 Well, we can resume with Parliamentary Business now. The first question we will turn to portfolio questions on communities, social, security and inequalities. Question 1 from Claire Baker. To ask the Scottish Government how many people in Mid Scotland did five and receive of support from the Scottish welfare fund? Minister Kevin Stewart. Before I answer Miss Baker's question, I will ask everyone to bear with me this afternoon, because I will be answering all of the questions on behalf of the portfolio. In response to Ms Baker, the latest statistics published on 24 April show that, for the period covering 1 October 2017 to 31 December 2017, 5,955 people in mid-Scotland and Fife received one or more crisis grants and community care grants from the Scottish welfare fund totaling £795,328. I thank the minister for that response. The minister might be aware that official figures show the successful tier 1 reviews, ie the appeals, for both community care grants and crisis grants sits around 50 per cent. Following a recent visit to a food bank in my region, it was suggested to me that the staff administering the fund are working under significant pressure, leading to potentially successful applications being initially denied before then being overturned on review. Does the minister agree that such a high appeal rate, while showing that the review system is working, may also indicate problems at the initial application stage? What assurances is able to give that my constituents that sufficient resources are in place for staff to deal thoroughly with applications in the first instance? I thank Ms Baker for that question. I know that Ms Freeman was keeping a very close eye on situations in a number of councils and wrote to them and was looking at the guidance around about the Scottish welfare fund. If Ms Baker has any specifics that she would like to raise, I am quite sure that the new cabinet secretary will look at that. I can assure Ms Baker that Ms Freeman was definitely looking at that in her previous portfolio. Mark Ruskell. The universal credit was rolled out in Stirling last year, and it has resulted in increased rent arrears, increased food bank referrals and increased risk of homelessness. Clearly, the Scottish welfare funders are under a lot of pressure to try and mitigate the heartless approach that we see from the UK Government of Social Security. What further action can the Scottish Government take, in particular with Stirling Council, to support local authorities, to support the communities that have been crushed by those welfare reforms? Continuing austerity will result in a overall reduction in annual welfare spend of £4 billion in Scotland by 2020. The Scottish Government is spending more than £125 million in 2018-19 on welfare mitigation and measures to help those on low incomes from those changes that have been imposed by the UK Government. That is more than £20 million in previous years. Ms Constance wrote to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Esther McVey, on 15 June 2018, calling again for the roll-out to be halted. We believe that universal credit is flawed, and until they get it right, they should halt the roll-out of the flawed policy. Stuart McMillan. It is minister aware of any councils underspending the Scottish welfare fund allocation. What can we do to encourage councils to make the most of the vitally important fund? The Government is aware of 11 councils that underspent their Scottish welfare fund allocation by £30,000 or more. Those councils were East Ayrshire, City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife, Highland, Inverclyde, Murray, Scottish Borders, Shetland Island, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The Scottish welfare fund is a vital lifeline for families and individuals across Scotland. I agree that it is absolutely crucial that councils are encouraged to make the most of the fund, especially given the welfare reform cuts being imposed by the UK Government. The Scottish Government itself publishes statutory guidance on an annual basis, which requires local councils to manage the fund in a way that helps those folks that are most in need in their local area. We also hold quarterly practitioner forums, which all councils attend to promote best practice and address issues such as take-up. Mark Griffin There are local authorities who exhaust their welfare fund allocation. Are people in desperate need who would qualify for a grant from the welfare fund and do not get it simply because of the time of year that they fall into hardship? What does the Scottish Government think of the fairness of that? If the minister would propose taking any steps to ensure that those who are in desperate need of that support do not miss out just because of the time of year? Mark Griffin As Mr Griffin is well aware, Ms Freeman kept a close eye on all those matters. Since April 2013, £38 million per annum has been allocated to local authorities for the Scottish welfare fund, and we are committed to keeping that fund. Mr Griffin will also be aware from previous answers from Ms Freeman that the basis of distribution to local authorities changed in November 2015. That followed a recommendation from the settlement and distribution group and was agreed by COSLA leaders and Scottish ministers. That was phased in from 2016-17. Distribution of the welfare fund is now wholly informed by the income domain of the Scottish index of multiple deprivation to help to support the most vulnerable in our communities. The new cabinet secretary is listening, and I am sure that she will keep a close eye on all of that. If there are any specifics that Mr Griffin wants to share, I am sure that she will respond positively. Miles Briggs To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce loneliness and isolation among older people. In January, Ms Freeman published Scotland's first national strategy on social isolation and loneliness anywhere in the UK for consultation. We have consulted with a range of