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Does having one commissioner and not another risk a hierarchy of rights?

That is really clear.

I will ask quite a stark question. Why should we have a children’s commissioner and not an older people’s commissioner?

Do you have any comments, Ian Bruce?

Would the three people who have answered already say that there is a distinction between your roles and the roles of the commissioners we will see on the next panel and who are being proposed? Liz Smith describes them as advocacy commissioners. Would you draw a distinction between your technical work versus that of some of those other commissioners?

You would be able to evidence, perhaps, that those four different recommendations have not been taken up by Police Scotland.

Do you see a point at which the Parliament, or even you, might observe the field and say, “My work here is done”?

I will pose a final question to each of you. Logically, could your work be done by the Parliament? Could your work, Dr Plastow, be done by the Parliament?

I want to start on the advocacy issue and I will come to Nicola Killean first. You mentioned that tackling big systemic issues takes many years. We have had a children’s commissioner for 21 years in Scotland. Where do you think that the children’s commissioner’s office has improved outcomes for children?

I am sorry to interrupt. I absolutely agree with what you have said about appointments, but you are making a case for having stronger enforcement functions that would allow you to instruct public bodies or public services on what to do. How would that relate to the democratic function of an elected Parliament? Who should be accountable for the direction of public services?

I sound as though I am being quite harsh on you all, but I think that these are political questions and that you would be well within your rights to say, “This is your job.” My concern is that we are ceding part of our job to you and that you are perhaps requesting to have more of those functions.

There is a question about what kind of country we want to live in. We have elections, parties put forward manifestos and politicians are then elected to make such decisions. Is it not the case that we would be adding an extra layer beyond that? For instance, we would be asking you to make some of those decisions if we gave you the extra powers that Jan Savage described.

Ms MacMillan, we are trying to draw out broader lessons from your report at the outset of our inquiry. The discussion has been useful so far. It is clear that you are saying that there is a lack of coherence across the landscape—that comes through quite strongly in your report. Is that a fair comment?