Seòmar agus comataidhean

Good morning. I will ask a few short questions; first, about legal competence. Can the minister confirm whether the legislation is compliant with article 1 of the European convention of human rights?

Thank you, convener. Further to Elena Whitham’s line of questioning, my question relates to the 26,000 households that are in the homelessness system. When is the proposed housing bill likely to be introduced, and what impact will the homelessness situation have on it? Will it include prevention duties? As we heard from the previous panel, homelessness services are being pushed to breaking point, and any unintended consequences of the legislation will only add further pressure. Given the record number of children in temporary accommodation, that would be unacceptable. Can the minister give an assurance as to when the housing bill will be introduced and what it will include that is not covered by the emergency legislation?

That would be helpful. It would also be helpful if you could update the committee on the timescale for the work.

What has changed with what the Government has lodged in the bill?

Thank you—that is helpful. Finally, I have a question that I put to the earlier panel. Looking internationally, at countries around the world where rent freezes or rent caps have been put in place, the unintended consequences, which the minister has said that he is aware of, are quite severe. They range from fewer private lets, a slump in building and construction of affordable homes, increased rents when properties come to market and more homelessness—in Ireland, there was a 30 per increase in homelessness. Is the minister at all concerned about what the rent freeze could do to the housing sector in Scotland, which is already in a very vulnerable position?

Good morning to you and your officials, Mr Swinney. Thank you for joining us.

I will carry further the line of questioning that Pam Duncan-Glancy started. Is cutting the EMA budget consistent with trying to improve uptake among those who move on from the Scottish child payment?

Thank you for that. It would be helpful if you could provide that information to the committee as well, so that we can see where things sit, because, for example, some of our work involves trying to encourage uptake.

I have a final question in this section. A lot of people are seeking clarity over how the change will trickle down to other services. Where are protections expected by ministers—for example, in schemes that support young carers—and what work is being undertaken on that?

In the two minutes that we have left, we probably cannot have a debate about the Barnett formula or budget negotiations between parties, so I want to ask about Social Security Scotland and the management of budgeting. Around £301 million of its budget is operational expenditure. What discussions is the Government having about projected future spend on running the organisation?

Thank you for that. I know that we have limited time, so, before I bring in Danny Boyle, my second question is about what engagement you have had with the Government in discussing those priorities. We, in the committee, have heard loud and clear your ask around people who have no recourse to public funds, but what sort of engagement have you had with the Government on that?

If Danny Boyle does not want to come in on that, I am happy to hand back to you, convener.