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That is helpful. Thank you.

Thank you for that information.

Does anything need to be added to the bill to ensure that there is a statutory responsibility to enable carers to get breaks and support with breaks?

I think that we all agree that carers have traditionally been undervalued, but we are now recognising the great contribution that they make. How will the bill support carers? Is there sufficient information about how carers can help to co-design the national care service and how they can go on to become full partners in it?

I think that Nick Morris might be able to answer this question. I am interested to know whether the framework bill gives us enough information about some of the legislative stuff around adults with incapacity and mental health issues. Is there enough in the framework bill to help the transition with the multi-agency public protection arrangements and so on?

I cannot speak in a debate on social security without highlighting my disgust at the hostile and cruel welfare system that is overseen by the Tories in Westminster. Their treatment of working people, their lack of compassion in helping those most in need and their intrusive and discriminatory assessments are representative of a Government that is not fit for office.

I must say that the Scottish Conservatives are also responsible for the actions of the UK Government in relation to welfare and social security. Their lack of opposition to—and, in some cases, their involvement in—a Government that has overseen such brutal cuts to social security is shameless. However, as colleagues have said before, I stress that we must work across the Parliament to tackle the impacts of the cost of living crisis in order to ensure that more people are not forced into poverty and to alleviate the pressures that face working families on a daily basis.

The ambition of the Scottish Government to automate payments to low-income households, whether delivered by Social Security Scotland or local authorities, is welcome. The Scottish Government says that it is committed to delivering a transparent social security system and reporting annually on progress, and that is also welcome.

In the first annual publication providing estimates of the benefit take-up rate, the minister said:

“We are committed to making sure everyone gets the financial support they are entitled to and our benefit take-up strategy outlines how we are doing this. We actively work to encourage take-up of Scottish social security benefits by promoting our 12 benefits, collaborating with various organisations and removing barriers to access.”

I appreciate that the minister wants that to happen, as I have said before, and I do not doubt that many of the Government backbenchers want that, too.

However, as we have seen in today’s debate, we need to be a bit more honest about what the movement is. If we are not honest, how are we going to achieve the outcomes that the minister and the Government want? We must not ignore the fact that these measures are coming too late and too slowly for many, and will not be enough for others.

We should also not ignore the fact that this is a powerful Parliament. It has the power to do something, but this Government acts with no urgency and seems little ready—or, perhaps, little able—to use those powers. As we have heard from across the chamber, it has been four years since the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 was passed, yet the Scottish Government is not expecting to take over full control of the system from the DWP until the end of 2025.

In December 2021, the Scottish Government boasted that

“2022 will be our biggest year yet in building a new social security system for Scotland”,

but today it has come to the chamber with a motion that contains a list of fantasy predictions of what the Scottish benefits system will look like.

I have acknowledged that the Scottish Government has made some progress, and I acknowledge the benefit that the existing automation of Scottish social security payments is bringing, including ensuring that the most eligible people receive the child winter heating assistance and the carers allowance supplement without having to apply for them. I believe that that is a good thing, and I welcome it, as other speakers have done. However, as is often the case, the motion is self-congratulatory. The Government and its backbenchers need to understand that there is some urgency to the issue.

The system is not even nearly fully automated, and we have heard how important that is if we are to lift our communities out of poverty. The take-up of Scottish benefits is not complete. More than one in 10 people who are eligible do not claim the child payment; one in four people do not claim the young carer grant; and one in three people do not claim their funeral support payment. The Government has not mentioned any plans to automate the benefits for the largest case load—the Scottish child payment. There is an estimated of 304,000, and 353,000 claims, for the adult disability payments. By comparison, the number of claims that have not been automated is tiny.

It is important that we think critically on the Opposition and Government benches. I believe that the Government wants to get better systems in place for people. It is important to note that over three quarters of devolved social security spending is still administered by the Department for Work and Pensions. As I mentioned when I intervened on Natalie Don, Labour members are so keen to raise again and again what more can be done because we want the compassionate system that the Government and its back benchers speak about so much.

If the Scottish Government does not get a grip and alter the speed of change, child poverty targets will be missed and more children will grow up in poverty. I accept that any additional support for children and their families is welcome, and I have welcomed the child payment before, but a lot more urgency is needed. It is time to keep moving forward, to keep making progress, to be more radical, to end child poverty and to support families and those most in need using all the powers that the Government has at all the times when it can do so. That has to be the Parliament’s aim, and I will continue to hold the Scottish Government to account on that.

I will be the first person to stand up to oppose Tory UK Government cuts to social security benefits, but it is clear that, in Scotland, we can, and must, do more.

No problem at all, Presiding Officer.

It is right that we thank AHPs again. I also thank members for joining me in the debate.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I am not sure whether my app connected, but I would have voted yes.

At that time, the professions were in different areas depending on whether you were a physiotherapist, dietician or occupational therapist—those are some of the many allied health professions. Students were well supported—I know some of the students who are coming through, and it seems that they still are—and we were always thankful for the support from the colleges that trained the professions.

