Chamber and committees

That is helpful. It would be good to have feedback on that. I take on board what you said about launching the whistleblowing system during the pandemic, but have you looked at whistleblowing systems in other parts of the UK and at whether there is learning to be had from them as well?

Yes, it is often a complex picture.

This is my final question. In the last session of Parliament, my colleague Margaret Mitchell brought through the Apologies (Scotland) Act 2016. What impact has that potentially had? Given the pandemic, its full potential may not yet have been realised, but I wonder whether that is making it easier for members of the public to receive an apology without having to escalate through complaints systems.

That is helpful. Thanks very much.

Good morning. Thank you for joining us.

Further to those questions, are you satisfied that the questionnaire and the survey report meet the stated goal of considering the issue of intersectionality in relation to the profile of candidates? Has it been just as difficult to extrapolate data on that?

Good morning, and thank you for joining us. I have a couple of questions about whistleblowers. Specifically, why were so few cases received by the independent national whistleblowing officer? Do you have any thoughts on that?

I am pleased to hear that and will feed that back to Kirsty.

On a separate point, we have all welcomed the positive engagement and work around renewables, but I am slightly concerned about what that means with there being no specific strategy for grid reinforcement works. That is still missing in the document, although the minister will maybe point towards the delivery programme for the guidance in that regard. In relation to renewables coming online, where does that now sit in relation to the development of major grid reinforcement works that will be needed to realise that potential?

I will give an example from my area in Edinburgh. Eighty per cent of the local development plan land that is allocated is brownfield site, and 80 per cent of that has businesses on it, some of which are not aware that the land is allocated—the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home is also in that situation. There is no plan for where those organisations will be moved to. In Edinburgh, where the housing crisis is acute, I do not see where the land will come from. I hoped that a mechanism would be put in place to address that problem. As far as I can see, the land will not come forward, at least within the seven-year period. There needs to be a mechanism for adjustment when we see a problem clearly on the horizon, as is the case here in the capital.

In its evidence to the committee, the ALLIANCE suggested:

“there should be scope within the Bill for the creation of an independent authority whose role is to hold Ministers to account for their decisions.”.

Can you outline what you see that looking like legally and what legal standing it would have?

Given that we are short on time, I will ask some yes or no questions, too. The Social Justice and Social Security Committee has also been looking at the bill, and part of our work has been on the charter of rights and responsibilities that will be created. I welcome that, but one of the concerns is that the charter will not necessarily be legally binding. Should it be legally binding? We can have a yes or no answer.

That is a very good point.

The Health and Social Care Alliance has suggested that there should be scope in the bill for the creation of an independent authority to hold ministers to account for their decisions, as we have been discussing. What are the witnesses’ views on that? Do they support that call?