Chamber and committees

If children’s services were to become part of the national care service to help us to keep the Promise, how would that help to improve outcomes? You can have all the structures that you want, but we have heard how important it is that children’s lives change. How can we ensure that the national care service helps us to do that?

Do you think that there is a risk that children’s needs would get lost under the adult needs if children’s services are brought into the bill?

I was going to cover the UNCRC in my questions, but I am aware that a lot about that has already come out in your evidence. However, I will try to pull some threads or get you to go a little bit further.

We have recognised that we are dealing with a framework bill. That is the context. The other contextual aspect is that no decision has been made on whether children’s services will be included in the national care service, so the committee is looking at that. In that context, to what degree can a meaningful assessment of the impact on rights be considered at this stage?

Iain Nisbet, you leaned forward.

Will the framework that is in place at the start of the process help to accelerate implementation, or will it be a hindrance?

Thank you, minister.

We will move on to look at the future, and I will bring in Bob Doris.

There you go, minister—there is a lot for you to unpack, but I am sure that you are up to it. Off you go.

I will allow you a small bit of leeway.

The next item on the agenda is consideration of a piece of subordinate legislation, Scottish statutory instrument 2022/294, which is subject to the negative procedure. It seeks to modify a 2018 order by correcting the names of two listed bodies in the schedule to that order. Do members have any comments to make on the SSI? As there are no comments, does the committee agree that it does not wish to make any recommendations in relation to the instrument?

Members indicated agreement.

Do we have a timescale for that?

Thank you, minister. Any follow-up regarding a timescale would be very helpful. Stephen Kerr wants to come in.