Chamber and committees

Thank you. That is very clear.

Thank you very much. You have given us a lot to think about there, and I think that having flexibility to make further changes down the line is definitely something that I would like to keep an eye on.

I want to go back to a point that Alison White made in answer to Pam Duncan-Glancy. The financial memorandum outlines the potential benefits that a national care service could have for Scotland’s wider economy and in tackling inequalities, not just for those working in or receiving care. Do you think that a national care service will bring those wider benefits by tackling poverty and inequalities? That question is for Sara Cowan and Cara Stevenson.

I am sorry—what do you think is missing? I listened to everything that you said, but I am not sure what part you are referring to.

I thank the cabinet secretary for her detailed answer. I am glad to hear that there has been engagement with folk who have lived experience, particularly in the islands. Could she expand a little on the wider engagement with those groups?

Cabinet secretary, in your opening statement, you touched on the fact that some local authorities with very specific housing issues have raised concerns about how they might cope with aspirational applications and homelessness presentations. For example, the Highlands and Islands are a great place to live, but people who present there might not know the geography and might not realise, for example, that, if they are allocated a house in Caithness, they might be a good few hours away from support services that they thought they would be closer to. You touched on monitoring. Please expand on how situations like that will be recorded and monitored, so that the committee can scrutinise those in the future.

The UK Government has recently made some decisions that have impacted on social security in Scotland. What impact have its actions—or inactions—had on our mission to tackle child poverty? Could we go further if the ambition shown in Scotland were matched by the rest of the UK?

Good morning, minister. As you mentioned, the regulations increase the Scottish child payment to £25 per week per child. I understand that the payment and other measures are unique in the UK. How much money is provided when the five family benefits are taken together? How does that compare with support that is available elsewhere in the UK?

Finally, has the Scottish Government done any analysis of the impact of these welfare reforms? For example, do you have any figures that quantify the impact on people in Scotland if key UK welfare reforms were to be reversed?

Going back to what you said about the engagement being really good, I note that part of the reason why we can sit here and scrutinise the changes in staffing forecasts is that we have been given the figures. Do you feel that the agency has an overall commitment to transparency?

Thank you. That is really clear. I have a final question on the subject. It is worth noting that a significant portion of the changes to staffing and costs over time has been due to things such as reprioritisation within the DWP and data-sharing issues that took longer than expected for that Government to resolve. In terms of responsible spending and governance, is it therefore justified that the Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland prioritised safe case transfer for users?