Seòmar agus comataidhean

That is correct.

I have a few questions for both witnesses in relation to membership and expertise, which we have touched on already. What knowledge and expertise are necessary to advise on social security for industrial disease and injury?

I remind members that the question is purely about their views; it is more for context setting.

Thank you. That is really interesting.

I am conscious of time, so I remind everyone to keep their questions and answers as concise as possible.

Jeremy Balfour, who joins us online, will ask the next questions.

I invite Paul O’Kane to close our question session.

Our next item is consideration of a Scottish statutory instrument, Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Amendment (No 3) Regulations 2023. The instrument is subject to the negative procedure. The purpose of the instrument is to amend certain council tax regulations to make sure that some payments are not regarded as capital or income when calculating entitlements to council tax reduction. The payments concerned are the Grenfell tower payments, the post office compensation payments and the vaccine damage payments.

The instrument also clarifies that the capital of the person liable to pay council tax has no impact on the person’s entitlement to second adult rebate and that Irish citizens who come to Scotland from Ukraine do not require leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom.

As members have no comments on the instrument, does the committee agree that it does not wish to make any further recommendations in relation to the instrument?

Members indicated agreement.

Agenda item 4 is an evidence session on kinship care. It follows on from the committee’s short inquiry into kinship care in 2022.

I welcome to the meeting Natalie Don, Minister for Children, Young People and Keeping the Promise. I also welcome her officials from the Scottish Government: Dawn Abell, unit head for caregivers, and Louisa Brown, family care team leader, improving lives for people with care experience. Thank you for joining us today.

There are a few points to mention about the format of the meeting before we start. Members who are online should please allow our broadcasting colleagues a few seconds to turn their microphones on before they start to speak. I ask everyone to keep questions and answers as concise as possible.

I invite the minister to make a short opening statement.

I will bring in Jeremy Balfour, who joins us online, for a quick supplementary. I will then invite Roz McCall in.

I will now, finally, bring in Jeremy Balfour, who joins us online.

I will quickly come in with a question that relates to the informal setting in kinship care, particularly for children and families who are in temporary arrangements, perhaps because the parent or carer is going through the criminal justice system or addiction services. How much is awareness being raised about, and financial support being given for, informal arrangements?