Seòmar agus comataidhean

That concludes the public part of this morning’s meeting. At next week’s meeting we will hear from the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government and the Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth in our final evidence session on our low income and debt inquiry.

I will go back to Emma Roddick and then Jeremy Balfour.

Our next item of business is an evidence session on the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s social security spending forecasts. I welcome our witnesses from the Scottish Fiscal Commission, who are all in the room with us: Dame Susan Rice is the chair of the commission, Professor David Ulph is a commissioner and Claire Murdoch is the head of social security and public funding for the commission. Good morning.

I would like to thank Dame Susan Rice for her leadership of the Scottish Fiscal Commission, as we note that her term of office is coming to an end. It has been a pleasure to work with her. The commission’s forecasts are integral to the committee’s ability to scrutinise the Scottish Government’s spending on social security.

I invite you to make a few opening remarks.

We move on to questions about indicative forecasts. The deputy convener will start us off.

I pass over to Paul McLennan, to be followed by Foysol Choudhury, who is online.

Thank you, that was very helpful scene setting. I will hand over to Emma Roddick for her question and then Pam Duncan-Glancy will ask a final one. We are running a wee bit over time and we have another panel coming in, but it is important that we discuss these questions.

Welcome back. Under agenda item 3, the committee will take evidence on the draft Disability Assistance for Working Age People (Transitional Provisions and Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2022. We are joined, in person, by Ben Macpherson, Minister for Social Security and Local Government, and Kate Thomson-McDermott, who is the head of carer benefits and the case transfer policy unit at the Scottish Government, and, remotely, by Kayleigh Blair, who is a solicitor for the Scottish Government, and Darren Kelly, head of operations, Dundee, at Social Security Scotland.

I invite the minister to make an opening statement.

I call Emma Roddick.

I will go back to Jeremy Balfour.

Agenda item 5 is consideration of a negative instrument. Background information was supplied to the committee in paper 5. Are members of the committee happy to note the contents of that?

Members indicated agreement.