groups, including older people in organisations such as Age Scotland and the Scottish Seniors Alliance, and they have been active in contributing to that. The older people strategic action group that Ms Freeman established last year discussed the strategy at a previous meeting. We are also taking action. Our £500,000 social isolation and loneliness fund in 2016-17 supported a number of local initiatives across Scotland, which have provided support for older people and other vulnerable groups. Our work to deliver more accessible housing, tackle poverty, promote employment and volunteering opportunities, maintain concessionary travel and reform adult social care all helps to ensure that older people are able to live their lives to the fullest and maintain their important social connections. Miles Briggs Can he give an indication of any additional measures that will be contained in the final A Connected Scotland strategy? Specifically, how is the strategy looking to support the fantastic work of voluntary organisations such as those in my region of vintage vibes, health in mind and contact the elderly to enable them to expand their services that they offer? I am aware of some of the groups that Mr Briggs mentioned in his question, including vintage vibes, which are in Mr Gordon MacDonald's constituency at the Breamhys Centre. I know that Ms Freeman paid close attention to that and a number of other organisations across the country. The Government will continue to listen to those groups. Social isolation is one of the things that we are determined to tackle. I was very pleased to visit Dundee City Council quite recently, where their social isolation teams were based with their energy efficiency teams, their homeless teams and their welfare benefits teams. It is very important that local authorities look to bringing those services together so that we can provide our very best for those folks out there who may feel isolated. Does the minister agree that befriending services such as those that are run by quarriers in North Ayrshire can deliver great benefits, including improved confidence and wellbeing to people experiencing loneliness and, indeed, those who befriend them? How does the Scottish Government plan to encourage and support such initiatives? I pay tribute to the important work that organisations like quarriers do. I think that befriending services like those are often a vital lifeline to those who are most at risk of social isolation and loneliness. Not everyone needs them, but for those who do, they play a vital role in supporting individuals to build up their social networks, spend quality time with another person and participate in activities that they might otherwise not have the opportunity to do. I know that, for many people who have been the befriender, their own life has been enriched both by the individual relationships with their befriending and by the opportunity to give back to their community. I say more power to the elbow of quarriers and other organisations like that. The Government strategy on loneliness acknowledges the importance of libraries and notes government investment in the public library improvement fund. I wonder if Jean Freeman kept a close eye on recent figures provided by the Scottish Library and Information Council, because they show that a total of 30 libraries closed in Scotland last year, up from 15 the year before. Does the minister agree that those closures will have a negative impact on community cohesion, and how does the Government plan to prevent further closure of public libraries in future? I thank Ms Lennon for her question. I had the great pleasure of being in the south of Edinburgh this morning at the community hub there, which incorporated the library. I think that Edinburgh has done very well in incorporating community facilities together, which not only saves money but brings services together so that people can access those services in one place. As Ms Lennon is well aware, she is a former local councillor like myself. She is up to local authorities themselves to make the decisions about libraries. While I was serving in Aberdeen and in the administration, I ensured that there were no library closures, and I think that many other local authorities should try and do likewise. Does the minister recognise that the Government's own free bus travel for the over-60s helps many people to overcome loneliness and isolation at the moment? Should we not be promoting this scheme rather than considering restricting it? If he disagrees with me, would he mention it to the new transport minister? I know that I said that I was going to answer a fair amount of questions across the portfolio this afternoon, but I did not expect questions on transport. The concessionary fare scheme itself has been kept by the Government. Obviously, there has been an on-going review. The positivity of concessionary fares is beyond doubt, and I am sure that the new transport minister will report back to Parliament after the findings of the consultation are complete. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report by crisis everybody in How to End Homeless in Great Britain published in 2018. I welcome the recent report from crisis and the work of its chief executive, John Sparks, who chairs our homelessness and rough sleeping action group. I am pleased that the report recognises the Scottish Government's strong commitment to tackling homelessness and highlights some of the strides that we have already made, for example, noting that we have set the highest standard in limiting the use of unsuitable temporary accommodation in the UK. The crisis report highlights the challenges around homelessness and the need for us all to do more. That is exactly why we established the action group last year to help us to identify the solutions to homelessness. I welcome the recommendations that they have published, including the final set in their report today. Minister, as you know, the report is a weighted document, substantial