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From a practitioner’s perspective, would it be easier to have one port of call for an appeal?

There is always a first time.

I should remind members that I am on the enhanced rate of PIP and that I am a former member of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland.

I notice that, at the moment, 365 of the 1,745 ADP appeals have been decided. Are you concerned that backlogs are already occurring in such a new system? Are you also facing that experience?

Richard, do you have anything else to add to that?

You will be glad to hear that we are coming to the end of our questions. Do you have any comments on any other specific measures in the bill that you have not had a chance to comment on yet?

I thank you both for coming to the committee and for all the work that your organisations do. I know that you help so many people.

Good morning, and thank you for coming. My question is about representation of your clients. My understanding is that someone can tick a box and you can represent them for three months but that, after that, they must go back to Social Security Scotland. Is that causing you any problems? Would it be easier if someone could tick a box to say, for example, that they want to be represented from the start to whenever the final decision is made?

Thank you. That is really helpful. I will open this up slightly wider, as this is a chance for the committee and the Parliament to review the proposed legislation. Is there anything that you would like to see in the bill that is not in it? I appreciate that you have only a few minutes and that you could go on for a long time on that subject.

I suppose that that is the issue that I am trying to work out, Dr Robertson. Personally, I probably fall into income group 5, but if you increase adult disability payment, I will benefit as much as somebody in income group 1. I do not have the answer, but I am trying to work out how we increase the income of groups 1, 2 and 3, maybe, but not necessarily of groups 4 and 5, because those people, although they will have extra costs, can probably meet those costs. I am looking for a way to identify those individuals. Maybe the data is not yet available, and we need to get that, but I am concerned that, if we universally increase incomes, although everyone benefits, it will not benefit enough those who need it more—if that makes sense.

I think that you have probably covered this issue, but I will give you one final opportunity to talk about the client experience. You have caveated your view of the bill with what you just said, but, outwith that, is there anything that you are still concerned about relating to the client experience? Are there things that need to be in the bill, or things that need to come out of it, to make the client experience easier? You have covered a lot of that already, but this is a final sweep up of any other comments that you might want to make.