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Good morning, minister, to you and your team.

I will ask more—I suspect that you might want to write to us, rather than answer us today—about the medical reports that you will get from consultants, GPs and other medical professionals. We received a letter from Social Security Scotland a few weeks ago, from which it is unclear to me whether there is a legal obligation or a contract for medical professionals for when people write to get medical evidence. How much will that cost either the individual or Social Security Scotland and is there a set fee? My experience is that it has sometimes been very difficult to get medical evidence because of the pressure that medical professionals are under. Could you give us a wee bit more information—either today or in writing—on whether a legal obligation has been set up for doctors, nurses and other medical professionals to provide information, and on what happens if a GP says that they will not provide that information, for whatever reason?

I am grateful to the minister for that. I will be interested because our understanding is that there is not something set up, so it will be helpful to get more information.

I have a final question on suspension. Obviously, if, in the end, the agency takes away a person’s benefit, there is a right of appeal. Appeal can take a number of weeks, if not months. Can the minister reassure me that, if a person is successful in appeal, all the payments will be backdated? Is there a mechanism to fast track appeals so that people are not left in financial crisis?

I am not quite sure that I got an answer. I actually asked how it will be paid for. Perhaps we can return to that at our next meeting.

I have a small but important point to make. At the moment, those who are on PIP and disability living allowance receive an extra £10 Christmas payment from the DWP. Will that be included in the Scottish Government’s new adult disability payment. If so, how much will it cost, and will that be funded through the Barnett formula or will the Scottish Government have to find extra money?

I want to cover two areas with you, cabinet secretary. The first follows on from Miles Briggs’s questions about new housing. You and I appeared in a BBC slot on housing, in particular the number of the houses that have been built for those with disability. How much money has been allocated specifically for housing that will meet the needs of those with not only physical disabilities but all forms of disability? What target are you looking to set for the number of new houses being built that will have that feature built in?

I have another area to cover, which is third sector funding. After Kate Forbes’s budget statement in December, I asked her a question and she indicated that there would be a change to third sector funding so that it would be done not yearly but three yearly. Can the cabinet secretary update us on what conversations are happening with the third sector? When and how will that change be implemented?

I would be grateful if you would come back to us.

I think that you said that all new developments will be open to anyone with a disability. Clearly, that cannot be the case, because if it were, every new block of flats would have to have a lift in it. If someone who has a wheelchair buys a flat on the top floor, they can only access that through a lift.

When you come back to us, can you tell us whether you are looking to set a target of a specific number of houses that will be accessible to those with disabilities? Given that 25 per cent of new housing developments has to be affordable housing, are you having conversations with developers about the percentage of houses that have to be built that are fully accessible to disabled people, or are you leaving it to the developers to make that decision?

Good morning, cabinet secretary, and happy new year. I have two or three questions on the adult disciplinary payment. First, there seems to be a funding gap of around £750 million that will build up in the social security budget over this session of Parliament. What future proofing work are you doing, and how do you think the Scottish Government will make repayments?

In light of that helpful answer, we can presume that the Scottish Government will pay the extra £10 in December this year.

My final question on this section is about those who are on DLA and who have not been moved across to PIP. Evidence that we took from a number of groups showed that, because of different criteria, there may be people on DLA who move across to PIP and who will lose their benefit, or part of it. Will the Scottish Government mitigate that in any way? What work is the Scottish Government doing to make those who are in that situation aware that there may be a change in the amount of money that they will receive because of the new adult disability payment?

If I can seek a bit of clarification, is multiyear funding going to happen as of now, or are you still discussing it as a Government to decide whether it will happen?

Thank you for your written submission. I will ask two questions on the adult disability payment—one that relates to the short term and one that relates to the longer term.

I have asked my first question before, but I am still not sure that I fully understand the answer. I apologise for my ignorance. You have forecast an increase for the budget for the adult disability payment in the next couple of years because you think that uptake will be higher. How do you work out that uptake will be higher? It appears from the new regulations for the payment that the way that the benefit will be assessed is almost identical to the way that it is assessed at the moment. Have you looked at that afresh in light of the new regulations? Does it make any difference?