Seòmar agus comataidhean

Good morning. There are 25 pages of amendments to the bill. In section 17, in part 4, chapter 2 of the marked-up version of the bill, there are a load of subsections about membership of the board. I want to pick up Keir Greenaway’s point about people who should be represented on the board. One of the subsections refers to an individual being

“appointed on the basis that the Scottish Ministers believe that the individual will make an important contribution to the Board’s work on account of the individual’s being, or having been, a carer within the meaning given”

by the relevant section. Therefore, there is already a proposal for carers to be part of the membership of the board.

I am interested in the fact that this is a framework bill with a co-design process, on which work has started already. Does the membership of the board need to be clarified further? Should the bill be amended to state that the board should include a union representative, for instance?

The language needs to be clarified, to ensure that the individual represents the wider workforce in the care sector.

It has been quite interesting to hear the different opinions so far. I want to pick up on what Frank Reilly said about social workers leaving in droves.

Would having a national social work agency and creating a national social work lead help to address that in terms of looking at leadership, at education and at flattening the hierarchy on the ground to make sure that social workers know who the leadership is? In my experience as a registered nurse in NHS Dumfries and Galloway, some of the nurses did not know who the chief exec was or even who the chief nurse was. Would a national social work agency help to address some of those issues?

I will be brief. I come directly to Stephen Morgan. You said that Feeley made 53 recommendations, 11 of which are directly about the national care service, which is 20 per cent. One of those was to have a minister with social care in their title. We have that now—Maree Todd is the Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport.

Are you saying that we can just get on with doing stuff and that we cannot wait on a bill? We are working towards a bill right now. Should we continue to do what we can now, while we are waiting? The bill is a framework bill, and further legislation will come down the line.

That brings me to my next question. If there was a national social work agency, local authorities, health boards and care boards would have to work together, so they wouldnae be working in silos. Could we do something different to what is proposed? What would the chief social worker do to eliminate silos?

I am thinking about what you said about the variation in pay across Scotland, as well as the variation in education, skills, expected competencies and delivery of services on the ground. Do people know what social workers do? Would the national social work agency, as proposed in the bill, help to establish a standard approach to what social workers do across Scotland? My understanding is that the aim of the agency is to create equivalent terms and conditions, salaries, expectations, skills, competencies and education across Scotland.

This is a framework bill, and you are keen to ensure that further regulation and statutory instruments are good at defining the role of the social work agency and the responsibilities of the chief social worker, so that, as we develop the regulations down the line, everybody is clear on roles and responsibilities.

Just reflecting on advertising and campaigns, I would say from my experience of passing my livestock worrying legislation and other awareness raising in relation to buying a puppy—I have been able to bring puppies into Parliament—that I agree with you on the need for a flexible approach to how we carry out campaigns, such as through the NFU Scotland or Police Scotland in the case of livestock worrying. I think that considering changes to how we use social media and marketing would work in your favour, and I am therefore in agreement with you that we must have a flexible approach to how we raise awareness through the campaigns.

Good morning, and thanks for being here.

Picking up on what Rachel Shucksmith said about the precautionary principle, I note that one of the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee’s recommendations was that the precautionary principle be applied in planning of the siting of fish farms. I assume that that was because there were reasonable grounds for concern about siting a farm where it might cause harm to migrating fish.

Rachel Shucksmith mentioned it, so I will come to her first. Is a precautionary principle approach being applied to planning decisions in relation to siting farms close to migratory routes? If so, how does that work in practice?

You mentioned special areas of conservation. I am thinking about enhancing and conserving biodiversity. What legal duties do local authorities and the Crown Estate have when making decisions about aquaculture consents? How are those embedded in decision making as we move forward for consenting?