Chamber and committees

This is quite a challenging thing for me to say, because I understand from listening to you both that you are delivering a service with care and expertise. However, it is quite shocking for me to hear that children have not been getting the best care and that there has been no curiosity about neurodivergent young women. I am not talking about individuals; I am talking about the system. It is difficult.

I really appreciate the candour of your answers. You are articulating something about the wider system, but I want to be really clear that we must never again get to a situation in which we are giving children and young people drugs that can have life-changing impacts without knowing the risks and benefits of doing so.

That is helpful to know. In your response to David Torrance’s first question, you spoke about the need for robust assessment and getting a holistic picture of the child or young person. What will be different for children and young people? I was struck by Tracey Gillies’ remark that people who have been waiting for a long time become very focused on medicine or an operation rather than on the whole picture. We understand that gender distress in young people is exacerbated for many different reasons, and you mentioned that you are becoming more aware about neurodivergent children and young people.

I am sorry—there is a lot in that. I am kind of blurting it all out at you, but I am keen to hear more about those issues.

With that in mind, are there additional areas of electoral law that the Scottish Government will likely seek to change through secondary legislation prior to the next Scottish Parliament election?

Thank you.

Good morning, minister. I want to ask about secondary legislation, and then I have a question about electoral pilots.

What update can the Government provide to the committee on the further consultation that has taken place with key stakeholders on the new areas that are being considered for amendment?

Can you say something about how the Scottish Government decides what to take forward through primary legislation and what to take forward through secondary legislation?

Thank you. That is helpful.

On potential electoral pilots, we should all be very concerned about participation and ensuring that as many people as possible take part in elections. Is there scope in the electoral pilots for automatic voter registration, for example? Does the Government have a position on that?

In other committee work, on scrutiny of self-directed support, we have heard evidence that sufficient time and resource are not given to enable policy and legislation to embed before more structural change is introduced. It does not take much imagination to understand how workers on the front line who are delivering services feel when more changes come along. Do panel members have a view on whether integration in its current format has been given enough time to bed in?

Do any other panel members want to come in?