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Thank you.

I understand that. It is basically a phased approach. I saw such an approach a multitude of times in my previous life, and I understand how it works, but I return to the point that we are the finance committee. After you go away today, that is it—unless we ask you to come back with an updated financial memorandum, the matter is away from the committee that has responsibility for ensuring that the costs are understood.

Given that we agree that you are taking a phased approach, how many meetings have you had with the Deputy First Minister to outline the fact that, as we go from year to year, we cannot have any proper sense of what the costs are until we reach a particular point? Does she, in her capacity as finance secretary as well as Deputy First Minister, know that, for the next few years, she will have no idea of the costs of this bill, which we can add to those of the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill and the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill? If I were her, I would be quite nervous about that, because, if I were in charge of controlling the costs, I would want to know, or have a good sense of, what was coming down the track. How many meetings have you had with her?

I absolutely understand that. You are describing an enabling bill—you used the term “framework bill”—and strategic-level costs. I get all of that.

I have a last wee question. How do you know that we will get value for money?

COSLA told the committee that costs for

“family support, secure transport costs, and the additional administration and managerial time ... required to support”—[Official Report, Education, Children and Young People Committee, 25 October 2023; c 18.]

the children’s hearings process were all excluded from the financial memorandum. Can you update us today with estimated costings for those?

I am making the point that they have been excluded from the financial memorandum. Can you give us the estimated figures today, which will be in addition to those that are included in the financial memorandum?

Have you had a chance to develop a risk assessment on the probability of the moneys being available, given the very tight fiscal environment that you outlined?

I am sorry to interrupt, but, in other words, we can anticipate further costings in addition to the 50 per cent update. Minister, given that you correctly highlighted the very challenging fiscal environment that we have, how do you know that the money will be available? What meetings have you had thus far with the finance secretary and the Deputy First Minister?

On that point, what costings are included in the proposal, the letter and the updates to cover salaried chairs and paid volunteers?

Thank you for that clarification.

First, I have to put on the record that I made an error in last week’s evidence session. I stated that there had been a 42 per cent uplift in the financial projection figures. I want to correct the record and note that it was marginally more than a 50 per cent uplift.

I thank the minister for her statement. I note her explainer of the new numbers but, fundamentally, does she consider it acceptable that it is this committee rather than the Finance and Public Administration Committee that now has to scrutinise those numbers?