Once again, this petition deals with a very live situation and set of circumstances. In its responses, the Scottish Government has indicated what it is trying to achieve, but it would be useful to get some further detail on the anticipated timescales for expanding early learning and childcare provision to one and two-year-olds. That will give us more clarity on where we stand and an idea of how to progress matters in the future.

Minister, in your written evidence, you talk about individuals needing the “skills, knowledge and experience” to ensure that a board does its work. However, that might limit the number of individuals who are able to participate in the process to those from a specific circle or a specific location. That causes some difficulty. Is there an opportunity for training to influence that process, so that individuals can be given extra support that gives them the chance? Otherwise, you will exclude individuals from the pool when it might be advantageous for them to get the chance to participate.

Thank you.

This is a very important petition. I know that it talks primarily about Glasgow, but there are other locations across Scotland where people are suffering from the blight of violence and where young people who find it difficult to assimilate what they should or want to do choose to go out and be involved in antisocial behaviour and vandalism, which can sometimes lead to violence. The petitioner has given us some strong examples of what is taking place and has highlighted how social media is being used to publicise and promote some of these things. That, too, is a dangerous development.

I suggest that, as a first step, the committee might wish to seek evidence from those with lived experience across the board, because that will give us an opportunity to have further discussions with individuals about the details of the situation and to hear about certain circumstances. There is also a role for community safety, the police and other authorities to play in all of this, so it would be very useful for some of those people to be involved and to participate, too.

I am pleased to be able to contribute to this debate in support of the amendment in the name of Jamie Halcro Johnston.

Along with my Conservative colleagues, I have been clear about the difficulties that the increasing cost of living has created for so many people. With the winter months quickly approaching, those difficulties are only becoming clearer.

The Labour motion speaks to the challenges that are a result of high inflation, and there is no doubt that, as is the case in many other countries, rising food and energy prices are taking their toll.

Although fuel prices at the pumps are, thankfully, well down from their summer peak due to the 5p cut in fuel duty, they remain at 15 per cent higher than they were a year ago.

As far as this year is concerned, the UK Government has taken action in response to the rising cost of living. Notably, we have seen a package of financial support that is worth more than £37 billion, which includes support for every household in the United Kingdom. That is worth more than £1,600 to some of the most deprived households.

I have a lot to cover in a short time.

Those households include many older people on pension credit, who will also benefit. Those individuals will be as concerned as anyone is about their heating bills over the coming months, which is why I welcome the energy price guarantee, which will ensure that energy bills will not exceed £2,500 for an average household. The support is guaranteed until April 2023. We know that targeted support is still to be delivered in the new financial year. That targeted support is crucial.

Going forward, it is important that the most vulnerable people remain protected from significant energy price rises, while it is ensured that value is maintained for the taxpayer as part of a sustainable budget. However, how the UK Government decides to tackle the cost of living crisis will depend on there being a strong economy to support it.

Economic stability is therefore the key to tackling the crisis. I know that the new Prime Minister has set some priorities and made promises today, and I look forward to him continuing to do that. I can assure members that for Conservative members and for me, that will be the priority.

The scale of the current crisis means that both the Scottish and the United Kingdom Governments must tackle it. The Scottish Government has at its disposal levers of power to create approaches and to tackle issues. That can include measures such as increasing the single-person council tax discount to 35 per cent, which we have called for previously.

Among other areas that we have looked at is financial assistance such as the school clothing grant, which is being received by everyone who is eligible. That grant can be a great help and asset to families who are reaching out for support for school, but we have found that only five of the 32 local authorities carry over the funding into the next school year. That support needs to be looked at, so that we do not have the apparent postcode lotteries that have developed across Scotland.

We have already seen urgent action to address the cost of living crisis, but it is clear that further steps will be needed in order to provide long-term sustainability and security for households across the country.

As we have heard, in the winter months the Scottish public will quite rightly expect both their Governments to work together effectively in consultation to produce bold actions to protect the most vulnerable people in this crisis. The cost of living crisis will continue to have a massive impact on our constituents and our communities. It is up to both Governments, and it is up to us in this chamber and in other places, to work together to secure that goal for the communities that we represent.

You cannot be anything other than impressed, convener, with the number of individuals who are seeking to be involved in the cross-party group and the organisations that it is aligning itself to. That gives us confidence that the group will be very active and will carry out its role collectively and responsibly. I am encouraged by that, and I look forward to seeing how the group progresses—I am sure that it will progress.

I thank Emma Harper for her presentation. She outlined that the purpose of the group is to promote and encourage Scots. However, the written application refers to ensuring that the Scottish Government takes forward legislation. Will you expand on how you intend to do that and what the purpose of the group is?

Back in June, the health secretary set a series of targets on long waits for NHS Scotland. He pledged to eradicate two-year out-patient waits only in most specialities, rather than altogether. The fact is that we now find that more than 2,000 Scots have been languishing on out-patient waiting lists for more than two years. That means that the long out-patient waiting lists are seriously far from being eliminated.

Does the cabinet secretary concede that the original targets have failed? When can we expect to see two-year out-patient waits eliminated for good?

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its target to eliminate two-year waits for out-patient appointments in NHS Scotland. (S6O-01422)