recommendations contained within it. However, let me pick just the first one to introduce a statutory duty to prevent homelessness for all households who are at risk of becoming homeless within 56 days, regardless of priority status, local connection and tensionality, or migration status. As the MSP for Mary Hilton Springburn, I occasionally have constituents at imminent risk of homelessness, including elderly residents, told to turn up homeless services a couple of weeks before they are homeless or worse still once they are on the streets. Can I ask the minister to act on the recommendation contained within the report that I have highlighted and monitor practice across local authorities to ensure its appropriate implementation? As I said, I welcome the report from Crisis and the work of John Sparks. Once we have strong rights for homeless households and we have made much progress on preventing homelessness in recent years, we are determined to do much more to make a step change in people's experience of housing and homelessness in Scotland. That is why we have accepted in principle all the action group's recommendations, including examining the case for introducing a comprehensive homelessness prevention duty on local authorities and on other local public bodies. We have committed to working with our partners across a range of sectors to bring forward a programme of work to take forward the recommendations. I know that Mr Doris has been keeping a very close eye on that. I am sure that he will continue to scrutinise the Government as we go forward on that front. Annie Wells Thank you. Statistics last week showed that the number of homelessness applicants formerly in the armed services in Scotland increased by 11 per cent between 2016-17 and 2017-18. As housing is a devolved issue, what action has been taken by the minister to ensure that veterans in several countries are being supported once they leave the armed services? I pay tribute to Keith Brown in his role as minister for veterans in the last government. It would be fair to say that he kept me on my toes in dealing with veterans' issues. The Government has provided funding to the garden city project, for example, to provide housing for veterans. I would say that what would be helpful is if the Ministry of Defence actually helped us in terms of land and housing that it has in Scotland, which would help to alleviate some of the difficulties that we face here. I know that Mr Brown was assiduous on that, particularly in his discussions about the Stirling and Clackmanager city deal. In order for us to get that right, I would be grateful if Ms Wells could talk to the UK Government as well to see whether it can be a bit more positive in allowing the transfer of land and housing from the Ministry of Defence so that we can do more for our veterans. To ask the Scottish Government when the minister for local government and housing last met East and Bartonshire Council on what issues were discussed. Minister, ministers and officials regularly meet representatives of all Scottish local authorities, including East and Bartonshire Council, to discuss a wide range of issues as part of our commitment to working in partnership with local government to improve outcomes for the people of Scotland. Neil Bibby. I would suggest that the minister meets East and Bartonshire Council promptly, because the minister will be aware that GMB Unison and Unite trade unions have taken understandable and unprecedented strike action against East and Bartonshire Council after a sustained attack on the conditions of some of their lowest-paid council workers. The Lib Dem Tory coalition running the council have put forward proposals to cut annual leave, scrap overtime allowances and reduce redundancy benefit to the lowest level of any Scottish local authority. Will the minister unequivocally condemn the administration at East and Bartonshire Council, although it is not an excuse for the council for their conduct? Will the minister also accept that this attack on workers' rights is also driven by austerity or austerity that the SNP Government has intensified and passed on to Scotland's councils for far too long? I think that Mr Bibby spoiled his question at the end. If he wants to point the finger about austerity, he should be pointing the finger at the UK Government, who have slashed the budget of this Scottish Government. As Mr Bibby well knows, this dispute is between the councils and the employer and the unions representing staff. Councils are independent of the Scottish Government and ministers do not have legal powers to intervene in such matters. However, we regret any action that disrupts schools and other public services and we would encourage all parties to resolve the dispute quickly without further disruption for the residents of East and Bartonshire. Rona Mackay The SNP group on East and Bartonshire Council resigned from leading the council after losing the vote when opposing the assault on workers' terms and conditions. Does the minister agree that administrations who ride roughshod over union members on workers' rights should be condemned in the strongest terms? As I said to Mr Bibby, the dispute is between the council and the employer and the unions representing the staff of East and Bartonshire Council. As members are aware, councils are independent of the Scottish Government and it is for locally elected representatives to resolve the disputes. I have no powers to intervene on such matters, but I reiterate again that I think that the council, the employer and the union should get round the table to resolve the situation and ensure that the people of East and Bartonshire are served well. Murdo Fraser Thank you, Presiding Officer. I know that we now have a statement on this coming up imminently, but can I ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to tackle the recent rise in homelessness? Murdo Fraser Presiding Officer, it is not acceptable in a country like Scotland for people to be rough sleeping