

We are coming to the end of the session, but I have a final question that relates to evidence that we took last week from the police. You just talked about the bill moving to being an act; I think that there is a period of six months for its enactment, but the police expressed concern about the practical implications and, in particular, whether there was going to be a cliff edge or some longer phasing in of the provisions. They gave the example of custody suites for children and said that a complete reconfiguration of their custody facilities will be required to keep children separate from adults. That will take a bit of time, and I suppose that the police are looking for reassurance that, after the six-month period, on day 1 of the legislation coming into force, they will not be in breach straight away. What support and guidance will be available in that respect?

Do you have a supplementary question, Mr O’Kane?