Chamber and committees

I want to pick up on the point that you mentioned about the changing relationship. You said that the Government had been a bit more transparent about what other funding options it has. Can you give us any more detail about the kinds of conversations that you have been having?

Thank you, I appreciate that. That leads me nicely to my next question, which is about the broad reasonableness of the assumptions. I note that you mentioned earlier that aspects such as launch date, promotion and the approach to benefits can add to the uncertainty around the cost.

How much information have you had from your discussions with the Government about any likelihood of policy changes within the period? From your submission, I note that you assumed that there would be fewer policy changes in the next period and that the Government considered that to be reasonable. The committee is keen to understand what opportunities there could be through things such as the review of ADP. Do you get any sense from the Government of any kind of timescale or thought processes about changes to those things, so that we could start to look in advance to see where the money would come from?

I will push a little bit further on that. Do you see a direct correlation between the outcomes in the child poverty delivery plan and the spending review? Can you see where the money is being allocated and whether or not it is likely to be enough?

I have a short question. Minister, will you commit to come back to the committee in a year’s time to give us an update on this particular part of the transfer?

I would be keen to have such a session, following on from my colleague Natalie Don’s points around an analysis of how case transfer has impacted on individuals. I am not sure whether that will be available in a year but, if it is, a session on that would be helpful.

Good morning and thank you for the information you have given in advance and for your answers so far. It is very helpful to have things set out in the way that you have done, particularly for someone like me who finds some of the detail quite complicated, so I thank you.

I want to explore some of the options that are available to the Government. Some of this will touch on the forecast and possibly a little bit on the gaps that were mentioned in the previous discussion.

You said that some of the funding decisions around social security will mean that the pressures on other areas are significant. Could you set out your view on what other options were available to the Government to balance the books on social security?

On that point, is there a need for the bill to include that offence, or is it already an offence under other legislation? Do you understand why it is included in the bill?

I am sorry, convener—this really will be my final question. Could that be a reason to decouple the medical process from the legal one, so that people are not immediately put down a medical path that could result in the situation that you have described?

My questions follow on from those of my colleagues Maggie Chapman, Fulton MacGregor and Karen Adam. Can you tell us how many people have requested a gender recognition certificate while in your care? Has that happened?

I am asking about any statutory declaration. Are there any restrictions around people’s ability to make a statutory declaration while they are in prison?