Speeches by McNally.

“Good morning, Minister. It is nice to see you and thanks for joining us today. Can I dig a little further into John Milne’s point around the wider PIP review? We know the Green Paper chapter 2, section 2, highlights the level of work that the Department will undertake for the way they do the PIP review. I think that is…”

“Good morning. I represent a Scottish constituency, and much of housing is devolved, but we are certainly not immune to the challenges linked to supply. My local authority is Scotland’s largest social landlord. It has the most ambitious programme for house building in Scotland. We still have 14,500 people on a waiting l…”

“I will be brief. I was going to ask you about the consequences and impact of temporary accommodation on claimants, particularly children, but the panel has covered that quite extensively. I certainly recognise the points that have been raised. If I can move on quickly to the ending of silo working, which is a big area …”

“In the time I have available, I will focus on education and care provision during the pandemic. I was serving as North Lanarkshire’s chair of education when the Scottish Government directed the closure of schools in March 2020. Within days, the entire country was locked down, and we moved to home-schooling and virtual …”

“New College Lanarkshire was recently recognised as further education institution of the year at The Herald education awards. Deputy principal Ann Baxter and student Chloe Sandilands were also recognised, winning the lifetime achievement and outstanding contribution categories. Will my right hon. Friend join me in congr…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The UK Government are investing significantly in skills and apprenticeships for some of those young people who were impacted by the pandemic, and we need to see that in Scotland as well. For children transitioning from early years to primary 1, and from primary 7 to secondary, it mus…”

“Good morning and thank you very much for joining us today. There has been a fair amount of talk this morning about advances in technology and the role that technology will play. That is very much to be welcomed but, of course, it presents a balancing act as well, as I am sure you will appreciate. Some concerns have bee…”

“Looking at some of the barriers that could arise from trying to do more in terms of that integrated service, do you see culture being a barrier? I am conscious around the relationships with key stakeholders has perhaps not been as strong as we would like over the last few years. Do you think there is a job to continue …”

“Can I touch on the important relationship with other community and sectoral stakeholders? Certainly through a devolved lens, in the last year we have seen an improvement in the relationship between the Department of Work and Pensions, Jobcentre Plus and Social Security Scotland, which is great to see. As a Committee we…”

“I welcome that answer, Minister. Ultimately, the jobcentre in your pocket is an exciting prospect as well. We should be excited about it, but we need to make sure that the customers are coming with us on that journey to 2028. So yes, it is important that the work coaches have those discussions, but as we shape this ove…”

“I am grateful to the Minister for coming to the House tonight and for the steps that have been taken, given the despicable actions of the two Israeli Ministers cited throughout the statement. Of course, more must be done. Does the Minister recognise the UN special rapporteur’s characterisation of Israel’s approach to a…”

“I welcome today’s announcement. It is right that, despite the horrendous financial situation that this Government inherited from the Conservative party, they are reinstating the winter fuel payment for 75% of pensioners and specifically targeting those in the most need. Following the question from my hon. Friend the Me…”

“If surpluses are not returned to the employer, how else should they be used?”

“That is a very fair point. Ultimately, the safeguards are critical. What are your thoughts on what those safeguards need to look like?”

“Does anybody else have any thoughts on that?”

“I will move on to surplus extraction, and perhaps I will maybe start with you, Rachel. The Government have outlined their position. What is your assessment, from a trustee’s perspective, of the trustees having the powers that they would require to ensure that savers benefit if employers can more easily extract surpluse…”

“There is a broad consensus that we would get positive outcomes for savers. Has there been any analysis done on what that might look like?”

“Thank you very much for joining us and for providing us with the evidence that you have. You just touched on there being multiple pots, Chris. I am going to focus this series of questions on some of the challenges linked to small pots. Obviously, there has been a significant increase since auto-enrolment, and we know t…”

“Professor Barr, I will stick with you for this question. I am conscious that you have done a great deal of research on some of the areas that we are looking at today and previous changes to welfare. Can I ask for your assessment of the impact that previous welfare changes have had on the health of those who are affecte…”

“Can I ask you specifically about the plans to restrict access to the UC health element? The Green Paper highlights the 150,000 young LCWRA claimants from 16 to 24. Can I ask for your views on this element of the proposal, and whether you think the actions aimed at supporting more young people through right to try—we to…”