Chamber and committees

Good morning. I am keen to understand some of the issues around the complexities and concerns that have been raised with us by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, Social Work Scotland and others. Social Work Scotland described the amendments as “potentially impossible” to navigate in this landscape. There have been calls from front-line workers, who will have to interpret and work through the legislation, for sector-specific guidance. First, what work is being done on guidance in general, as outlined in the bill? Secondly, is the cabinet secretary open to the development of sector-specific guidance for practitioners?

I apologise to you, convener, and to colleagues for having to come late to the meeting. I am interested in the MAT standards, which have been touched on in other questions. I think that it is fair to say that Public Health Scotland’s recent benchmarking report found progress to be patchy, and challenges were identified in that it is a bit of a postcode lottery when it comes to what is happening in different parts of the country. Will the minister speak to progress on the MAT standards and to why she thinks that that outcome is patchy at the moment?

I recognise a lot of what you have said about the progress made on standards 1 to 5 and the challenges with standards 6 to 10. Is there a feeling that standards 1 to 5 were slightly more straightforward because they are about changing culture, attitudes and approaches, but that 6 to 10 will be more challenging because they involve implementation and delivery? I noticed that you mentioned timescales. Are you committed to 2025 as the point by which all 10 standards should be implemented?

On that regional approach, the skills shortage that is highlighted in the Withers report and by others is particularly acute in my region. Regional employment has grown by only 0.6 per cent over the past decade, compared with a nationwide average of 4 per cent. Furthermore, according to figures from Skills Development Scotland, productivity is well below the national average. Indeed, we have had proper challenges in West Scotland, with large employers leaving the region. Just in the past few weeks, we have heard about uncertainty over jobs at Rolls-Royce in Renfrewshire.

What is the cabinet secretary doing across Government to tackle the shortages in the skills base, to ensure that we retain businesses that are badly in need of skills?

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its long-term labour market strategy, what steps it is taking to address any skills shortages affecting the economy. (S6O-02655)

I want to get a sense of what might be a way forward. Dr Tickell, at the time of the outcome of the Supreme Court case, you commented on the opportunity that the ruling might present to look at Scottish acts in terms of some of the things that we are talking about. I appreciate what you said in your previous answer about the complications surrounding all this, but do you have a view of what would be the most appropriate way forward?

I would like to hear COSLA’s position, as it differs slightly from what we heard earlier this morning.

Good morning, and thank you for providing a helpful overview. I am going to ask questions about legal complexities, and about some of the views that have been shared by other organisations that we will hear from this morning.

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and Social Work Scotland have both indicated that the legal complexities that will be created following the amendments will be challenging. Indeed, Social Work Scotland told us that it viewed it as a “potentially impossible legislative landscape” to navigate. We have heard quite clearly from all of you in evidence that the approach that is being taken is the only option. What do you think that the impact will be on duty bearers under the bill? How can we help them to navigate and address those complexities?

In the previous answer from Dr Tickell, we started to touch on the audits and the difficult debate that exists in that space. Earlier, a number of witnesses, including the children’s commissioner, spoke about the approach that they would like to see, not least looking together at the sort of audit approach that they would like. Obviously, COSLA had a different view, to some extent. Dr Tickell, will you comment on the principle of audits and on what, in your view, might happen in that space? Then I will come to Councillor Buchanan on the COSLA point.

That was a helpful contribution in allowing us to understand, as Juliet Harris put it, the carrot-and-stick approach, and giving us an overarching sense that people should be doing this anyway.

However, concerns have been raised by COSLA, Police Scotland and others about the potential confusion between what is statutory and what is not statutory. In a time of ever-diminishing resources, with the challenge that that presents for public sector bodies in particular, how do we ensure that we address the points that Nicola Killean made about communication, taking rights-based approaches generally and training? On Juliet Harris’s point, how do we ensure that front-line professionals who are struggling with their day-to-day case load are able to implement all that? What more does the Government need to do to progress that? I put that to Nicola Killean first.