Chamber and committees

Is that achievable if we get the funding model correct and the staffing levels right?

Absolutely. Does anybody else want to come in?

Just moving on—[Interruption.] Sorry, Kirsty, do you have more to say? You dropped out.

Just to expand on what Paul O’Kane was talking about earlier, I am keen to understand whether the focus in the policy is correct. The policy’s main aims are to improve children’s outcomes, to close the poverty-related attainment gap and to support parents into work, study or training. We are looking at extending the hours to one and two-year-olds and to school-age children outwith school hours, and we are also looking at single parents and, indeed, all families, working families and so on. Is the focus correct? If not, where should the policy focus initially?

You have made a lot of really good points. I was particularly struck by Jonathan Broadbery’s comment about child development and how we need to get this right for children in their first few years. The Scottish Government has said that it would like a partnership approach to expanding ELC, but are your organisations happy with their involvement in the development of the childcare policy?

The other area that I want to ask you about is the duty that you have to establish and operate a publicly available database of recalled products. I was struck by the figures in your work programme for 2023-24, which states:

“Between April 2020 and April 2021, 69 per cent of consumers in the UK experienced consumer detriment. 36 million consumers experienced at least one problem with a product … they bought or used in that period”.

What has happened with your duty to produce a database for recalled goods?

I want to ask about a couple of issues. The first one is about investigations. David Wilson, you mentioned that you are continuing to develop the investigation function. Can you tell us where we are with that? Have any investigations begun?

You have not carried out any investigations yet, but you are about to consider one. What triggers an investigation? Can the number of consumer complaints to partner organisations trigger one? Is there an area that you are pencilling in for investigation later this year?

I am asking whether there is a number.

You have highlighted that you are a research organisation, so you have data-gathering powers. What have you done with those since the organisation was established?