 We are all agreed. The motion is therefore agreed. The next item of business is topical questions. I would be grateful for concise questions and responses. At question number one, I call Paul O'Keane. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported announcement that Unite the Union has withdrawn from the co-design process of the national care service. Minister, Kevin Stewart. I welcome the engagement that Unite and other unions have given in recent months, and I'm more than happy to directly engage with Unite on the substantive points that they raise. Unite have stated that they want a cast-iron guarantee that public service social care staff would continue to work with the publicly owned sector, and I'm happy to give it. There is no circumstance where we would want to see a transfer of public sector staff to independent providers. We continue to encourage everyone to play a full role in the co-design process for the national care service to ensure we collectively deliver the public services that people need. Paul O'Kane. The minister's answer would be funny if this weren't such a serious issue. Pat Rafferty, the Scottish Secretary of Unite, has described the national care service bill as an, I quote, not fit for purpose. Unite's intervention joins a growing chorus of voices raising significant concerns about the lack of clarity around what the bill will achieve in practice, and all of this begs the question, why was the bill not co-designed from the beginning before we had legislation in front of us? This is a significant development. Unite represents thousands of social care workers who are on the front line of delivery. We've heard the minister on countless occasions talk about the importance of a co-design process in shaping the national care service. Can he explain why so many stakeholders, particularly those representing front-line care workers, have lost confidence in his national care service proposal? I think that in all of this we have to listen to the people of Scotland, particularly those voices of lived experience who want to see change in our social care system. Scotland's community health and social care system has seen significant incremental change over the last 20 years. Despite that, people with the experience of care and support and providing it have been clear that there remain significant issues. Changes of the scale set out in the bill is necessary to deliver the consistency and quality of care and support across Scotland, the care and support that people deserve and the ending of postcode lotteries. The bill sets out a framework for change and it's important that this Parliament has a chance to scrutinise that framework early to empower people to contribute via the co-design process. He talks about listening to people but the minister's got his fingers in his ears. How many key stakeholders will it take to withdraw from the co-design process before he starts treating the issue with the seriousness it demands? The concerns raised by Unite reinforce wide-ranging concerns that have already been aired by professional bodies, trade unions and front-line workers. Many trade unions have described this bill as not fit for purpose. Many have said that the minister needs to get back round the table, do the co-design process properly and think again. Indeed, this Parliament's final committee— Can I please have a question, Mr O'Kane? —chaired by an SNP colleague voice that's concerned around the cost of the bill. The minister needs to wake up and smell the coffee. Will he recognise— Mr O'Kane, you need to please put your question. Will he recognise that his proposers have lost the confidence of key stakeholders and commit now to pausing the bill? I and the Government will continue to listen to people but the top priority here are those voices with lived experience who feel that there have been huge implementation gaps over the years in our social care system. That is why we agreed to co-design with the voices of lived experience and other stakeholders. We will listen to Parliament, we will look at the parliamentary committee reports and we will listen to trade unions. I have already said that I am more than willing to listen to Unite in these matters. One of the key elements of all of that is that we have to listen to the people who are in receipt of care and support, who want change and want an end to the postcode lotteries that currently exist. Cree Coy. Thank you, Presiding Officer. The Scottish Conservatives have warned for months that the SNP's plans for national care service are unnecessary, unworkable and could fatally undermine local care provision. So now that the Unite union has warned that these plans will push staff and control of social care into an, I quote, unspecified, unaccountable ministerial quangos, will the minister finally throw in the towel and instead put all his energies into fixing the crisis that the SNP has created in Scotland's social care system? Presiding Officer, we are not waiting for the national care service to improve social care here in Scotland and we are very pressured at this moment both in our health service and in our social care system. What we see is a need for change. What is going on at this moment quite clearly shows that change is required. Mr Coy from a sedentary position may shout piffle, but I think that if he spoke to people from across the country who are in receipt of care and support, they think that change is required and that is why the Government has brought forward these proposals. We will continue to listen to people, but we must listen first of all, first and foremost, to those who are in receipt of support of that care and support. Emma Harper Thank you Presiding Officer. Could the Minister give us an indication of how much of the social care workforce is unionised and what benefits does he think the national care service will bring in terms of pay conditions and sectoral bargaining? Presiding Officer, the 2017 Labour force survey indicated that 19 per cent of social care workers have their pay and conditions affected by agreements between employer and trade unions. The national care service will provide for full sectoral bargaining and therefore lead to greater equalisation of pay and terms and conditions across the whole of the social care workforce. By rewarding and valuing the workforce fairly, we will deliver the best possible service for the people of Scotland and we will make the sector fit for the future and more attractive to people coming into the profession. Willie Rennie I am not sure that undermining trade unionism is the best way to go about trying to listen to the trade unions. He said that he is listening, but the Unite trade union has stopped listening to him. The bill has got few friends. It was condemned by the finance committee, criticised by the education committee and the Government still cannot make its mind up if children services should be in or out. Children are an afterthought once again. The bill is doomed. Why can't the minister see the writing on the wall? I should declare an interest as a trade unionist. I am a member of unison and I am someone who will never ignore the trade unions because I have been a trade unionist for all of my adult life. We will listen to people as we move forward, but change is required here. The change that is required is brought to the fore by the voices of lived experience who are often forgotten about in the debates that we are having in this Parliament about the national care service. We must get this right for people. We must remove the postcode lotteries that currently exist. We must rid