or spending extended periods of time and temporary accommodation. That is why we established the homelessness and rough sleeping action group and have set up the £50 million ending homelessness together fund to drive sustainable and lasting change to tackle homelessness in Scotland and to make rough sleeping a thing of the past. This morning, the action group published its fourth report and its final set of 29 recommendations about ending homelessness, which the Scottish Government has accepted in principle. We look forward to implementing the action group's recommendations and moving towards ending homelessness in Scotland for good. Murdo Fraser Can I thank the minister for his response? For the first time in nine years, the number of homelessness applications has risen. For example, in my own region, in Perthyn Cynroth, there was a 17 per cent spike in the number of homelessness applications over the past year. As the minister said, there has been a rise in the number of households and children sleeping in temporary accommodation. On the action plan that the minister referred to, can he tell us specifically what headline action will tackle the problem? Will there be additional resources available to local authorities who have seen a particular rise in homelessness problems? I find it always rather surprising that the Conservative benches talk about spending more money when they were the party that wanted to slash £550 million from our budget by giving tax cuts to the rich. We have seen a situation for the first time in a decade where we have seen a 39 per cent drop in homelessness applications here in Scotland. We have seen a rise. I have to say that that is regrettable, but one of the reasons why we are seeing that rise—we hear that from third sector partners and from the likes of the national audit office—is because those things are being driven by the Tory Government's welfare changes. Things such as the benefit cap, sanctions and Mr Fraser shites from a sedentary position somebody else's to blame. In this case, the Tory Government is very much to blame, and it should rethink all of its welfare policies and put people first. Does the minister accept the national audit office's conclusion that the rise in the number of homeless families in the UK is likely to have been driven by the UK Tory Government's welfare changes? I am glad that Mr Lyle, like myself, has read the national audit office report, which is pretty damning. I agree with him. The Scottish Government believes that the UK Government's welfare policies are limiting access to affordable accommodation for those on low incomes, as such is increasing the risk of hardship and homelessness. The Scottish Government recently published a report on the impact of welfare reform on housing and found that, in the private and social sector, households have been severely affected by the UK Government's welfare policy. The report highlights the negative effect of universal credit on both tenants and landlords due to the major increase in rent arrears. In East Lothian, for example, 72 per cent of social housing tenants claiming universal credit were in arrears compared to 30 per cent of all tenants. That is down to universal credit, that is down to those welfare changes, and it is about time that the Tories recognise the damage that they are doing to people across the country. To ask the Scottish Government what impact it anticipates the roll-out of universal credit on people in the Renfrewshire South constituency. The UK Government's planned roll-out of universal credit full service in Renfrewshire in September 2018 is unfortunately likely to result in increased debt, hardship and rent arrears and push people into crisis. At risk of homelessness, that is what we have seen in other council areas, as I have just said. The trust of trust explicitly links the rise in the use of food banks to the roll-out of universal credit. It found that food bank use increased by an average of 52 per cent in UC full service areas. Evidence provided by COSLA also suggests that average rent arrears for those in receipt of UC are more than 2.5 times higher than those on housing benefit. The Scottish Government has now written to Esther McVeigh for the sixth time in two years, calling on the UK Government to halt the roll-out of universal credit. However, Esther McVeigh's statement to the House of Commons in 21 June suggests that our plea continues to fall on deaf ears. Tom Arthur. I have had far too many constituents come to my surgery in tears as a result of the UK Government's welfare reforms and our sanction regimes. Does the minister agree with me that the recent national audit office report on the rolling out of universal credit is a damning indictment of the Tory UK Government's handling of the benefit system? However, it is further evidence that Westminster cannot be trusted to look after the most vulnerable and yet another reason why this Parliament should have the full powers of a normal, independent country. I agree completely and utterly with Tom Arthur that this Parliament should have full powers over social security. Every day we are hearing further evidence about the misery that universal credit and other benefits such as ESA and PIP are causing. Continuing austerity will result in an overall reduction in annual welfare spend of £4 billion in Scotland by 2020. That is in stark contrast to the way that we will deliver social security in Scotland. We are putting people first and treating them with the dignity and respect that everyone has the right to expect from their social security system. We expect to spend over £125 million in 2018-19 on welfare mitigation measures to help the most vulnerable people here in Scotland. That is over £20 million that has been spent in previous years. The key thing in all of this is that the Tories should rethink their policies of austerity and roll back on those nonsensical benefit cuts. 7. Stuart McMillan Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government