Seòmar agus comataidhean

I certainly hear that point in regard to rural poverty in my area. Sandesh Gulhane has questions about financial sustainability.

Who would you like to direct that question to?

David Bell or David Walsh?

Stephanie Callaghan has some questions on the integration of health and social care.

Our third agenda item is a round-table session with stakeholders on health and social care finance. The discussion is intended to inform the committee’s future work programme discussions and its approach to pre-budget scrutiny.

I apologise for keeping our panellists waiting; they have been very patient.

I welcome Leigh Johnston, who is a senior manager at Audit Scotland; Professor David Bell, who is a professor of economics at the University of Stirling and who remains with us from the previous panel; Siva Anandaciva, who is chief analyst at the King's Fund; and David Walsh, who is public health programme manager at the Glasgow Centre for Population Health. I thank all of them for joining us to help us with our work programme, and for waiting.

I would like all of you to tell us whether there is greater scope in the landscape to prioritise preventative spend. We are dealing with the aftermath of a pandemic and setting up a national care service but, time and again, we hear that we do not prioritise preventative spend enough. As we heard from the previous panel, preventative spend actually saves money for the future and has better outcomes. However, because of the pandemic, we are in a bit of a crisis moment, and it is difficult to square the circle when you have to deal with immediate concerns.

I will go round all the witnesses to hear their views, starting with Leigh Johnston.

I will bring in Nick Watson.

I would like to open this up to other panellists. If any of you wish to come in on any of these issues, just put an R in the chat box function in BlueJeans.

The catch-all opening question that I would like to ask all of you is this: what do you see as being the most pressing issues for social care that the committee should consider, and which perhaps need to be tackled through the reality of a national care service?

All those contributions have been very useful and will allow us to focus on and dig into some of the areas that you have highlighted.

It will have to be.

The second item is a round-table session with stakeholders in social care, It is intended that it will inform the committee’s future work programme discussions. Our witnesses join us online.

I welcome Derek Feeley, who is the chair of the independent review of adult social care; Professor David Bell, who is a professor of economics at the University of Stirling and co-principal investigator—CO-PI—at Healthy Ageing in Scotland; Fiona Collie, who is the policy and public affairs manager at Carers Scotland; Henry Simmons, who is the chief executive of Alzheimer Scotland and co-chair of the Fair Work Convention’s social care inquiry; Judith Proctor, who is the chief officer of Edinburgh integration joint board and chair of the chief officer group at Health and Social Care Scotland; and Professor Nick Watson, who is director of the centre for disability research at the University of Glasgow. I welcome you all.

I will ask the first question of Derek Feeley, on the independent review of adult social care, which—obviously—focused on adult social care. Should there be a similar review of children’s social care and of the transition period not only from children’s to adults’ services but, at the other end, from adults’ services to older persons’ services? Do you have thoughts on that?