Seòmar agus comataidhean

I now invite Bob Doris in.

Before I bring in Roz McCall, I invite Kevin Stewart to ask a question.

Thank you. That concludes our questions.

I thank the four members of our panel for sharing their views with the committee—I have found the evidence very helpful indeed. We will hold a further evidence session in October.

That concludes our public business for today.

I remind everyone to make their questions and answers as concise as possible.

I think that Judith Turbyne would like to come in.

Before I bring Katy Clark in, I will touch on what Euan Leitch said about pensions. In addition to work on the real living wage, has any work been undertaken with the Living Wage Foundation on introducing a real living pension and real living hours? Has that posed any challenges?

Please be as concise as possible.

Good morning, and welcome to the 23rd meeting in 2024 of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee. We have received no apologies.

Our first item of business in public is a decision on taking in private today and at future meetings consideration of the committee’s work programme. Do members agree to take that business in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Our next item is an evidence session as part of our annual pre-budget scrutiny. This year, our focus is on how the Scottish Government’s approach to fair and efficient funding can support the on-going effectiveness of the third sector.

I welcome our first panel of witnesses, who join us online. We have Ran Majumder, who is a trustee of Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations Council, and Lynn Tulloch, who is the executive officer and company secretary for Voluntary Action Shetland. Thank you for accepting our invitation.

Before we move to questions, I have a few points to mention about the format of the meeting. Please wait until I or the member asking the question says your name before speaking, and please allow our broadcasting colleagues a few seconds to turn your microphone on before you start to speak. You can indicate with an R in the chat box on Zoom if you wish to come in on a question. I ask everyone to keep questions and answers as concise as possible.

Our first line of questioning is from Jeremy Balfour.

Good morning, and a warm welcome to the 22nd meeting in 2024 of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee. We have received apologies from Katy Clark.

Our first item of business is a decision on taking agenda item 5 in private. Do we agree to take that item in private?

Members indicated agreement.