how many affordable homes it plans to build in Inverclyde with local housing associations by 2021. Presiding Officer, over the course of this Parliament, 898 affordable homes are planned in communities across Inverclyde, with locally-based associations delivering 671 of those. That is backed by nearly £50 million of investment from the Scottish Government. That investment will go towards meeting our ambitious target of delivering over 50,000 affordable homes by 2021 and back by £3 billion of investment. I am delighted to say that, since 2007, we have delivered over 76,500 affordable homes across Scotland. Stuart McMillan I thank the minister for that reply. I welcome the vast investment that the Scottish Government will be allocating to Inverclyde and how that will benefit many families and local community. However, the minister agrees with me that, alongside any new homes that are affordable and private, local authorities should consider when progressing the local development plans how they will be serviced with improved infrastructure to guarantee positive outcomes for those new developments and residents. I thank Mr McMillan for that question. It is the responsibility of local authorities to address those issues through their local development plans in accordance with the Scottish planning policy and the national planning framework. The Scottish Government is committed to promoting an infrastructure first approach to the delivery of development and to supporting stakeholders in the process. Achieving better co-ordination of infrastructure, planning, delivery and the development plan process itself is a key part of our on-going planning review and also a large part of our planning bill. To ask the Scottish Government when it will next meet the UK Government ministers responsible for social security. The next formal meeting between the Scottish Government and the UK Government ministers is the joint ministerial working group on welfare, which is scheduled to be held on Monday, 10 September. The previous meeting took place in Edinburgh on 14 June. In addition, Angela Constance and Jeane Freeman have had contact with the Secretary of State for Scotland, the Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions and the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work. May I ask that, at the next available opportunity, Scottish ministers raised with UK ministers the question of the removal of both enhanced and severe disability premiums from universal credit. Could they ask them to explain why the UK Government thinks acceptable that a constituent of mine, registered disabled, will lose more than £200 a month from transfer to universal credit, despite the so-called transition protection payment? Presiding Officer, I thank Ms Fabiani for her question. I know that Ms Freeman has written twice to the UK Government regarding the issue on 21 March and 16 May this year, sharing our serious concerns over the loss of income that disabled people are having to endure when they are moved to universal credit. The lack of transitional protection for people moving on to universal credit is completely and utterly unacceptable. Even the UK Government has now recognised that, but its offer of backdated transitional protection will be of little comfort to those who have had to live with the impact of mis-premiums on their incomes and living standards. On 7 June this year, in a written statement, Esther McVeigh confirmed that the DWP would provide transitional protection for people on receipt of the disability premiums. Draft regulations recently published by the DWP have given some information about the plans for that transitional protection, but not only have people missed out on the premiums when they have moved to universal credit, but many thousands of people who should have been entitled to the premiums when initially making that switch to ESA from incapacity benefit have not been receiving them due to administrative errors from the DWP. I know that Ms Freeman recently met with the independent living fund Scotland, who shared with her some of the stories of people who they have helped to receive upwards of £10,000 of missing premiums. This is yet another disgraceful shambolic situation that the UK Government has put in place, and it is now time for them to fix it so that the most vulnerable people in our society are protected and get the payments that they need and deserve. Thank you, minister. I know that the minister is trying to be helpful, but if he can direct his remarks to the chair and through the microphone, everyone will pick it up and clean the official report. Thank you. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackling hate crime. Presiding Officer, last year Angela Constance published an ambitious programme of work to tackle hate crime and build community cohesion. She also established an action group to take this forward. The action group is tackling a range of issues, including how to increase reporting, raise awareness and prevent hate crime from occurring. Last October, the Government ran the successful Hate Is No Home in Scotland campaign to raise awareness of hate crime and how to report it. The Government is carefully considering Lord Bracadale's important recommendations published on 31 May on hate crime legislation. I thank the minister for that answer. Figures released by the crime office this month show a massive spike in certain forms of hate crime. Since 2010-11, sexual orientation hate crime has increased by 146 per cent, transgender identity hate crime by 250 per cent and disability hate crime by a shocking 1100 per cent. I recognise that that is part due to increased reporting, but what action is the minister taking to ensure that such crimes are being tackled at the root and that real progress will be made? I think that Ms Wells is right to highlight the fact that there may be increased reporting and that is a good thing. However, we cannot be complacent on any of those issues. I have to say from a