Chamber and committees

Just to follow up on that, what do you think the likes of us politicians—and anyone from the media and the press, and the people who report on these things—can do to recognise more not just that it is a hard job, but that it is actually a really important and rewarding job? What should we do to be more positive, to encourage people to stay and to thank people who do that hard work?

We will move on to talk about collaboration in the third and private sectors. Paul O’Kane has questions on that.

No one else has asked to come in, so I will go back to Paul O’Kane. If anyone wants to come in, please use the chat box to let me know.

Thank you very much. Tess White has questions about strategic planning.

Will we go to Judith on that?

I will bring in Sandesh Gulhane, who is joining us remotely.

No one has asked to come in, but does anyone want to do that? Maybe we can go to Stephen Brown.

We have gone over time, but I am conscious of the fact that Allen Stevenson and Vicky Irons would like to come in. I ask them to be brief, please. It has been a very busy morning, and we still have quite a lot on our agenda in private session.

I will ask members for their views on whether we consent but, regardless of that, and given the pressing nature of what we have in front of us, I suggest that the committee writes a letter to the UK Government department that has issued the instrument. Maybe part of the reason is the death of the Queen, but I believe that the timescale was down to the wire even before that. The point has to be made that we exist for a reason, and that is to scrutinise what we are agreeing to. If we do not have time to do that, it is just a tick-box exercise, and I do not think that we should be in that position. We will write to the Scottish Government about our decision today and also make that point to it.

I will go back to Sandesh Gulhane, and then bring in Stephanie Callaghan.