Seòmar agus comataidhean

Would it be possible for you to write to committee after the summer recess, perhaps, to give us an update on where we are on that?

Do we have a date for when those protocol discussions will be finished? Are we at the start of the process, are we half way through, or are we drawing towards the close of it?

Good morning to you and your officials, minister. What factors influence the Scottish Government’s approach to delegated powers that are conferred on UK ministers in devolved areas?

I am always an optimist, Mr Adam—you know me. Thank you.

SSI 2023/8 is a consequence of rushed legislation going through the Parliament previously. Perhaps it is a lesson that we should not pass emergency legislation unless there is an emergency, and we should have more scrutiny of legislation when it is going through.

If you follow Social Security Scotland on Twitter, you will see that many people are saying that the targets are being very badly missed, and there are long delays. The number of people who are now having to get a reconsideration is growing, so we are not getting it right first time.

Do you think that we need to set realistic targets so that the public have a genuine understanding of what they can expect from Social Security Scotland? I think that, at present, there is a perception that, in many cases, the agency is failing to make a decision on time and failing to get it right.

Good morning, cabinet secretary and officials.

As you will know, we have had quite a lot of discussions about the Scottish welfare fund over the years with regard to how it is delivered by local authorities. Post-pandemic, as we come out of Covid, has there been any thinking from the Scottish Government about how we deliver that benefit and whether the way that it is currently delivered, through local authorities, is the best way to ensure that it is targeted at the greatest possible number of people? Is there any review of how we deliver that payment?

My final question is about the money that is given to local authorities to pass on to third sector organisations in their areas. I appreciate that, ultimately, it is up to local authorities to do that, but do you recognise that their budget has gone down in real terms? From what we see across Scotland, a number of charities will struggle to get any funding from local authorities this year, and they might have to close because of that cut to the budget.

Thank you.

Just before Christmas, the committee took evidence from David Wallace of Social Security Scotland. One of the issues that came up was the processing time. The charter contains a 10-day processing time measure, which he said would be “incredibly challenging” to meet. It was clear that he felt that, moving forward, that would not be met consistently. This will feed into my final question in a moment. Are you going to look at that timescale? There is presumably no point in having a timescale that nobody is ever going to hit.