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I want to pick up on the additional £3.2 million for kit that you referred to. Over the past year, firefighters at a number of stations have told me that, basically, they have to put contaminated kit on again. Will that additional resource ensure that firefighters have access to clean kit, which I understand has, historically, not been the case? Is that correct? Is it the case that they will have access to clean kit? Is that in place now?

So you will be able to give us an update on that in due course.

What I am trying to find out is whether we will now have safe systems of work, at least in relation to that aspect, or whether there is more to be done. You now have the resource. The policy is that people should be able to access clean kit immediately if their own kit has been contaminated, but whether you have been able to implement that policy fully is a slightly different issue. Firefighters tell me that they might attend a number of incidents in a week, so their kit might be contaminated a number of times. They might go to another incident with kit that has already been contaminated. As I understand it, they are having to put dirty equipment back on.

Convener, I was not going to ask another question, but I would just point out that industrial injuries are obviously now a devolved matter. Perhaps the committee could get more information on some of the issues that have been raised in that respect.

At what stage of the parliamentary proceedings will you amend the financial memorandum? Will it be before stage 1 or stage 2?

How is the Scottish Government proposing to develop further details on the bill’s provisions, particularly on the ask and act duties, and what are your plans for discussing implementation dates with stakeholders?

Do you have an indication of timescales?

I want to come back on the issue of the implementation of the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021, which is required in order to do many of the things that we have been discussing. I appreciate and fully understand that another minister is involved in that, but it is quite clear that it is a problem. Scottish Women’s Aid raised that with us in its evidence. We had understood from a parliamentary question that was lodged in late 2023 that the provisions in the act would be implemented in early 2024, but a Scottish Parliament information centre update in March said that a revised timetable is being developed with the aim of bringing the provisions into force by the end of 2024 or early 2025. Could the minister look into that? In order to do many of the things that we have been speaking about, we need the provisions in the 2021 act to be in force. Could you take that up?

Would you be happy to write to the committee on that?

Some of the main concerns that we have heard about include resourcing the proposals to ensure successful implementation and the lack of clarity in the financial memorandum, which you have referred to a number of times. The Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers said:

“it does not build confidence and certainty in terms of people’s ability to develop and design services”—[Official Report, Social Justice and Social Security Committee, 13 June 2024; c 16.],

while Shelter said that the financial memorandum was “not credible”. How do you respond to those concerns? Can you also indicate when you will amend the financial memorandum, as I presume you plan to do? Indeed, I know that there has already been a letter about that from the Finance and Public Administration Committee. Are you concerned that implementation will be delayed due to the funding issues? As we know, an issue with many pieces of Scottish Government legislation is that they do not get implemented for a considerable period. Will that be an issue here, too?