Throughout my career, I met patients who needed assessment and treatment. They showed me kindness and strength of character when, often, they faced life-changing illnesses. I describe it as the best job ever because I was lucky enough to go into a field that was about society’s role in maximising the best life possible.

In my job with learning disability services, we worked across communities, as many AHPs do. That nicely leads me to discuss some of the diverse services that AHPs provide and the overall aim of that work.

The umbrella term “wellbeing” can have many meanings depending on who we speak to and what wellbeing means to us. For AHPs, wellbeing is, as mentioned in the debate title, helping people live their best lives ever. Everyone will have a different view of what their best life is, with different end goals, targets and means of reaching those targets, but the first-class assessments, treatments, specialised groups and community work of AHPs in Scotland help them to get there. When members visit local AHP services, they will be greatly impressed with the diverse work and working styles of that group of healthcare professionals.

My long-standing view is that health provision delivers best when it is local and on the doorstep of the people who are most in need, and when services go to people rather than waiting on people coming to them. In a world of digital communication and over-the-phone appointments, it is important that we maintain strong connections with our communities. Using the expertise and work of our AHPs allows services to do just that.

As mentioned in the motion, prehabilitation, early intervention, prevention and rehabilitation are four key areas in which allied health professions play a significant role in the development of strategy and the delivery of services to meet the needs of all Scotland’s population. In local health centres and community hubs, schools and local third sector organisations and beyond, allied health professionals need resources to provide that service and allow people to live the best life possible.

In towns and communities that we know are suffering due to the impacts of the cost of living crisis, that have been impacted by the austerity agenda from the Tories at Westminster and, as we cannot forget, where there are impacts of cuts to local councils and services, the work of AHPs is most impactful.

Although we have come to the chamber to commend the work of our AHPs and the contribution that they make to health and social care provision as the third-largest workforce in our health service, I cannot make my remarks in good conscience without calling out the actions of the Governments here and at Westminster. I know that the Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health and Sport would expect no less of me.

Early intervention is key across many services. It is key in speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and beyond, where there have been significant failings at a national Government level, putting considerable pressure on the ability of AHPs to deliver those vital services. Therefore, it is important that we hear from the minister how the Scottish Government will deliver clear plans for supporting AHPs in the workforce, focusing on prehabilitation, early intervention, prevention and rehabilitation.

AHPs are in the gallery not just for warm words but to hear clear plans for action on investment.

It is interesting that you start off by saying that you wish people were not in the DWP system, which is so uncompassionate, but you cannot understand why members on this side of the chamber want to push the Government to do as much as it can to get the systems in place as quickly as possible. Will you acknowledge that point?

It is an honour to have secured the debate. Members will know that it was moved—it was supposed to be held on an evening when we were instead in the chamber voting. I believe that the allied health professionals who are with us—there were many more on that previous evening—had a successful event in the Parliament. They tell me that it was networking, but I have heard that a bit of a party went on as well. However, it is lovely to see them in the chamber.

The debate presents an opportunity to celebrate the work of allied health professions in Scotland, recognise their contribution and highlight the challenges and difficulties that they face as the third-largest workforce in Scotland’s health service. I say hello not only to the people in the gallery but to those who are watching on Scottish Parliament television. Many of them were not able to come through for a second time, but I am assured that a number of AHPs are watching us. Those in the gallery have come, I am sure, not just to hear words and soundbites about how much they are valued but to go away knowing that the Parliament and the Government will take action to show how much they are valued.

AHPs are a diverse group of 14 professions, and I ask members to visit them whenever they can. Allied health professions day was on October 14, so we have missed the date, but there are still opportunities for members to visit AHPs around their constituencies and regions and I am sure that they will be welcome.

I also thank members from every party in the Parliament who supported the motion, which allows us to debate it. That support further highlights the recognition that AHPs deserve and confirms that there is an interest in the Parliament in debating the ways in which AHPs have improved the lives of, and provide support to, people in the community. On behalf of Scottish Labour, I thank our allied health professionals for the work that they do every day across the health and social care service and networks. I hope that they realise that we are pleased to have them with us today.

Allied health professions day is about helping people live their best lives. Like other health service workers, AHPs continued their work throughout the pandemic because, although buildings were closed and, in some ways, lives were put on hold, the difficulties facing many of the Scottish population remained and it was incumbent on AHPs and other health professionals to continue to deliver services against the backdrop of a pandemic that was taking lives in every community. We thank them for that continued work through those difficult times. They deserve huge credit and I am pleased to be able to put that on the record in the Parliament.

Some members in the chamber know that I started my working life with a career in dietetics, which is one of the allied health professions. It is not an exaggeration to say that it set me up for a life in politics like no other career would have done. I did the job for nearly 20 years and met many lifelong friends, patients and service users who shaped my life and belief system.

My friend Michelle was at the event in the Parliament. She is not in the gallery today but I know that she is watching. We met in the matriculation queue at Queen’s College, Glasgow. I am absolutely sure that she does not want me to divulge how many years ago that was.