Seòmar agus comataidhean

I want to respond to Ross Greer’s comments. Amendments 18 and 19 seek only that reference cases be referred to the Lord Advocate; they do not seek to impact on her decisions in that regard.

I seek to withdraw amendment 3.

Amendment 3, by agreement, withdrawn.

Amendment 172 moved—[Pam Duncan-Glancy].

I will just make sure that I have got this correct in my mind. For every policy variance that the Scottish Government puts forward and every change that it wants to adopt, there needs to be cognisance of the insecurities that follow on from that as far as the budget process is concerned and we need to be aware that there will be an additional effect based on the Government’s policy decisions.

Thanks very much. That is very helpful and informative.

The initial question was about the uprating policy putting pressure on the Scottish Government’s budget choices, and we have been very focused on inflation, which I understand. Is inflation the biggest concern when it comes to those pressures or is it the variance of the Scottish Government’s policy decisions?

That is excellent. Thank you very much indeed.

Yes, I would. Bob Doris keeps doing that to me. This question follows on from the one that he asked.

I am very interested in forecast error. My question touches on what you have said. I appreciate the information that you have provided. According to the information that you have given us, we are looking at a forecast error of 3 per cent, or £127 million. As has been mentioned, as time goes on and the bill increases, a 3 per cent variance becomes a lot of money. Can we continue to expect to have a 3 per cent forecasting error? Moving forward, we really need to have a plus or minus figure in our thought processes as we look at budget forecasting.

I apologise for this, cabinet secretary, but I want to go back to Mr Mason’s question about how clients will be informed. According to your initial answer, everybody signs up to the initial agreement that there will be information sharing, but the fact is that many people who are in circumstances of stress will agree to a lot of things without fully understanding what they actually mean. In cases in which there can be no explicit consent because of the circumstances that have already been highlighted, how will the individual know that all this is happening, in effect, in the background?

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for coming along.

I want to talk about timing, which Mark Griffin has already alluded to reasonably succinctly in his opening statement. As you are aware, the Scottish Government wrote to the committee on 6 November and said that it will shortly consult on EIA, but we are still some years away from its delivery. The cabinet secretary could not give a lead-in time from consultation to benefit introduction, and she did not give a timescale. You have highlighted that time is running out.

On the timescale, can you elaborate a little more on why the bill should be supported in the absence of any policy on EIA or commitment to a firm timetable for its introduction and/or reform? Why not wait for the consultation?

Again, please excuse my ignorance on this, but we could have a situation in which the first thing that the client knows is when somebody from social work turns up at the door.

Good morning, cabinet secretary. What training and guidance are in place to ensure that data sharing is proportionate? You alluded to this in your opening statement, but can you give us a more detailed idea of what you think is proportionate?

Thank you. I appreciate that.