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We were told that there would be a body of research. Claire, you represent CELCIS, which I believe is to be commissioned to carry out that research. What form will it take?

Absolutely. I am always happy to talk about Dundee, as my colleagues will confirm.

Dundee City Council has put family support workers into schools. That is not an issue of care—it is not about children being taken into care. Will that practice be put at risk if the whole process is housed in a national organisation that separates itself out from local authorities? Perhaps we can hear from Claire Burns and then Jackie Irvine on that.

That is very useful. Fraser, will you reflect on some of Iain Nisbet’s comments? I can understand how the issues pertain to care and a national care service, but what about the health and wellbeing of a child who is not at risk? Do you see the challenge around protecting those rights in a national care service?

I should declare an interest, convener, as a close family member is a practising social worker.

Pensions would not typically be included under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, but the fact is that we are looking at thousands of social workers moving to a new body. Has the Government provided any clarity on the status of social work pensions? That question is for Tony Buchanan.

What about the status of buildings, including the rentals for the places where all those people work? What would the relationship be in that respect with regard to councils?

But you are not being asked to address directly the question whether children’s services should be integrated.

CELCIS’s speciality is looked-after children. You have produced some fantastic work in that area, and I give credit to your staff for that. However, my concern in relation to that specialism is whether we can capture the breadth of children’s services that we have touched on in our questions. Is the fact that you have been commissioned to do this research a pointer to a bit of an inherent bias towards the care end of the spectrum rather than the breadth of children’s services?

And will you draw in expertise around education, mental health and other areas?

We are looking at a national care service, which is potentially most directly related to articles 9 and 16 of the UNCRC, which are about the protection of family life in relation to decisions that the state might make. I have a question about the breadth of the transfer of powers and your reflections on that.

We could say that social work and children’s services protect the rights in articles 26 to 29 and 32, on access to education, health and wellbeing. Given that a wide range of services are being transferred, are you concerned that some of those areas could be lost or neglected through an overbearing focus on care, albeit that it is incredibly important?

You talked about prevention. The idea of prevention in relation to adult care services is analogous, but that would open up the national care service to issues around adult housing. Prevention for children seems to have been pulled into that position, but prevention for adults has not. I understand your “frameworky” comment, but do you have a view on that?