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The other issue that we have discussed in the past is adult disability payment and the difference between Scotland and the rest of the UK. Recently, Professor Breedon from the Scottish Fiscal Commission gave evidence that

“the idea is that the reviews are largely, but not entirely, self-certified, whereas in the UK system, that is less the case. We can reasonably expect that, if people are self-certifying, they are much less likely to sign themselves off a benefit than they would be if they were reviewed elsewhere.”—[Official Report, Finance and Public Administration Committee, 2 September 2025; c 23-24.]

Are you concerned that, as a greater percentage of the budget in Scotland is taken up by social security, and the ADP is rising significantly, you will have to address the criteria and the assessment process or, otherwise, it could run out of control?

Maybe you bought peace too generously.

Thank you for your forbearance, convener.

I will take Andy Witty back to labour market participation. In your response to our question 6, you say:

“Barriers to work in Scotland are well understood and preventative spend, particularly investment in childcare, would bring about more labour market participation.”

With the significant investment in the 1,140 hours of free childcare programme, have you seen any demonstrable shift towards an increase in labour market participation among the target group that would give you confidence to say that further investment would yield a benefit?

Elaine Morrison, we touched on this issue earlier, but a lot of SMEs and a lot of sectors, such as life sciences, report that raising capital and funds in Scotland is difficult. In the Scottish public sector—in local government, for example—£65 billion is sitting in pension funds. Some of that ends up being invested in the life sciences industry in Australia, for example, through traditional pension investment portfolios, but there seems to be reluctance among public sector pension funds to put money into early-stage investments in, for example, life sciences here in Scotland, although there have been examples of that. For example, the Strathclyde pension fund used a specialist venture capital fund to invest, resulting in a win-win situation of attracting jobs to Strathclyde and a getting a return on its investment. What more could be done, for public infrastructure but also for those sectors that are seeking access to cash in Scotland, to lean on public sector pensions more, and what discussions have you had with Governments or pension funds to bring that culture about?

There is the concept of bootstrapping, where small business owners borrow money from banks or family members, or remortgage their house, rather than finding more sophisticated ways to raise funds. I get the impression that, post-Covid, banks have been less open to lending them money. Have FSB members picked up on that trend? A large number of small businesses have higher levels of debt than they had pre-Covid. Does that mean that we are in for a tough period with investment in SMEs and small businesses?

There is a taper element of universal credit that leads to a soft touchdown, so that people are incentivised to work and can keep more of their benefits for a period while they are earning. The finance secretary has always said to me that she is very keen to ensure that you do not embed cliff edges in any legislative or policy intervention. However, it strikes me that there is a cliff edge to the Scottish child payment. I have done a back-of-the-envelope calculation, but it seems to me that the taper gives people something like a five-times greater incentive to take on extra hours and work harder than is the case with the Scottish child payment, because people lose that at a certain level of income. Have you looked at any form of taper for the Scottish child payment that would remove the cliff edge that your Government says it is keen not to have as a central element of any public policy?

Finally, in relation to adult disability payment, you will be aware that the Scottish Fiscal Commission has pointed out to us that there is a significant gap between those coming off the benefit in Scotland versus the UK—2 per cent versus 16 per cent. What will your Government do to address that? Surely that is a red flag in relation to the sustainability of a benefit.

Good morning, cabinet secretary. With regard to your Government’s philosophical position on welfare spending, do you see it as a mark of success that the number of people who are in receipt of benefits goes up, or is the mark of success that the number of people in Scotland who are in receipt of benefits goes down over the long term?

You have said that, at the heart of the benefits system, there should be fairness and respect. What does it say to taxpayers about your Government’s approach to showing them fairness and respect that it seems unwilling to pursue £36 million of welfare expenditure that was either mispaid or claimed through fraud?