Chamber and committees

It is reassuring to hear that you are taking an evidence-based approach to monitoring all of this—I am sure that you will do the same with regard to my calls, which I cannot fund myself, for a summer supplement Scottish child payment. I am not saying that it should happen; I just want to make sure that it is put into the matrix along with everything else to find out whether it would provide best value in delivering the outcomes that we want.

My question is about how we monitor need. What is your latest assessment of the impact of the cost of living crisis on struggling families? Of course, it will be a snapshot in time, but how would we monitor that more generally and on an on-going basis, given the cost of living crisis that we are currently experiencing?

There are hugely ambitious plans to expand free childcare in Scotland, which are to be welcomed, but there is a key challenge around how we expand the childcare workforce sufficiently to provide the increased supply of high-quality childcare. What are the challenges? More importantly, what is the Scottish Government’s strategy for dealing with them?

You have heard those suggestions already.

I am not sure which cabinet secretary this question is best directed to, because it probably crosses over portfolios. I am aware that the UK Government provides for childcare costs as part of universal credit, although that is a capped provision. I am interested in knowing the relationship between that provision and the parental transition fund, which is envisaged to be £15 million.

Just yesterday, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice replied to an inspired parliamentary question on the fund, saying that the interaction of limited devolved powers with the UK tax and benefits system means that the fund will still be delivered in some way, but not as originally envisaged. The committee would welcome more detail on what that means in practice and on what happens to that £15 million.

Thank you. I suspect that, in my eagerness to lobby my own Government in a public committee session, I lost focus on what my question should have been, so—with apologies to the convener—I will go back to it now.

How do we monitor, on an on-going basis, the impact of the cost of living crisis on families who are struggling? What process would the Government carry out around that? As a committee, we would be keen to know what more you would prioritise doing.

Okay. I am going to ask transport questions in a second—do not worry, Mr Finch.

Mr White, will you be slightly more bold than Mr Finch?

I felt the need to ask that question.

Let us look at the some of the specifics of affordability, on which the UK Government is doing some decent work. I make it clear to my unionist colleagues that I am not trying to make a party political point. Jobcentre Plus provides a travel discount card for people who are seeking employment, which, in some cases, can be used in the first month once they get into employment. There is a partnership deal with ScotRail, whereby parents can travel by rail for free once they get into employment. There is also the flexible support fund. There is a mix of stuff. The Scottish Government has the parental employability support fund, which can make a contribution towards transport costs, and Fair Start Scotland has a role to play there, too. There is also a £74 million community bus fund.

Why have I listed all those resources? I have done so because I want to make sure that the witnesses believe that the money that is in the system is being used strategically. I am talking about the money that the UK Government and the Scottish Government are providing to support out-of-work parents to get into employment and to make that sustainable, and to support those parents who are in part-time employment to pick up more hours, get into full-time employment and have the opportunity for career progression. There might not be enough money being put into that, but there is still quite a lot of money whirling around the system. Is it being used strategically and effectively? Do you have a view on that, Mr Finch?

That is a very valid answer, but it is not an answer to the question that I asked. Earlier, you spoke about affordability and cost. My question was about the money that we are putting into the system to support affordability. You started to talk about the issue of the rural transport offer and whether it is fit for purpose for working families and parents who are trying to find work, which I am sure will come up later in the session. I am asking whether the money that is already in the system for affordability, whether that is provided by the Department for Work and Pensions or the Scottish Government, is being used well enough, strategically speaking.

I am not suggesting a criticism.

I will bring Mr Hogg in, because I am interested in the partnership between the DWP and ScotRail. I think that the idea of one month’s free rail travel is welcome, but I do not think that it goes far enough; it could be extended to providing bus travel for parents who are moving into employment and whose children are in poverty. That is what this inquiry is about. Perhaps there could be six months’ free travel, or perhaps three months could be fully free and the next three months could be tapered to 50 per cent support. There could be a more substantive offer, or there could be a partnership between ScotRail, the bus companies and the UK and Scottish Governments. I am trying to think about how we can deliver something that is substantive and meaningful and that actually drives change for the people that I represent, rather than just talking about things.

Mr Hogg, do you have any views on that?

Thank you very much.