Seòmar agus comataidhean

First, I know that you clarified your remark, but I do not think that we rush consultations. We have quite a deliberative and considered process for legislating in the Scottish Parliament. It starts with a fairly extensive and detailed consultation process, whether it is the Government or a member that is taking forward a bill. Indeed, you have a bill proposal, so you will have undertaken a consultation. That proposal develops into a specific legislative proposition and goes before a committee to consider in detail. I certainly do not think that the process is rushed. It does not take a long time; rather, it takes the appropriate amount of time to ensure that it is thorough and that all relevant stakeholders and interested parties can participate and get involved.

On the question of how valuable individuals might feel the process is, I can speak only for the Government and say that we find it very valuable. The three acts that we have discussed are still on the statute book and we still plan to take them forward. The consultation process that was undertaken in advance of those bills being laid before the Parliament and as they went through the parliamentary process was invaluable. No effort was wasted on the part of those who took part in the consultation process.

My answer to the convener’s question still stands in relation to the challenges that we face. We recognise the importance of FGM as an issue. That is why we introduced the 2020 act, why we are still committed to it and why its provisions remain important to us.

I agree with Ms Gosal that FGM is an abhorrent practice. It was already illegal and had been illegal for some time. The purpose of the act was to try to make sure that women and girls would be better protected through the system. The task at hand is to get on with implementation—I would like that to happen as soon as possible.

I am being candid with the committee about the information that I have been provided with, which is that the timescale that I mentioned is the realistic timescale that is being worked towards. There have been interruptions and there are resourcing issues—I am not shying away from that. I have given an indicative timescale of when we hope to fully implement the act. Of course, every sinew will be strained to see whether it can be done sooner than that. However, I do not want to mislead the committee by suggesting something that would be unrealistic given where we are right now in December 2024.

I do not disagree with Ms Gosal’s point that implementation has taken too long. There have been reasons for that delay. The task now is to actually get on with it and make sure that the act is put into effect so that we can ensure that cohorts of the population who might be at risk are better protected.

Nel Whiting might have something to add.

Would it be possible for me to answer your question, Ms White? Would it be possible for you to ask me a question and for me to come back with an answer? Can we operate on that basis?

I am very happy to commit to doing that for the specific act that we are discussing—indeed, for all three acts that we are discussing today.

I disagree. We have set out the reasons why there has been a delay. Nel Whiting has gone into some of that territory. We are happy to expand further on some of the challenges that we have faced but, to be frank, the notion that there has been back-pedalling is nonsensical and insulting.

I will bring Nel in on that but, fundamentally, when it comes to the national health service, NHS Lothian has been mentioned—

On the first element of your question, I have already made the point about the activity that we plan to take forward, when we will make four more sets of regulations in the new year. For example, we will use secondary legislation to put the Care Inspectorate in place as the independent regulator of child contact services. That work is on-going, and I plan to make the SSIs to enable that in 2025.

The second point was on what we might be able to do just now around child welfare reporters. I am not saying that we do not want to fully implement the Children (Scotland) Act 2020, but there might be things that we could do now, short of fully implementing it. We are actively considering that in advance of implementing the new register.

There is a working group on child welfare reporters, which contains a range of stakeholders, and it met for the first time on 20 November. It was chaired by Siobhian Brown as Minister for Victims and Community Safety. The working group has a remit to look back at how changes from the previous working group are working in practice and to look ahead at what is needed for any new register.

In relation to your fundamental point and your question on how any improvements could be made now, I am given to understand that there are concerns around training, so the working group could look into that. In fact, I think that the group is going to consider that at its next meeting.

We are here to talk about the implementation of legislation, and that remains important. However, where there are things that we can do in the immediate here and now, we should seek to do that and we should try to take things forward.

But you are going to.

I will perhaps bring in Simon Stockwell to see whether he can provide any more detail around timescales. Clearly, dialogue will be necessary to ensure that the regulations are fully informed and appropriate and will achieve their specific purpose. From my perspective, that should be done as soon as possible, but with the caveat that the regulations have to be effective.

Simon, do you have any more information on timescales?

Again, as part of our commitment to keeping the committee regularly informed, we will ensure that we take a note of that and make it part of our work.