 We will all be deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Winnie Ewing, an inspiring and hugely influential politician, an MSP, an MP and an MEP, and of course the first person to chair the reconvened Scottish Parliament in 1999. I know members will wish to join me in conveying our deepest sympathies to our colleagues Annabelle Ewing and Fergus Ewing and to all her family and friends. As a mark of respect, I have asked for the flags outside to be lowered for today. The next item of business is portfolio questions. In light of your news, I wonder if I could, on behalf of the Scottish Labour Party, offer our deepest condolences to Fergus and Annabelle Ewing and all members of the family. There is no doubt that Winnie Ewing's contribution to Scotland and to this Parliament was immense and I remember well listening to her as the very first person to speak and open this Parliament. I'll now move to my question. To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there was a delay of more than 80 days in processing 70 per cent of adult disability payments in April 2023. Cabinet Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville. Thank you, Presiding Officer. With your permission, Presiding Officer, I thank Jackie Baillie. For her kind words, Winnie Ewing was the first Presiding Officer of this Parliament. She reconvened this Parliament and much will be said about her role in the SNP and the independence movement. I still have the courage she sent me when I was first elected in my office and I looked at it before I came downstairs today. Hence, I think why I'm so emotional. She was a trailblazer for women, particularly in my party, but not just for the SNP. There will be much that will be said about her role in the SNP and the independence movement, as I say. But I hope today that the whole Parliament can join with me to pay tribute to Winnie. A life well lived, her contribution to public life in Scotland is hard for us to measure. Can I, on behalf of my party and our members, pay tribute and give our deepest condolences to Fergus, to Annabelle, to Terry and their families, at what is the hardest time for any family, but particularly people in public life? Presiding Officer, I can now move to the answer for Jackie Baillie. 53 per cent of decisions on ADP were made in less than four months. However, we know that some people are waiting on an acceptably long time for adult disability payment. Urgent and concerted action has been taken to speed this process up with every step of the application and decision making process having been examined. Social Security Scotland will continue to deliver ADP in a different way to the DWP, supporting people to apply and where required, collecting supporting information for them and the previous system people had to do this themselves before applying. The agency's focus is also on getting the decision right first time in statistics show that this is working with only 6 per cent of people asking for a redetermination. People can also be reassured that all payments are backdated to the date of application. The average processing time for applications has in fact increased every month since the adult disability payment was launched from 45 working days in September 2022 to 96 working days in April 2023. The Scottish Government did promise a fairer and more compassionate social security system in Scotland, but people in Scotland are now having to wait even longer than people in the rest of the UK, which I'm sure was not the intention. Disabled Scots need this support during a cost of living crisis. So, what specifically will the cabinet secretary do to address these delays and deliver the working social security system that we need as a matter of urgency? As I said in my original answer to Jackie Baillie, there are a number of differences between what happens with the DWP system and what is now happening with Social Security Scotland. The most obvious one is the collection of supporting information that the agency does on behalf of the client. That is necessarily taking more time to do, but I reassure Jackie Baillie on the issue that every single aspect of the journey is being looked at all the way from the application form to the information that goes along with the application form to how the decisions are made. We are looking at every single part of that seriously. To give but some examples of that, there have been a number of ways that we have changed in the agency how calls are handled. Staff have been redeployed in a different way. There have already been changes to application forms, particularly about the issue about supporting information. I would say this to everyone in the chamber. If there are constituency issues or lessons that can be learned, both the Government and the agency stand ready to learn. What is still a new system that we are developing and we are determined to do better than we are with processing times at the moment? On behalf of the benches here, we also want to pay our respects and to associate our comments that you have made about Winnie Ewing. I had the privilege of meeting her on a few occasions. She was a woman who was formidable, but she was also seeking to encourage all those who wanted to get involved in public life. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family at this time. I ask the cabinet secretary that it is not just ADP about our experience and unacceptable delays. The average and poor sense of time for funeral support payment was 39 days in March of this year, meaning that many families are having to wait well over five weeks before we can even start to organise a funeral. Can the cabinet secretary tell the chamber why these delays are happening and will she commit to investigating ways in which that can be fixed and will port back to this Parliament? I thank Jeremy Balfour for this important question on funeral support payment. Again, with all aspects of the work of Social Security Scotland, there is a great deal of focus on processing times, on the issue of funeral support payment. Some of the work cannot be completed until the agency has all the information from a client to allow them to process a claim. However, I am more than happy if I can receive further information from Jeremy Balfour in writing to be able to look at any specific issues that there may be or specific cases with a constituent's permission to see if more can be done to again learn lessons to speed things up where at all possible. Willie Rennie. Can I echo others about when he was doing, she was certainly a towering figure, she made quite a mark on Scottish politics and I can understand why people are feeling so emotional about her passing. We want to, from the Liberal Democrats, pass on our sympathies to those people who are feeling this great loss. One of my constituents has been waiting since last October. He has a degenerative spine condition and his mobility is declining. Even though this complaint was upheld, he has only been allocated the basic rate of mobility, so he is now asked for a redetermination, so the wait is even longer because of that. The trouble is that expectations were incredibly high after the Government promised so much about this new social security system. In addition to the changes that the ministers outlined, how is she going to restore confidence among those who are applying for this system so that they do believe that it is worth it and that they do believe that they are going to get their benefits on time? Cabinet Secretary. I thank Willie Rennie for that and for the discussions that I have had previously with him on particular issues. Confidence in the system is a very important one. I was up in Dundee at social security offices to talk to staff and also to clients who had both applied for and received the Scottish child payment and child and adult disability payments. They were very clear to me, as has been shown in the client surveys that the agency has produced recently, that there is a high degree of confidence still in the service that is being provided, that people are felt that they are being believed, that they are being trusted and that they are being treated with dignity, fairness and respect. That is a very important one. We know, however, that there is much to do on the processing times and I hope that I have given some reassurance to members on that today. As I said previously, there are a small number of decisions that are going forward to a redetermination. That is a necessary part of the system and we will endeavour, of course, within the agency to make sure that everything is being done, that that process is as smooth as possible for people too. 2. Alexander Burnett Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child Incorporation, Scotland Bill. Cabinet Secretary. I will provide an update to Parliament on the UNCRC Incorporation, Scotland Bill before the summer recess, which I am confident will provide sufficient reassurance to stakeholders about progress, the reasons for the time taken to bring the bill back to Parliament and how we propose to amend the bill and our continued commitment to incorporation. 3. Alexander Burnett In January, the cabinet secretary said that our government remains absolutely committed to incorporating the UNCRC into Scots law as far as it is possible within devolved competence. However, instead of making this a priority, the SNP Government has chosen to air its constitutional grievances by embarking on a costly legal battle with the UK Government to defend its flawed gender recognition reform bill. My question is why has the Government chosen to prioritise the GRR bill over the UNCRC bill and when can the Parliament expect to see a draft of the updated UNCRC bill? Cabinet Secretary. I think that Mr Burnett was not just reading a preprepared second question and listening to what I said, Presiding Officer, he will get more information on it last weekend. Genuinely, I know that we have differences on gender recognition, but the first question was about incorporation of children's rights. If we could just rise above a bit of a dig about gender recognition and recognise the sheer difficulty that we have as a Parliament where we are literally having to pick out supporting children's rights because of the devolutionary setup, then that does unfortunately take time. I am very sorry that the member feels that he would want to complete those two issues. They are entirely separate, entirely different, and this Government will report back to Parliament on the UNCRC issue next week. I look forward to the statement next week. Is the Scottish Government confident that its decision making children and young people's participation, which was updated on the 20th of June, in particular the UNCRC devolved general comment 12 on the involvement of young people, has manifested itself in its outreach work so far on the UNCRC? I hope to be able to say slightly more if the member will forgive me on this next week. With the Parliament's permission, I will move forward with a statement on this. I think that he does raise a very important point about how we continue to involve children and young people in issues. As I say, if he forgives me, I will perhaps say more on that next week. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether it plans to resume the supersponsor scheme for Ukrainian refugees. Since the war against Ukraine began, over 24,700 people sponsored by an individual or the Scottish Government have arrived in the UK. The decision to pause the scheme was difficult. A surge in applications combined with pressure on short-term accommodation meant that it was needed to ensure that we could continue to welcome those already with a visa. A review of the decision against the greed set of criteria is under way and Parliament will be updated in due course. In the meantime, people can apply for a visa with an individual sponsor. The Scottish Government seems to have overstretched itself with its capacity and resources with the supersponsor scheme for Ukrainian refugees, leaving many in a perilous position unsure of where they will live and when the Government's short-term housing may run out for them. Can I ask the cabinet secretary what measures, if any, she has taken to ensure that every sponsored refugee taken in by the Scottish Government will be given long-term housing options as soon as the short-term housing option contracts end, given the fact that the scheme was paused in July last year due to a lack of availability of housing? The people that we are speaking about have come under circumstances that we cannot even begin to imagine coming to Scotland. That is why it is very important that there is a reassurance that the short-term welcome accommodation is there. Of course, there is a great deal of work going on around long-term accommodation with the private rented sector and councils. That is why there are a number of councils that have taken up the opportunity of using the Scottish Government funding to bring back voice and to bring other accommodation back into use for our Ukrainian guests. That is something that I would be more than happy to provide further information to the member on, if she wishes. To ask the Scottish Government regarding any implications for refugees from Ukraine, whether it will provide an update on the disembarkation of the MS Victoria prior to the ship's planned departure from the port of Leith on 11 July. There are matching teams on board the MS Victoria, supporting all guests to move on to suitable alternative accommodation before the contract ends on 11 July. The teams work closely with guests to encourage them to consider a range of housing options, including social housing, private rented sector properties, hosted accommodation or alternative welcome accommodation, including hotels. We remain on course to safely disembark the ship ahead of the end of the contract, with the majority of guests that were resident now having already departed or with plans to disembark in the coming weeks. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer and pay tribute to all those involved in this operation. I appreciate and welcome the work under way by matching teams on board the MS Victoria to provide assistance and minimise the inevitable disruption by helping guests to successfully transition to new accommodation through a trauma-informed and person-centred approach, as the cabinet secretary has emphasised. I would also be grateful if the cabinet secretary could provide an update on the ongoing discussions between the Scottish Government and the private rented sector to help to remove any remaining barriers to access to suitable accommodation for my constituents, especially regarding the cost of deposits to secure tenancies. I thank the cabinet secretary for that question and pay tribute to the work that he and the Erdurie Broke MP have done to support their newest constituents while they have been in leave. In addition to providing £1.72 million in grant funding to bring 100 properties in the city back into use, we are working with COSLA and local authorities to consider whether we can bolster existing local authorities support packages that help people with their needs. We are working with the cost of deposits and other barriers to accessing private rental properties. Officials and the Minister for Housing have also engaged directly with lighting agents, landlords and credit reference agencies to understand and overcome some of the non-monitory barriers to accessing private rental properties and ensured to displace people from Ukraine that are able to access information about private tenancies. The cabinet secretary has further constituency work, as we have done in the past. I would be more than happy to work with him alongside my colleague the Minister for Housing. Miles Briggs. I associate myself with the words of Bang MacPherson. I also take this opportunity to thank those who work in our schools in Edinburgh and have offered a very warm, supportive learning environment to these young people while they have been educated here in Edinburgh. My question was in relation to maintaining connections between these young people. We know that many of them will now be moving to different parts of the country, but their support network is here in Edinburgh, so I wondered what support will be provided to make sure that they can continue to keep these