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Can the member tell me whether he and his colleagues accept that the Westminster Conservative Government’s approach to benefits means that many families find it difficult to make sense of and take part in the DWP’s processes that are there for them to access benefits and move on to work?

I make it absolutely clear that I do not want to play this game. I have given credit to the party in government in Scotland many times.

I will prove my point by quoting from a recent report:

“The scale of the financial difficulties families are facing greatly outstrips the financial assistance offered by the Scottish Government.”

That report, which was published by Save the Children this year, goes on to say:

“there is more the Scottish Government must do to protect young children from the impacts of poverty.”

It is the responsibility of all of us, including back benchers, to push the Government to do all that it can. Scottish Labour’s amendment—

I am clear that the two-child limit is a cruel, damaging and appalling Tory policy and I fully oppose it. I agree that it is a punitive measure that targets working families, kills hope and aspiration, and has no place in the modern, progressive society that we want to create. As I have made clear before, I deplore the Tory Government’s attack on working class people. The Tories are the friends of the rich and they show no interest in redistributing wealth to those people who are most in need.

Sadly, the Tories’ amendment further highlights their ignorance of the damage that they have caused to people’s lives and the economy. Given the Tory Government’s incompetence, any incoming Labour Government will have to analyse the financial position left by the Tories, which will undoubtedly be extremely challenging. However, I and many other members on the Labour benches will chap on the doors and call for that policy, along with many other cruel welfare policies, to be removed.

I want to understand what the conflict is. We will support the motion, and I have called on us to work together, but it seems that we are placing conflict in a place where it should not be.

Thank you very much, convener.

My question probably links with what has just been said, but I am interested in finding out whether and how the Scottish Government tracks spending by each NHS board on its current policy priorities.

It is. To come back on that a little, I note that sometimes—particularly with big spends—it can be hard to see where money has been moved about. Could we record anything differently, or better, to enable scrutiny and ensure transparency on where money actually goes once it is in the system?

There have been advances in relation to mental health budgets, which we can see more clearly. As you said, there is scope to look at other areas, which would be helpful for members and for the committee as a whole. Thank you.

Good morning. I am interested in a couple of issues that follow on from Evelyn Tweed’s questions. Will you give us some idea of how sectoral bargaining might operate within the care sector in the future across the public sector, the third sector and the private sector?

Lovely—that was very helpful. You mentioned engaging the trade unions. I am assuming that you will assure us that you will continue to work with the trade unions as we go through the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill.

My last question is, to what extent and in what ways do you expect the new accord with COSLA on shared legal accountability to address the concerns of trade unions about the bill? How will that agreement work as we move towards the national care service?

I absolutely agree with that point. I will make a point that crystallises it.

As I often do, I will talk about the impact of alcohol and drug harm on our most vulnerable communities. People in Scotland’s most deprived communities are five times more likely to die because of alcohol-related disease and 16 times more likely to die from drug misuse than those in our least deprived communities. The impacts of alcohol harm are wide ranging and can affect anyone, but I am sure that we all want to address the fact that, in 2023, those harms are still felt acutely in our most vulnerable communities.

That links to the point that Monica Lennon made, that those communities are often already stigmatised. Therefore, it is really important that we strive to not stigmatise certain communities and people who perhaps have dependencies that they are trying to work with. We need a strategy that is underpinned by kindness. It is imperative that we have a compassionate preventative approach that tackles the root causes of some of the problems in our communities, and that we crystallise in people’s minds the point that we must always treat people with kindness and respect.

As I said at the beginning of my speech, I wish that we did not have to have the debate, but we do. I encourage everyone who can do so to listen to the stories and sign up to the pledge.