Seòmar agus comataidhean

:That will be a key area for our successor committee to pick up on.

:Mr Naylor, perhaps you can say something about what the role of the inspectorate looks like as we move forward. I am having a look through the minutes of the first meeting of the data short-life working group. There are about 15 organisations listed, but it is not just about who was at that meeting; the role of local authorities is incredibly important as well.

We will identify the extent of the problem, but how do we ensure that we are always on top of it as we move forward? Has the inspectorate had a look at what its role will be in that regard?

:I know that it is still early days, as the group has only met once. I will open that question up to the other witnesses, because, as you said, Professor Jay, data collection is really important. How can we tackle a problem if we do not know the extent of it?

To build on some of the points that Mr Kidd made, I will ask about data. I remember that you spoke about the matter before Christmas, Professor Jay. I think that you said at that time that, although data collection is happening, we do not consider it to be reliable in Scotland or, as it happens, in England and Wales. We know that the short-life working group met in January, and I would like to get an update from you on that, although I know that it is still early days for you to be able to see where that group is going.

The key question is how we share the information that comes from that data. What would the approach be? I will ask you that question first, Professor Jay, because I think that you identified the matter as being key, and you have touched on it already this morning.

:The shared care work that you mentioned will be fundamental and I look forward to receiving an update on that.

I will move on to a slightly different question. You mentioned the Royal College of Psychiatrists. I have met with the college and the committee had an evidence session with representatives from the RCP, who talked about national guidelines for working conditions and reasonable adjustments for schools, higher education institutions and employers. What are your thoughts on that? They pushed the idea of a cross-sectoral approach.

Another key question comes from the evidence that we heard last week about neurodivergence training for teachers, which can vary within individual schools, never mind within local authorities. That issue was picked up by one group that we heard from last week. A lot depends on whether teachers have had training. How can we increase the level of training on and recognition of neurodivergence and how can schools look at the issue of reasonable adjustments?

:Thank you.

:Apologies for my technical issues this morning. Minister, I do not know whether you answered this when I was offline, but a key issue that was raised in the recommendations related to tackling the institutionalisation of people with learning disabilities. There are many areas within that. Will you say a bit more about that?

You mentioned the high-level action plan and how we monitor it. My second question is about how we monitor and report back on it. Will you say a bit more about how you see this committee holding the Government to account on that?

:I do not know whether I am having connection problems—my apologies.

The second part of my question is about monitoring and reports on the high-level action plan. You talked about monitoring, but I am asking about the reporting back. The key thing for me is that the actions go across a number of portfolios, so the question is how they are reported. We will get reports back, but how do you intend to look at actions to ensure that they are taken across all portfolios and not just this one? The high-level action plan obviously impacts on other portfolios, as well. Could I have your thoughts on that, if that is okay?

:I have a few key questions, which come back to the shared protocol. During various sessions, we have heard about equity of access across private healthcare and the national health service, as well as across different parts of Scotland. My first question is, what can we do to ensure that we have equality of access across Scotland? That is fundamental. What can be done with the shared care protocol?

Secondly, I will move on from diagnosis to the question of who provides support. In my constituency, there is a situation in which a local authority is not letting speech and language therapists operate. Some children have had sessions for a number of years with speech and language therapists who are now not allowed access into schools. The local authority is saying that the support should already be there, but the support that is provided is not enough for those kids. My question is about equity of access across the country and how we ensure that private speech therapists who have been working with kids over a long number of years and who are now not allowed access into a local authority school can provide support. I will have a few other questions after that, but could you start with that, minister?

It is great to hear about the progress of the discussions as we look towards the next parliamentary session. The committee made some recommendations on civil legal assistance and you have also talked about that in the chamber, minister. Does anything else need to be done in what we have left of the current parliamentary session? What do you see as the medium and longer-term objectives when the Parliament comes back in the new session?