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I appreciate the answer, minister. I know that I put you on the spot a little bit there, and I am sure that you will have an update for me when I return to the issue at our next meeting.

Good morning. The session has been very interesting so far. Thank you for that.

Earlier on, there were comments about stigma and the issues that it is causing, especially when it comes to people moving forward and seeking the support that is already there. Development of a national stigma action plan was one recommendation, and a rapid implementation of that plan was requested. The two important words for me there are “rapid” and “action”.

I am interested, especially in light of the earlier submissions, in how that is going. I am interested in your views on the progress on the action plan so far. How effective has the action been? Is it working? What more has to be done? Would you say that what is being done is rapid?

I will put Kirsten Horsburgh on the spot first, if that is okay.

That is brilliant. Thank you. I like a short, succinct answer, especially when I ask four questions in a oner.

Yes, I have another question on stigma. I know that this was prior to your being in post, minister, but, during the evidence that the committee took at the previous joint evidence session, the then minister said:

“I anticipate that, by the time we go into the spring, we will have a lot more information about what the stigma action plan is going to be.”—[Official Report, Criminal Justice Committee, Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, and Social Justice and Social Security Committee (Joint Meeting), 2 November 2023; c6.]

Of course, recommendation 10 of the task force was to produce a stigma action plan and to rapidly put that into force. The earlier panel of witnesses gave evidence that there is a bit of a disconnect and unclear communication, that the process is certainly not rapid and that stigma is still a strong factor in preventing people from moving forward to get the support that is available and that they need.

Therefore, can you update us on where the action plan on stigma is moving and how quickly it will be in place? Will you put some meat on the bones rather than saying that it is out for consultation? Can we have a little bit more information, please?

There is adequate scaling up.

Ms Devlin, do you want to comment?

Thank you for that. There is sometimes an issue in that, when everything is performing well, the things that are not performing quite as well—even though they are still within deadlines—stand out like a sore thumb. That might be the situation. However, you are saying that there is a separate process, that everything is being done to ensure that the standards are being met and that you are comfortable that that will be the case.

I was going to ask about timing, but you have just answered that question.

Good morning, panel. Thank you very much for coming along this morning.

We have heard a reasonable amount of evidence that raises concerns about timings, especially when it comes to the redetermination of ADP and ADP appeals. I highlight that Social Security Scotland has been working to bring down processing times for initial decisions—well done; that is fantastic—but what impact has that had on times that are taken to complete redeterminations? Ms Devlin, would you mind giving me that detailed information?

What additional resources are the tribunals service and Social Security Scotland putting in place to manage the expected numbers of ADP appeals? I will start with Ms Black and then go to Mr Barraclough and finally to Ms Devlin—if you would not mind commenting from the social security side.