Chamber and committees

I would be grateful if you would come back to us.

I think that you said that all new developments will be open to anyone with a disability. Clearly, that cannot be the case, because if it were, every new block of flats would have to have a lift in it. If someone who has a wheelchair buys a flat on the top floor, they can only access that through a lift.

When you come back to us, can you tell us whether you are looking to set a target of a specific number of houses that will be accessible to those with disabilities? Given that 25 per cent of new housing developments has to be affordable housing, are you having conversations with developers about the percentage of houses that have to be built that are fully accessible to disabled people, or are you leaving it to the developers to make that decision?

Good morning, cabinet secretary, and happy new year. I have two or three questions on the adult disciplinary payment. First, there seems to be a funding gap of around £750 million that will build up in the social security budget over this session of Parliament. What future proofing work are you doing, and how do you think the Scottish Government will make repayments?

In light of that helpful answer, we can presume that the Scottish Government will pay the extra £10 in December this year.

My final question on this section is about those who are on DLA and who have not been moved across to PIP. Evidence that we took from a number of groups showed that, because of different criteria, there may be people on DLA who move across to PIP and who will lose their benefit, or part of it. Will the Scottish Government mitigate that in any way? What work is the Scottish Government doing to make those who are in that situation aware that there may be a change in the amount of money that they will receive because of the new adult disability payment?

If I can seek a bit of clarification, is multiyear funding going to happen as of now, or are you still discussing it as a Government to decide whether it will happen?

Thank you for your written submission. I will ask two questions on the adult disability payment—one that relates to the short term and one that relates to the longer term.

I have asked my first question before, but I am still not sure that I fully understand the answer. I apologise for my ignorance. You have forecast an increase for the budget for the adult disability payment in the next couple of years because you think that uptake will be higher. How do you work out that uptake will be higher? It appears from the new regulations for the payment that the way that the benefit will be assessed is almost identical to the way that it is assessed at the moment. Have you looked at that afresh in light of the new regulations? Does it make any difference?

Thank you for your answers, Sara. I have three questions.

The first picks up on the point that was just made. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy seemed to indicate that we would be moving to three-year funding for the third sector. Have you had any indication that conversations have taken place on that? Have you received any communication from the Scottish Government? I am wondering whether the discussion has got down to the level of local groups yet.

What is the biggest hurdle that stops more people applying for carers allowance? Is it the number of hours for which they have to care for somebody?

If Parliament was minded to alter the regulations that we have at the moment, how quickly could you do that work?

Finally, if you could change the budget in one way to make it better, what would you do? How would you move money around to make the biggest difference for the people you work with?

No, convener. I think that everything has now been covered by other members.