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Are they needed to do the supervision element that Ms Burns spoke about?

It will be on the record in the Official Report.

Should we have started before now? The Promise was launched some time ago, and it has been high on the political agenda. Former First Ministers and others have prioritised it, and yet still you come to us, at the end of 2024, with these challenges. Understandably, none of you has a magic wand to solve things overnight, so are we coming at this too late?

Who does that burden fall on? Is it Government? Is it local authorities? Is it about society encouraging people to take up the role, to study and then to become social workers?

What about the retention element? We are losing too many people; some stay only a few years after going through a lot of training and investment. What more can be done to keep people?

Thank you. I understand that that was a broad opening question, but we will have to keep things a little more concise, in order to get round all members.

Lastly from me, I made a point about the figures that show a big rise since 2019 in the number of senior children’s social workers and a reduction—albeit that it is a little one—in the number of main children’s social workers. Is that balance correct? Are you happy that senior worker numbers are going up and main worker numbers are falling? Alternatively, is there more to the figures than those headlines?

Or those who are struggling to prepare, because they are still waiting to get information.

A lot of members still want to come in. Ross Greer, do you have a brief question?

Can you answer the question on independence before we go to Ms Robertson, or do you want to hear from Ms Robertson first?

I have explained that, yes.