relationships going in the future. Cabinet secretary. I associate myself very much with the remarks that Miles Briggs has made about the warm welcome that has been given within our schools, particularly but not just in Edinburgh to our youngest Ukrainian guests. It is very important that councils are working together on this. The City of Edinburgh council has not been the only council that has been on board the ship, many others have as well. The council within Edinburgh and other councils are working exceptionally closely to make sure that we are doing everything that we can within public agencies and indeed the third sector to ensure that we are doing everything possible to maintain connections and make the transition from NS Victoria to other accommodation as seamless and as easy for people. On Monday, at the CPG for mental health of which I am a co-convener, we heard a presentation from Edinburgh-based charity Fenyx on the mental health and integration needs of Ukrainian refugees settling here. Its findings from those responding to their survey suggest more support is required in terms of refugees navigating the system and accessing services such as mental health and children's services. What additional measures can be provided to those who have sought sanctuary in Scotland to ensure that they get all the support that they need and what can be done to ensure that the support is trauma informed? Another very important issue about the fact that this is not just about housing or indeed schooling but about ensuring that we wrap around as much support as possible for Ukrainians as they come to Scotland. For however long that may be. The issues around support whether it is in the health service or indeed wider services is something that Scottish Government officials and councils and other public agencies are working very closely on. If there are particular concerns from the cross-party group, I would be more than happy to receive further feedback on that. I would be very interested in the results from that to see what we can learn. As the Scottish Government, what support is being provided to Social Security Scotland in light of the continued transfer of cases from the Department of Work and Pensions and increase in applications? We are working closely with Social Security Scotland and the DWP to safeguard the transition of client awards to the agency. This is a joint delivery programme. We are prioritising the safe and secure transfer of client data. We are closely monitoring the number of applications for disability benefits against our forecasts and exploring a range of ways to improve our application processes, including taking a comprehensive look at every step in the journey from people applying for a disability benefit to getting paid. I think that the cabinet secretary for that response. I have been contacted by several constituents citing delays to their payments. With one constituent advising, they have waited over four months for their paperwork to process and a decision to be made. During that time, they were supporting an ill family member residing in the same household and had to travel to hospital appointments with very little income. To that end, can the cabinet secretary confirm what support the Scottish Government can provide to Social Security Scotland to ensure that they continue to maintain a person-centred approach whilst implementing their first come, first served case management system? As I mentioned to members in previous answers, there is a great deal of work going on within Social Security Scotland and the Social Security Directorate in the Scottish Government to ensure that action is being taken on every step of the process to see what can be done to speed up processing times. Progress is being made. I reassure members that more decisions are being made per week now than they have been in the past. We are seeing improvements. I go back again to the issue of the fact that the agency collates the supporting information, which is very different to what happened under the DWP, where it was the client that had that responsibility. We are looking carefully at the agency and the Government about what more can be done to speed up the process of receiving that supporting information and the decision being made. If Michelle Thompson has particular constituent cases that she would like me to look into, I would be more than happy to do so. We know that the Government has spent almost £180 million on an IT system for the agency with no end in sight, and we know that there are significant challenges to people getting a response on the phone or online. Can the cabinet secretary say what action has been taken immediately to ensure that people can get through and get an answer on those issues? The IT system delivers a Scottish child payment. There is one end that we have already well in our sites that provides support directly to children and their families across the country. I have made that point. I will say that there is an issue around telephony. That is why the agency has, and we will continue to see what more can be done to improve the call waiting times. There has been improvements again in this area because of some of the steps that the agency has already taken. I am more than happy to share further details of that with the member in due course, Shuri Wish to see them. 7. Paul Sweeney To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the levels of child poverty in Scotland. As our progress