ourselves of the implementation gaps and by co-designing this with people, with lived experience, with carers, with front-line staff, with trade unions and other stakeholders we will get this right for the people of Scotland. We have to have a sustainable care system for the future and that is what we intend to do. Stephen Kerr. The minister clearly is on a repeat cycle with his answers. He is not answering the questions that are being asked. Let me ask him again in relation to the point that Willie Rennie just made. The question in terms of co-design, etc., of the future of children's services because it remains very, very unclear when precisely is the minister going to resolve the concern of those who work in children's services? When will the Government finally disclose what the future of children's services looks like in relation to any future, which is highly dubious, national care service? I apologise to Mr Rennie for missing out on that part of his question. The national care service consultation, which was based on the adult social care independent review, added to it a number of other questions around about where children's services were and criminal justice should lie, whether that should be in or out of the national care service. The consultation obviously drew on the recommendations from the Thiele report, but that covered adults only. The Government has stated that we would carry out work to ensure that we had all of the right analysis around whether children's services should be out or in. In terms of the specific date when that work finishes for children's services, I will write to the member, but that is something that I have relayed at committee again and again. We want to get this right for all, and we will do so, and we are carrying out the work to do so. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a recent study conducted by the Scottish Retail Consortium, which found that one-in-six shops are lying empty in Scotland. Scotland's retail sector is experiencing huge challenges in trading conditions currently, not least as it tries to recover from the impact of the pandemic. Although we are encouraging signs of increased trade and footfall in the run-up to Christmas, there is no doubt that the cost of living crisis will continue to impact on businesses and town centres. The Scottish Government is working with local authorities and key business stakeholders to revitalise our city and town centres. We have also established a retail industry leadership group, which I co-chair with the chief operating officer of John Lewis, to work collaboratively to chart a brighter future for retail in Scotland and deliver it on the commitments of our retail strategy. I thank the minister for that response. The Scottish Retail Consortium and Industry bodies have asked that the 75 per cent rates relief for small businesses matches that are being offered by the United Kingdom Government. Therefore, minister, is this likely to become a reality for the struggling sector? As I outlined in an answer to the member's colleague Annie Wells last week, we have set out a package of support through the non-domestic rate system, which will see 95 per cent of properties in Scotland be liable for a lower tax rate than they would elsewhere in the UK. As a consequence of our generous, the most generous in the UK small business bonus scheme, more than 50 per cent of properties in RHL will not pay any rates. The reality is that to replicate the relief that the member refers to would mean taking funding from elsewhere within NDR or another portfolio area. If any member wishes to advocate that, I would be happy to discuss it, but I would ask that they identify where the corresponding reduction elsewhere in the budget should be. I thank the minister. The crisis on our high streets is stark in Scotland's rate of vacancy is above that of the United Kingdom as a whole. Does the Scottish Government accept those findings and acknowledge that they have failed to adequately support the retail sector and the high streets in Scotland for some considerable time? I recognise that there are variations in occupancy rates across the UK reflecting circumstances, but I would reject the member's assertion that we have failed to support, not least given the support that we have provided through the non-domestic rate system. Beyond that, there is the work that we are taking forward as part of our retail strategy, our town centre interaction plan, many of the recommendations of which have been given effect through national planning framework 4, which will be adopted formally on the 13th of May. I would also take this opportunity to recommend to members and ask that they engage with the consultation on community wealth building, which I published this morning. Community wealth building will be an essential tool in revitalising our town and city centres. I would again urge all members to take part in that consultation. Minister on many of the levers and resources to deal with the pressures that businesses are facing are as a result of rising energy costs remaining reserved, such as VAT and fuel regulation of the energy market and taxation and windfall profits. Can the minister provide any update as to the Scottish Government's latest engagement with the UK Government regarding the support that is available to businesses in Scotland to help with rising energy costs and what further measures he believes the UK Government should introduce to help mitigate those pressures? The member is correct to highlight those macroeconomic factors outwith our immediate control in this Parliament. The significant cut by the UK Government in support for businesses with their energy costs beyond March is very concerning, particularly for the most vulnerable sectors. My ministerial colleagues wrote to the UK Government at the end of last year to express their disappointment of the lack of opportunity that we had to engage in the review of the energy bills release scheme. To stress that any continued support should be aimed at those businesses and sectors who need it most. Along with businesses, ministers have repeatedly called on the UK Government to take action, including through a VAT reduction on energy bills and an extension of the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme and other loans. MNC, which had a head office in Renfrewshire and has branches across the west of Scotland and the rest of the UK, went into administration last month. What discussions has the Scottish Government had with the administrators and UK Government departments? Will the Scottish Government set up a task force to support the workforce and to ensure that we do not have more empty shops in our town centres? I thank the member for raising that point, and I share her concern, not least as I have an MNC on my own constituency. I recognise the uncertainty that this situation brings for employees. I met the administrators of MNC within the last two weeks. It was a useful discussion, but it is a challenging set of circumstances. I have reiterated that the Scottish Government stands ready to offer support in any practical way that we can if there is an opportunity to save MNC. However, we are working through pace to ensure that support is provided to those who have faced redundancy and who are at risk of redundancy. I am happy to consider any options, but given the challenging set of circumstances we feel that I am not convinced yet at this stage that a task force would be appropriate. However, I would be happy to discuss with the member what opportunities there may be available to provide further support.