Seòmar agus comataidhean

As always, we are running over time, and we have a number of questions to get through. I will bring in Pam Duncan-Glancy and then hand over to Jeremy Balfour before we move on to the next section.

It is always helpful when members ask other members’ questions, because it allows us to move swiftly on. I will go back to Jeremy Balfour, who has a question on digital exclusion.

Welcome back. Our next item of business is the final evidence session in our inquiry into low income and debt problems. I welcome back to the meeting Shona Robison, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government, and I welcome Tom Arthur, the Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth. We are also joined by Elaine Moir, who is head of the Scottish Government’s financial wellbeing unit; Robin Haynes, who is head of council tax and alternative local tax policy at the Scottish Government; and Alex Reid, who is head of policy development at the Accountant in Bankruptcy. Everybody is in the room with us today.

I invite the cabinet secretary to make a short opening statement.

That is very helpful.

Good morning. Welcome to the 20th meeting in 2022 of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee. Our first item of business is to decide whether to take items 4 and 5 in private. Do we agree to do that?

Members indicated agreement.

Jeremy Balfour has questions about changes to the legal framework.

That would be helpful. Thank you for that.

I have a question on the arrestment of wages. We heard from a number of people that the amount of money that people were being left with in the bank after the arrestment of wages for debts was not enough for them to address their immediate needs and that no consideration was given to the composition of the household and whether it was a single person or, indeed, somebody with a big family. Is there anything in the Scottish Government’s powers that it could use to mitigate that?

Thank you very much for that. I would appreciate you coming back to us with some information on that, as you said, minister.

My final question relates to the Scottish welfare fund. We know from the evidence that we have taken that it is used extensively. Is there any update on how the review of the fund is progressing?

Thank you very much for that. That was helpful to hear and we would appreciate being kept in the loop with it.

I thank the cabinet secretary, the minister and their officials for coming along.

That concludes the public part of the meeting. We move into private.

Thanks, cabinet secretary. I would like to hear from Kate Forbes now.