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That is much appreciated. I recognise that you would not normally write to this committee about that, but I think that it would be valuable, given the increasing overlap with grooming gangs and child protection.

On the broader point, I mentioned yesterday the legal aid challenges and the fact that it is simply not available in large parts of the country because of the lack of solicitors. Does the Government still intend to bring something forward in that regard before the end of the current session of Parliament? I think that there are about 10 sitting weeks left.

As you say, legal aid is a demand-led service. I hope and expect that, as a result of the wider debate that we are now having, more survivors of grooming gangs and child sexual abuse may well come forward, and that will be one of many factors contributing to an increase in demand for legal aid.

I hope that what Siobhian Brown is bringing to the Parliament will provide some kind of interim relief. However, from what you are saying, it sounds as though there is a commitment—if I am overinterpreting, you can correct me—that, depending on the result of the election, you would intend to undertake wholesale or substantive reform of the system in the next session of Parliament. We are talking about a couple of small interim measures that Siobhian Brown will bring forward, but that is all that we should expect before the election.

This question might be for you, or it might be for the Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise. I am keen to understand how the new and on-going processes in relation to grooming gangs, data collection and wider efforts around institutional and organised child sexual abuse will overlap with the Government’s other existing commitments. In particular, I am seeking clarity on the commitment that the Government made in the “Keeping the Promise” implementation plan, which was published in early 2022, to review the legislative framework underpinning the care system. As far as The Promise Scotland is aware, that has not happened. Given the significant overlap here—I am sad to say that care-experienced children are disproportionately the victims and survivors of grooming gangs—will the Government offer an update on that review?

Very often, the core of the issue is that the system has failed those children because it is fragmented. My understanding was that the commitment to undertake that legislative review aimed to deal with that fragmentation and consolidate the legislation so that the system would be more coherent and cohesive.

I appreciate that. I recognise the capacity constraints that are involved in having quite a large, complex and important bill and then having this commitment on top of that, and I understand the sequencing point. Will you confirm that the intention is to take the first steps to begin the review of legislation underpinning the care system as soon as the bill is passed, which, all being well, will be before the end of this parliamentary session?

It would be good to get a handle on the timescale for that. I have picked up a lot of concern from those who are working in and around the child protection system and the wider care system who feel as though work on the bill has dropped off and that nobody is really sure where it is going.

I will press for clarity on that. Will you make a decision before the end of this parliamentary session—that is, before dissolution—on how to take forward the review?

Almost everybody else involved in the process agrees that an independent chair is probably the way forward at this stage. I recognise that you have not been in post for long and that you have had a bill that is unrelated to that question, so I am happy to follow up on that issue at a later point.

I would like to clarify something briefly—I am conscious of the time. Is it your understanding that the Police Scotland review of historical cases is a systematic review, or would survivors have to approach the police individually to ask that their case be reviewed?

That is not a problem—we can write to Police Scotland in the new year.

I am happy to stick with that topic. Minister, you will remember that much of the stage 2 proceedings on the Tertiary Education and Training (Funding and Governance) (Scotland) Bill hinged on matters of legislative competence in relation to fair work, questions on Office for National Statistics classification and so on.

Having had time to consider the points that Pam Duncan-Glancy and I made, can you share anything at this stage about the Scottish Government’s expectations of the college sector in relation to fair work? I entirely understand the difficulties with universities being independent institutions that are largely publicly funded—in some cases, overwhelmingly so. Colleges are public bodies, and many of their staff feel that management in the college sector is not held to the same fair work standards as management everywhere else in the public sector. Will you lay out what exactly the Scottish Government expects of college management when it comes to fair work?

That is very helpful—thanks.

More importantly, I am interested in what we can and should do right now, because your strategic group will undertake a huge amount of work, particularly on data collection, and there is potential for a public inquiry. Other members will ask more specific questions about that but, if it takes place, it will likely take years. Substantial amounts of work have been done in the area already, so what should be done here and now to protect children and secure justice for survivors that is separate to the on-going work of gathering more data and identifying what further steps can take place?