Seòmar agus comataidhean

Thank you, James.

I will pass over to Miles Briggs to commence questions on theme 2.

Thank you for those points. That was really interesting.

I am conscious of the time. We set aside a 30-minute slot, and I want to bring everybody in, so I ask everyone to be as succinct as possible.

If no one can come in on that, I suggest that we get in touch with SPICe to see whether it has that information.

Thanks, Cara. I have spoken to several of my constituents who used to donate to food banks and who are now using them. That is the stark reality of the situation, so thank you for sharing that information.

Thank you, Laura. I really appreciate that.

I wish a very good morning to everyone, and I welcome you to the 11th meeting of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee in 2023. We have received no apologies.

Our first item of business a decision on whether to take items 4 and 5 in private. Do members agree to do so?

Members indicated agreement.

I have been alerted to the fact that there are two members in the room who want to ask questions on this subject. I will quickly bring in Paul O’Kane and then the deputy convener, Gordon MacDonald. I ask you both to be as quick as possible, please.

Thanks for sharing that story of a family living in a remote community. It sounds like they were completely isolated by their lack of awareness of what benefits were available to them.

I will bring in Cara Hilton.

Yes.

I will bring in Laura Millar, who is joining us online, and then I will bring in James Dunbar.