Seòmar agus comataidhean

Thanks for that response.

I will move to my last question. Is the Scottish Government taking any action to assist residents of potentially unsafe homes to access affordable buildings insurance?

Thank you. I appreciate that response. I will hand back to the convener now.

Before I move on to my theme, I have a question for Irene Audain. In your written submission, you highlight the fact that workers have been lost because of the conditionality regime in universal credit. You have touched on that already, but would you like to expand on it?

Thanks, Irene. It is really terrible to hear that information, but thank you for that.

A strong theme in the evidence that the committee received concerned the challenges of accessing childcare for children with additional support needs. A recent survey of parents found that the availability of suitable early learning and childcare for children with additional support needs had improved, but a third of parents said that they still had difficulties in finding suitable childcare. What can be done to improve that provision further, and what are the challenges with regard to delivering further expansion?

Good morning. Why is there no umbrella organisation representing the interests of community councils nationally in Scotland? Has the winding up of the Association of Scottish Community Councils had a negative impact?

Thank you. Would our online witnesses like to come in?

Good morning. I represent the Clydebank and Milngavie constituency.

The committee heard that there is some good practice on preventing and tackling dampness and mould but that that needs to be more widespread and should be shared with private landlords. How can the Scottish Government help to facilitate the sharing of good practice?

Are tenants definitely aware of their rights regarding the housing quality that they are entitled to, and of how to enforce those rights? How can landlords work with their tenants to promote their rights and ensure that complaints systems are clear and easy to use?

At a previous committee session on this topic, Shelter Scotland, Living Rent and Citizens Advice Scotland advised that some landlords are still blaming their tenants for dampness and mould in their homes and saying that the problem was likely caused by lifestyle issues. Do you agree that that attitude still exists among some landlords and, if so, how can such attitudes be changed? I put that question to Helen Shaw first.