Seòmar agus comataidhean

Our committee has to report by 13 December, so we do not have an awful lot of time. Will there be any projections by then, or will it take longer for you to get the numbers?

I am happy to take that to the next committee meeting, bearing in mind that we must have the report agreed by 13 December.

Even if they did, that would not stop schools or others over a wider local authority area continuing to do some of the other outdoor learning that already exists. Would you accept that point?

However, because the instrument is making something mandatory, my question was whether the Government has any projections of how many people should have gone through the PVG scheme and been registered, but have not done so because it is not a mandatory scheme.

Why would you not have done that before now? What is your reason for not wanting to know what the increased workload would be, or how many people in Scotland should be PVG checked, but are currently not?

Since when have you been doing that on an on-going basis?

Thank you. As no other member wishes to comment, does the committee agree that it does not wish to make any recommendations in relation to the five instruments?

Members indicated agreement.

What are your views and impression of the evidence that the committee has received?

Given that, why do you still need the grace period? I find it quite strange and, frankly, unbelievable that we are four years in before getting to this point. Your Government published its response to the consultation in June 2019, when the need for a mandatory scheme received overwhelming stakeholder support. You knew from the very beginning—once the consultation had been launched and you had looked at those responses—that that element of it had received overwhelming support. Yet, five years on from that consultation, we are just getting around to putting that into the legislation. That seems to be a very long period of time to have elapsed.

But you are making that assumption while not knowing what the numbers are. That is quite a brave assumption to make. Mr Wilks—