Chamber and committees

We have reached the end of our time with our first panel. I thank you all for your time. I now suspend the meeting for 10 minutes, so that we can have a break and allow our panels of witnesses to change over.

Welcome back. Our second evidence session will focus on the bill in relation to regulation and quality improvement.

I welcome to the committee Rosemary Agnew, Scottish Public Services Ombudsman; Lynsey Cleland, director of quality assurance, Healthcare Improvement Scotland; Suzanne McGuinness, executive director of social work, Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland; and Kevin Mitchell, executive director for scrutiny and assurance, Care Inspectorate.

I will go to Kevin Mitchell first. To what extent could the bill as drafted improve the regulation of care and support services?

I have a question for Rosemary Agnew on another very specific issue that relates to our previous panel. The SPSO was mentioned in the oral evidence that was given by the Scottish Information Commissioner. What is your feedback on that aspect of the Scottish Information Commissioner’s submission with regard to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body and office-holders?

That is very helpful. What you have said will inform our questioning of the minister on that issue.

We move to questions from Emma Harper on the national social work agency.

I assume that the goal is to implement a single interface that allows all people managing someone’s care to access the systems and information that is contained in them, such as when a person is transitioning from a clinical setting to a care setting.

I want to bring in the perspective of those who are in the care sector right now. Yesterday, when we were in Dumfries, people in that sector told us that, currently, they have to put multiple entries of the same information into different systems or that they have to access multiple systems, which is taking away from the time that they can spend with their clients. Do any of the witnesses have views on how we can help the workforce with the goal of having a single interface and on how that could be manageable?

One of the reasons why that comes up time and again is that—Sandesh Gulhane mentioned this from the health perspective—the workforce cannot access certain systems in which there is data and information that they require. People who work in social care also say that they spend much of their time having to log in to different systems to report on things or to get information, which takes away from the job that they are supposed to be doing.

I see that Beth Lawton is nodding. I know that I am rambling a little bit, but you get my point. From the perspective of those on the ground, what would need to be implemented to reduce the red tape around that?

You do not believe that the Scottish Government should be stepping in.

Let me take you back to the pandemic, when there were failures in standards in some care homes and the Government had to use the Covid legislation to step in. At the moment, the Government does not have the ability to step in as you suggest; indeed, as you have said, local authorities have stepped in. My understanding is that the bill contains provisions that give ministers the ability to step in.

But that is the component that we are focusing on. Okay.

I will bring in Roz Foyer at this point.

We will move on to questions from Sandesh Gulhane.

I see that Emma Harper is indicating that she wants to ask a follow-up question.