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Yes—on you go, Marie.

We move to Miles Briggs.

Agenda item 2 is kinship care. I welcome to the meeting our first panel, who are joining us remotely. Kirsty Doull is permanence lead with CELCIS, Laura Caven is with the children and young people team of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, Vivien Thomson is from Social Work Scotland and Linda Richards is from Perth and Kinross Council.

There are a few housekeeping points to mention before we start. Please allow our broadcasting colleagues a few seconds to turn your microphones on before you start to speak. All witnesses can indicate with an R in the dialogue box in BlueJeans, or simply with a show of their hand, that they wish to come in on a question. Everyone should check that they can see the dialogue box on the right-hand side of their screen.

I ask everybody to be mindful of the time, because we have a lot to get through. Please do not feel that you have to answer every question. If you have nothing new to add to what other people have said, that is okay. You are welcome to follow up in writing with any points that you feel have not been covered or that you might have missed, or if you want, after the meeting, to supply further information on any point that has been raised.

I ask for short and succinct questions and answers, please, and I invite all members to direct their questions to specific witnesses.

Thank you.

Alison Gillies, you wanted to comment on that point. I ask you to be brief. If you have any further points, you can make them in writing.

I believe that Vivien Thomson wants to come in before you move on.

Thank you. That leads me to my next question, which is on the cost of the school day. We have discussed the huge challenges for those on low incomes and the barriers that our young people face in relation to the costs of the school day. In its written submission, CPAG welcomes the Scottish Government’s commitment to policies on

“digital inclusion, curriculum cost removal”

and

“trips and activities”.

The local examples that were provided in the submission were also very helpful.

However, with the cost of living soaring, I feel that the barriers will only be strengthened. Will Sara Spencer expand on the areas relating to the cost of the school day that she believes should be a priority? We talked a bit about stigma earlier, but that was more about stigma for parents. I am interested in policies being carried out in a way that focuses on reducing stigma for children, too. Could you elaborate on that?

I thank everyone on the panel for their comments, which have been very helpful.

I want to ask about wraparound care, which Stephanie Callaghan touched on, and the work that is done with different organisations. We know that poverty—lack of money—is at the heart of the poverty-related attainment gap. Families’ benefits have been cut this year, and the cost of living is rising; food and fuel prices are going through the roof. I am worried about the impact that that will have on children.

Children cannot thrive in a difficult home environment. Although we say that the issue is poverty, other issues can stem from poverty. The following problems are not restricted to families on low incomes, but living in poverty can lead to drug and alcohol abuse, mental health issues, domestic abuse and other problems at home. Children cannot concentrate when all of that is going on. Families need support.

Jim Wallace touched on this matter, but I would like witnesses to expand on it by telling us how they ensure that the work of their organisation is aligned with other services, such as social work and health. Do witnesses think that that could go further, into debt agencies and women’s or addiction services?

That is really helpful. The idea of stigma is important. You mention free school meals. The way that things are done in practice in schools matters. I remember that, when I was at school, you got a free school meal by standing in a separate queue and getting a dinner ticket, and you were in a small group of people who got one. It is nice to know that things like that have been phased out. It is important that we continue to work with young people, as you have said, to discuss how we can ensure that stigma is reduced.

I am conscious of the time. I can leave it there if other panel members want to come in.

Because I have not sat on the committee previously, I declare that I am still a councillor on Renfrewshire Council.

It is important that organisations do not work separately with no overall consideration of all the issues that a family or child face at home.

I am not sure whether any of the other witnesses want to speak on that, but I would like Sara Spencer to respond.