constituency perspective that I was very perturbed to see the rise in hate crime against LGBT plus people in my own area. I, on a constituency capacity, have been in touch with the police there to make sure that all is being done. Ms Wells can be assured that the Government will look carefully at the important recommendations that have been put forward by Lord Bracadale and our continued efforts. The minister is referring to his constituency experience, but, with respect, we are in the chamber to ask questions of the responsible Scottish Government ministers. It is my understanding that the vote on ministerial appointments does not take place until tomorrow lunchtime, and we find that the front bench is short of the cabinet secretary for this portfolio and the Minister for Social Security, which Mr Stewart has already made reference to three or four times that he was dealing with those issues and not himself. Is it not more respectful to Parliament that the ministers in charge of those portfolios show up to answer the questions? The member has expressed her view. It is up to the Government to decide which ministers should reply to parliamentary questions. In that case, the minister did make it clear from the outset that he would be answering all the questions, and he needed to ask for the chamber's indulgence at that point. Ms Wells is a question. If Ms Wells has any specific points that she would like to make, then I am sure that the new ministerial team will be pleased to look at that, but she can be assured that this Government will continue to have a zero tolerance policy towards any hate crime. We would encourage people to report it, and we would encourage the authorities to take action as necessary to deal with those despicable crimes. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle discrimination and prejudice based on immigration status. The Minister for Public Health and Sport has launched our We Are Scotland campaign, which challenges attitudes around migration. I have outlined my answer to Annie Wells and the range of steps that we are taking to tackle hate crime. In addition, at the end of last year, we published our new Scotrefugee integration strategy, which supports the vision of a welcoming Scotland and our race equality action plan, which is focused on ensuring better outcomes for ethnic minorities in Scotland. We are clear that any form of discrimination or prejudice is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. In answer to the previous question that the minister mentioned, the Brachydale review, which concluded in paragraphs 4.72 to 7.6, respondents had a clear view that there was offending behaviour involving hostility to people on the basis of immigration status and that there was no central collection of data in relation to the immigration status of those victims of crime. It did not recommend a new statutory aggravation, and I can understand why it is already covered. Does the minister agree that we are not doing enough if we are failing to collect that data around the immigration status of people who are victims of crime that is motivated by prejudice on grounds of their immigration status? What is there short of introducing a new aggravation that the Government can do to try to address that? Presiding Officer, I am not going to pre-empt the Government's response to Lord Brachydale's recommendation. I am sure that the cabinet secretary will look at that in some depth and will report back to Parliament exactly what our responses are in that regard. However, I reiterate again that this Government has zero tolerance for any hate crime. I think that a lot of what is going on out there has been fuelled by the UK Government's policies, including the hostile environment policy, and fuelled even more by some of the so-called newspapers that try to blame migrants for everything when those people have come to our country and have done extremely well in our society, earning and living amongst us and providing us with added value in our cosmopolitan Scotland. Long may that continue. To ask the Scottish Government how it defines social enterprise for the purposes of providing public funding, support or other assistance to relevant organisations. Public funding is targeted in line with our strategic approach, developed in partnership with the sector. Broadly speaking, social enterprises are businesses that trade for the common good. They seek to make profits but are committed to reinvesting them into a social mission. Although there is no legal definition, the Scottish social enterprise sector has set down the values and behaviour by which they recognise a social enterprise. That voluntary code of practice recognises five basic criteria for social enterprises. The code is referred within the Scottish social enterprise strategy, co-produced between the Scottish Government and the social enterprise sector, which was launched in 2016, and which sets out our shared priorities over the next 10 years. I thank the minister for that response. As he indicated, there is no legal definition of what constitutes a social enterprise in Scotland, and that has led to confusion for many enterprises operating in that area. I ask the minister and the new cabinet secretary to look at measures to clarify the definition of social enterprise in order to address that confusion. I am sure that the new cabinet secretary will look at that. Although there is no legal definition, it has to be said that that has not been a barrier to growth in the sector. The 2017 Scottish social enterprise census recorded an additional 400 social enterprises operating in Scotland compared with the number identified in the 2015 census. The sector in Scotland is thriving and contributed £2 billion to the economy in 2017, but we will look at what Mr Lockhart has highlighted here today. That concludes portfolio questions. We will move on to another item of business involving the same minister. However, we will just take a few seconds for members to change seats.