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Absolutely.

Thank you for the intervention. I do not feel that it needs to be as prescriptive as that. As I have said, commencement plans will, in practical terms, rely on a positive Children’s Hearings Scotland report on the numbers. The bill would not be commenced without an assurance that the numbers are in place to cope with the situation.

On Ruth Maguire’s point about discussions, the situation is fluid, which is why those on-going discussions are important. For example, in November, Children’s Hearings Scotland planned to run a February recruitment campaign, but now it does not, because, I believe, the situation has improved. It is fluid, it is fluctuating and it needs to be considered on a continual basis, rather than setting in stone what is required for it to go ahead.

I am trying to set out why I do not feel that the amendment is necessary at this stage, and I hope that I have provided reassurances in that respect. I have said everything that I was planning to say in response to those interventions, so I ask the relevant members not to move the amendments in the group, and if they do, I ask the committee to reject them for the reasons that I have outlined.

Absolutely. As I said, I will make all efforts that I can to encourage take-up of that provision.

On the issue of rurality and distance, there are a number of reasons why uptake might not be as high for our two-year-olds as it is for our three to five-year-olds. I am certainly looking to understand the reasons for that variation.

In relation to our further expansion and announcements in the programme for government, the member will be aware that we have early adopter communities under way. Those communities were limited to four, but we added another two in the programme for government. Discussions and plans as to how we roll out in those areas are now under way.

Those early adopter communities are working with families to look at providing childcare from nine months right up to school age. As I said, it is about understanding what is best for families, what is best for the children and what is best for the local areas, which goes back to Willie Rennie’s point about locality and rurality. Work is under way to extend our current offer to ensure that it works for parents, children and families. I do not have to tell the member that we are operating under extremely difficult financial circumstances. We are trying to go as fast as we can, but more important is that we get it right for families. Single-parent families will obviously be a consideration in our work.

I cannot commit to lodging an amendment, but I can commit to considering the matter further.

To follow on from that, the information-gathering and publication duty in amendment 158 could impose a disproportionate and misplaced burden on local authorities. As I said, I am happy to consider that further.

On amendments 159 to 161, as I said, in addition to their raising technical drafting issues, they could be problematic. I understand that the intention of amendment 159 is to ensure that needs assessments are undertaken for children entering secure accommodation. However, that already happens, and regular reviews are carried out, as required by the legislation.

I feel that it is being reported, and, in fact, I have had conversations with officials this morning about whether improvements can be made in relation to that. However, the amendments that have been lodged raise a couple of problems in terms of overlap. There needs to be either more refinement of them or more work in relation to that issue.

I will comment on the amendments in relation to Mr Kerr’s questions in just a second. I thank him for those.

I assure the committee categorically that legal advice has been sought on all the bill’s provisions and the amendments in the normal way, as is the normal bill process. As members will appreciate, the ministerial code requires that I respect the confidentiality of advice that is given, and I am not able to get into the details of that now. Mr Kerr can be assured that legal advice has been sought, and we have proceeded with that in mind.

I mentioned that I had met David Johnston MP. When I raised the issues with him, there was certainly an understanding of the capacity issues. I have said that I want to work alongside his Government, rather than forcing its hand. For the benefit of all children and young people, this is about working together to get an appropriate solution.

We are talking about exceptional circumstances, but I have said at every point that this is about what is best for the child. If a child in England needs to be deprived of their liberty and placed in a secure care setting but there is no capacity in England and it would be best for them to be placed in Scotland, that is absolutely what must happen. I have been clear at every point that that applies as long as it is best for the child.

As for the larger capacity issues, I had a helpful meeting with David Johnston, as I said. Officials have continued the conversations, and I look forward to having a plan in place for how we will work together to tackle the issue in the long run.

I will bring in officials shortly. I absolutely agree with Willie Rennie’s points. I want the offer to be taken up for as many two-year-olds as possible.

Last year was the first year that we could rely on accurate data. As Mr Rennie has pointed out, there was a decline in take-up, which is disappointing. However, a range of work is under way to encourage and increase take-up. A series of webinars have been held with local authorities to support them to access the data and make best use of it. Webinars have been held with the Improvement Service and the Village on access to funded ELC for two-year-olds with a care-experienced parent. In addition, through the Improvement Service, we are offering one-to-one support to local authorities that want to work on maximising the uptake of those funded hours.

I absolutely agree with Mr Rennie’s point about the variation. Take-up varies from 30 per cent to up to 90 per cent. I would like to understand that variation a little bit more. Obviously, it is still relatively early days as regards our having that data. I want to look into that more as we move forward, to encourage uptake and ensure that that provision is taken up.

Mr Marra will remember discussions about the Scottish Government’s policy to fund beds in secure care. The number of children who are being placed in cross-border secure care has reduced from 30 last year to 12. The payment for secure care beds has helped to support that, and it is reducing dependency on cross-border placements.

The whole way along, I have been clear that decisions in relation to the bill will be monitored. Officials are in regular discussions with secure care providers. If sustainability is becoming a concern, the policy will certainly be considered. However, as I said, the policy to support beds in secure care centres has massively reduced that dependency.