Chamber and committees

Good morning. I want to start by putting on record the committee’s thanks to councillors across Scotland for the additional work that they have done and the support that they have provided to their communities during the pandemic. It is important to recognise that.

As we look towards next year’s council elections, what additional things could the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliament do to help to encourage higher voter turnout and to encourage more people to take up the challenge of becoming a local councillor?

That was a very helpful answer.

I want to pursue the issue of remuneration for councillors. Some people might not want to discuss that issue, but since local government was reformed to create larger wards with three or four members, it has become a focus. I know from the information about age range that was gathered for the research that was published in 2018 that standing as a councillor has become something that people do in later life.

Do you have any views on support for councillors and the remuneration that they receive for the work that they do?

I think that we were all taken by your strongly worded statement on behalf of COSLA. I would like your views on whether integration of health and social care has worked and whether that is what is driving consideration of a move to a centralising approach. I will put to you the question that I put to the cabinet secretary: will local government have more or fewer powers and more or less control over budgets by the end of this parliamentary session?

I want to follow the line of questioning that Willie Coffey has begun. As the cabinet secretary who is responsible for local government around the Cabinet table, is it your principle that, during this session of Parliament, local government will have more powers and not fewer, and that it will have more control over budgets, or are you willing to see that centralised to the Scottish Parliament?

I have a couple of questions relating to the emergency response to rough sleeping and homelessness during the pandemic, which we all welcomed. What consideration has the Scottish Government given to the proposals for legislative changes to improve homelessness prevention? Given what was set out in the final report of the homelessness prevention review group, what proposals might be introduced in this parliamentary session?

I welcome the minister to his position. I have a couple of questions about eligibility and the work that the Government has done to evaluate its policies. The committee has received evidence that there is no official estimate of the number of people who are eligible for carers allowance but do not go on to apply for it. What independent evaluation of past payments has been carried out?

That is helpful. It would be useful for you to provide the committee with information on what independent evaluation—as opposed to internal evaluation—has taken place. If the cost is associated with evaluation by independent organisations, it would be useful for us to have that information.

What reporting duty is there—I did not see any attached to the bill—in relation to progress towards taking over and delivering other devolved benefits? Is that something that you would engage with committee members on?

I mean on that benefit and the wider devolution of social security reforms and benefits.

I appreciate that, convener.

I want to ask specifically about young carers, a matter that I raised with the first panel of witnesses this morning. We know that young carers cannot get the young carer grant if they are in receipt of carers allowance at the time when they apply for the young carer grant. What reforms are ministers looking to pursue around that? Should those individuals who receive the young carer grant be able to qualify for CAS?

I want to carry on with the theme that all the witnesses have touched on: carers who are not entitled to payments. Specifically, I want to look at the issue of young carers during the pandemic. What have your organisations picked up on the subject? We know from some of the submissions that we have received that young carers cannot get the young carer grant if they are in receipt of carers allowance. What have you heard from young carers about their experiences? How do we consider potentially targeting support for young carers?