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Clearly there is a major problem with the UK Government’s treatment of welfare and other benefits. Do you commit to feeding back to the committee just how far the Scottish Government is prepared to go with mitigation and in ensuring that we in the Scottish Parliament do everything that we can in this respect? As we have heard from other experts in these evidence-taking sessions, the key thing that we in Scotland can do is to change inequalities, and that in itself will help us develop Scotland further and use our budget in the best way.

My question is directed to John Mooney of Unison. I absolutely care about what is happening in the social care sector, and in particular to the workers in that sector. If there was one thing that we could push the Scottish Government to do now, what would you suggest that it be?

That is helpful. Thank you.

It is really important that we are clear with the women—the people who describe themselves as in-betweeners—about what we mean by entering into arrangements. Having spoken to some of the women, I think that any movement towards going for that surgery was quite a trauma to go through, so we need to be clear.

To go back to Jackie Baillie’s point, in the previous evidence session, we heard that we are not clear about when people might have the option of going to Dr Veronikis. It did not seem clear in the previous session when that date might be settled. A small number of women are involved. Can we be clear with them, please? It is very important for those women to be able to move on.

My question is probably also for Dr Jamieson. I am interested in the clinical nurse specialist role. I have read that, in other services that have such a role, it can be quite successful in developing patients’ confidence right through the care pathway. How will the role work, and how early will the women meet a clinical nurse specialist to go through the information?

I have a question about the third option, which has been referred to a couple of times now. I have to say that I am unclear about the timeframes, but are you clear about them? When will we get an answer to that?

Thank you for the information that you have provided so far. Leading on from Paul O’Kane’s question, I am interested in ensuring that information is provided to any women who do not know about the scheme or about how to apply to it. We must ensure that that information is very accessible and that women feel at ease in applying, should they have to do so. Has any work been done on that?

As Sue Webber mentioned, there has been a lot of discussion about the Feeley report, a key aspect of which is how we support the staff. How important is it that we get it right for the staff and make social care a fair work profession? I am particularly interested in some of the aspects that the trade unions are interested in around pay, terms and conditions, and social care being seen as a profession with proper structure in the way that staff are trained and employed. I want some feedback on what we should be looking at in that area.

Yes, that would be excellent, as Henry Simmons mentioned that issue at the start of the meeting.

Thank you, cabinet secretary, for your answers so far on treatment and families. I am very keen for us to explore the links with social inequalities, deprivation and poverty. It is important that we understand the commitment from you and the Government to make use of all the powers that we have to ensure that we tackle childhood poverty and housing issues, and to ensure that people have employment opportunities. What are your thoughts on those issues?