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What the witnesses are hearing are lessons that we learned from Audit Scotland about focusing very much on what happens to the money and what the outcomes are.

Transparency is key.

And when the forthcoming regulations come before us, we will be able to ask how those powers will be initiated.

I see that no member wants to speak, but I am duty bound to ask the Deputy First Minister whether he would like to wind up.

Welcome back. Our next item of business is evidence taking on the overall impact of Covid-19 on children and young people. I welcome Jennifer King, education manager in Dundee City Council’s children and families service and chair of additional support needs/children and young people services for the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland; Laura Caven, chief officer in the children and young people team at the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities; Mike Corbett, national official for Scotland at NASUWT; and Joan Tranent, chief social worker at Midlothian Council and deputy chair of the children and families standing committee of Social Work Scotland.

The witnesses are all joining us virtually. A hybrid meeting is always full of interesting challenges. Please feel free to indicate that you wish to speak. As you are not in the room, we will not always be able to see that you want to speak, so feel free to speak up. I thank you all for your time today.

We move to questions, the first of which comes from the deputy convener, Kaukab Stewart.

Why are you not saying that those people on temporary contracts should be put on permanent contracts now? I think that that is exactly what the Scottish Government expects local authorities to do. As a union, surely the NASUWT should be pushing that.

It does not sound as though the number is much above five.

These are fundamental issues, and we want to get to the truth of the matter for the sake of Scotland’s children and young people.

On that note, I will turn to Joan Tranent. Social Work Scotland’s submission to the committee contained some interesting information about child protection that I would like you to address.

I will quote from the submission, so that you know what I am referring to. On the third page, you mention:

“An increase in demand such as child protection referrals and IRDs”—

or initial referral discussions—

“but this is not translated in to an increase in child protection registration and related activity. Referrals were received from police, rather than the previous main referrer of education”.

I am concerned about that and about the following comment, that the

“Overall number of children becoming looked after children reduced”.

I have one question for you: why did that happen during the pandemic, and what is happening now? I lied—it was two questions.

Did you say four?

It did not sound very much like that to me. It sounded very weak.

I ask Laura Caven the same question. What is COSLA’s position on that? Are the teachers on temporary contracts getting permanent contracts?