Seòmar agus comataidhean

That is great.

I thank you and your officials for your generosity with your time and for your evidence, on this item and the earlier item.

Our next item of business is consideration of five instruments that are subject to the negative procedure. Are members content to consider the instruments together?

Members indicated agreement.

Minister, there are some questions on the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Information for Listing and Vetting) (Scotland) Regulations 2024. In its report following its meeting on 19 November, the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee raised some concerns about the regulations. It queried the term “details” and whether that was sufficiently clear to identify what information must be passed to ministers under paragraph 6 of the schedule to the regulations. Will you outline the Government’s response to that concern?

In response to Mr Mason, when you spoke about the undoubtedly positive examples of outdoor nurseries and getting children out of the classroom for half a day or a day and compared that approach with residentials, you were not really comparing like with like. Do you accept that the evidence that we have received shows that there is a significant uplift in the benefit for students with regard to trips of up to four nights and five days?

If the Government is neutral, surely the answer should be yes?

But the committee has to determine whether to take the bill to stage 2, and it cannot go to stage 2 without a financial resolution.

Sorry, minister, but my question was about that not being articulated to members during the passage of the bill. Members were presumably told that similar information to what was already required would be prescribed. What changed during that period? Did the Government receive information that that was insufficient? I am just wondering why that change has been made, as highlighted by the DPLR Committee in its report.

Just for clarity, when you say barred, have those people gone through the scheme and been found to be unsuitable?

You said that there are pros and cons to being signed up to the EVOLVEvisits system. Almost half of Scottish local authorities and all Welsh local authorities have signed up to it, so what are the cons of doing so?

Thank you, minister. Have you followed the committee’s evidence sessions?