Chamber and committees

Thank you very much for the information that you have given, which is much appreciated. I wonder whether Dr Lamont or Dr Mathers can clarify something for the record. You have provided some information, but it would be useful to know the average waiting time and the longest waiting time. How long have the women who have been waiting the longest had to wait to be seen by the service?

Women are referred to the service, but we cannot be clear why they have not been seen yet—it is sometimes just a long process. Is that what you are saying?

Dr Lamont, do you have anything to add?

Thank you for all the information. I am interested in what you said in your opening remarks about how you had already done some work on the issue before you approached the committee. Is there anything in that that we can follow up on? What commitments did you get that might not have been fulfilled yet? Tell us about the work that you did beforehand in case we can build on anything that has already been put in place.

That is no bother. I will be quite brief, because the information has been clear and I am incredibly supportive of what has come across.

Do you believe that the Government knows what needs to be done but is finding it difficult to make decisions about how to do it, or is the Government just not clear about what has to be done?

It seems to me that being a corporate parent is about the state, so as elected members we have responsibilities to hold people to account and to hold the Government to account. As experienced people, do you believe that the Government understands what has to happen and is just unable to deliver it, or do we need to be clearer about the stages that we need to go through to get what is needed to happen? It would be helpful for the committee to be clear about that.

No, I was just going to agree.

Okay. You said that there is work to be done on different levels. There might be layers of things that require to be done, but this committee can build on existing work. It is important that, although certain avenues have been explored, some pressure is applied to get the last part over the line.

I agree that we should keep the petition open. It is well thought through and put together, and it is evidence based. The convener mentioned the Scottish crime recording board, and we should pursue the matter with it to see what information it records and how it will take things forward. Along with hearing from the petitioners, which would be immensely helpful, it would be worth while to make a formal approach to the Scottish crime recording board.

This area—the support that is available to students—is really important right across the board. We are trying to attract people into these important jobs, particularly in the public sector. Having met social work students and the social work organisations, I can say that they are at crisis point. People believe them to be good career options, but it is incredibly difficult to finance yourself through that process.

When speaking to social work students, I noted, in particular, that, at that late stage when they are heavily invested in their placement, other people in academic life may be able to get a balance by doing some work to support themselves financially. Are we really asking social work students doing a nine-month placement in the workplace, as they must do, to also take on additional work? That should not be the case if we want them to have the ability to do that well and to get the qualification and experience. It is such an important area: people need to have good experiences as they learn the ropes and go through their career. We need them to be available to our public sector.

I absolutely support keeping the petition open as we seek guidance from social work organisations such as the social work unions and the SSSC on what we could do to help the petitioners with this.

I, too, read the briefing thoroughly. It is an important and sensitive issue. The Government has indicated that it has no intent to change the law on abortion. I believe that the right to choose and to get appropriate healthcare throughout pregnancy is important for women. In this instance, therefore, I do not believe that the petition should go forward. That is my balanced view.