Seòmar agus comataidhean

Can you put your hand on your heart, cabinet secretary, and tell us that we will never have a Government that will misuse the legislation?

Why could we not have this discussion and put something on a shelf that we could later pull off the shelf when it was needed and allow Parliament at that moment to pass it? Parliament worked well during the pandemic. Those of us who were not in Parliament then were looking in, and we saw Parliament working well—collegiately and on a basis of collaboration. It worked. If we could now have the advantage of having something on the shelf that we could pull off the shelf when needed, why would the Government object to that? That seems sensible, and it would be in line with the recommendations of the Children and Young People’s Commissioner.

So, you are satisfied. I call Michael Marra.

I say to the cabinet secretary that she was the one who launched into Boris Johnson a few minutes ago. Perhaps we all need to rise to the occasion. That is a comment that can be made of all of us.

I think that Willie Rennie was asking whether there was any other barrier than the technical aspects.

Michael Marra has a quick supplementary question. I hope that it is not about Boris Johnson.

It was a very bad example, and I am afraid that it was very poor judgment on your part to say that.

I thank the minister and her officials for their attendance and suspend the meeting to allow them to leave.

But you cannot underestimate the value of the data that you have referred to in enabling you to accomplish your objectives.

I thank all our witnesses—Paul Little, Matthew Sweeney, David Belsey, Diane Stockton, John Edward and Alastair Sim—for joining us this morning. Your evidence has been valuable to us and will inform our evidence session with the cabinet secretary. Thank you for your time.

We will have a brief suspension to allow for a change of witnesses.