Chamber and committees

I have a further question in that area.

No. Sorry; I thought you were moving on.

I am sorry for interrupting, convener. I had assumed that we were moving on to another question—thank you for setting me straight.

I have a further question on that area for Angela O’Hagan. I notice that in previous submissions, you have said that capacity and support for organisations to engage in the “Equality and Fairer Scotland Budget Statement” is crucial. We know that that is important for both accessibility and transparency. What capacity and support is required and is it in place? What could be done to further improve that?

Yes.

Thank you, convener, and good morning to our panel. Thank you for joining us and for the evidence that you have submitted to the committee in relation to the budget process.

I have a couple of questions about accessibility, the first of which is for Rob Watts. The Scottish Government said in its response to our letter that it has worked hard to make the “Equality and Fairer Scotland Budget Statement” “deliberately accessible”. Can you see that in the budget, and is that enough?

It would be helpful if Angela O’Hagan could comment specifically on what the Scottish Women’s Convention said about women being overlooked in that part of the process.

Good morning to the cabinet secretary and her officials.

In the Government’s response to the committee’s pre-budget report, it recognised that employability support plays an important role in tacking child poverty. We are, of course, conducting an inquiry into that. Will the cabinet secretary set out what she believes the consequences of the reduction in funding for employability support this year will be?

I will extend the conversation that we have just had about fair work, which colleagues have already mentioned. It is, of course, welcome that the fair work criteria are being extended to cover all staff who are engaged in grant-funded activity. However, the voluntary sector is really struggling; I know—or believe—that the cabinet secretary understands that. How will the Scottish Government support its departments and local government to resource voluntary organisations through grants so that they can pay at least the real living wage?

I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer, but I find it difficult not to come to the conclusion that, in effect, that means that, although the Scottish Government says that it supports—as we do—fair work, third sector organisations will have to make cuts, which feels disappointing. I understand the context that we are in but, as the cabinet secretary rightly pointed out, during the pandemic, those organisations did not just create flexibility but stepped up to the front line when others could not. I therefore urge the cabinet secretary to commit to resourcing the demands that she and her Government make of third sector organisations, so that they can meet those demands.

I have one point on long-term funding. Can the cabinet secretary set out the timescale that she is working to for delivering multiyear funding? Will she determine multiyear funding as a three-year minimum commitment?

Thank you—I appreciate that, and I do not doubt that there are strong lines of communication. It would be helpful, however, if those lines were more in the public domain. If it is possible to get a commitment to encourage Social Security Scotland to do that, it would be helpful. Are you able to do that, cabinet secretary?