report published last week shows, our focus on tackling child poverty is unequivocal and making a significant difference. However, there are still too many children living in poverty in Scotland. Economic modelling published last week estimates that 90,000 fewer children will live in relative and absolute poverty this year due to Scottish Government policies, with poverty levels 9 per cent lower than they would otherwise have been. That includes lifting 50,000 children out of poverty through the Scottish child payment. We are, however, doing this with one hand tied behind our back, given the UK Government's decade of austerity, a hard Brexit and their mishandling of the economy, which is why we will continue to argue for the full powers to tackle that. 7. Paul Sweeney The cabinet secretary will be aware of shocking statistics because she mentioned them just there that showed that a third of children in Glasgow are living in poverty and the neighbouring local authority South Lanarkshire around a quarter of children live in poverty. I agree wholeheartedly that cruel Tory policies such as the two child cap should be scrapped, but the Government could and can do more here to eradicate poverty. One way it could be doing that is through funding local authorities to enable them to continue with their summer holiday food programmes, which provide targeted support for families in need and ensure that children at least get one hot meal a day. The Government has provided no clarity whatsoever on funding that will be available for local authorities to deliver on those programmes, and both Glasgow and South Lanarkshire councils are crying out for clarity. So when will the Government confirm that funding? Schools in Glasgow close for the summer tomorrow and South Lanarkshire schools finish on Tuesday. Thousands of children look set to lose out on this crucial provision simply because of this Government's indecision. I'll be happy to provide the member with further information about the refocusing of the funds in that issue. I'm really glad that some of the welfare policies should be scrapped and changed. It's just a shame that UK Labour don't agree when there's no change that's happening at this level within the Scottish Conservatives and their masters down south, and indeed with UK Labour as well. It is deeply disappointing that, once again, we have people coming here expecting the Scottish Government to have to admit against the worst of Tory and, apparently, now labour welfare policies. Collette Stevenson. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Analysis shows that 90,000 fewer children will live in poverty as a direct result of the actions and decisions that the Scottish Government is taking with its limited powers through the Scottish child payment and, of course, mitigating cruel Tory policies such as the bedroom tax and the benefit cap. However, as the cabinet secretary has mentioned, we are acting with one hand tied behind our backs. Can the cabinet secretary remind the chamber what the impact would be on child poverty levels in Scotland if key UK welfare reforms were reversed? The UK Government's welfare reforms have been hugely damaging to people in Scotland, and they did right across the UK. They are driving people into poverty, and that is a political choice that the UK Government has made. They've also mean that some Scottish Government policies are simply mitigating against the impact of UK Government cuts. Scottish Government analysis published last year showed that reversing key UK Government welfare reforms since 2015 would bring an estimated 70,000 people out of poverty in Scotland, including 30,000 children, in 23-24. We have repeatedly asked the UK Government to reverse these cuts, which are inflicting damage upon households right across the country. 8. David Torrance To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plan to cash first towards ending the need for food banks in Scotland. Earlier this month, Scotland became the first nation in the UK to publish a plan to work towards ending the need for food banks. The plan includes a new £1.8 million programme to improve urgent access to cash in a crisis. As the Trussell Trust notes the efforts of this Government to tackle poverty, concluding through the Scottish child payment will help to raise incomes so that fewer people need to turn to emergency food parcels. David Torrance I thank the cabinet secretary for her answer. Data from the Trussell Trust indicates that the Scottish child payment has reduced the demand for emergency food bank use. At the same time, we know aspects of the UK Government welfare system, such as sanctions in a five-week wait for universal credit, has caused an increase in demand for food banks. Does the cabinet secretary agree that there is a limit to what we can achieve here in Scotland while we are under Westminster control? Cabinet secretary David Torrance is quite right to point out the limitations that we have within our devolved powers and a fixed budget. The Trussell Trust is right to note that the efforts of this Government to tackle poverty, in particular child poverty, through the Scottish child payment, will help to raise family incomes. It is a shame that the UK Government does not share our determination to tackle child poverty, to lift children out of poverty so that they can reach their full potential. That concludes portfolio questions. I will allow a moment for front benches to organise themselves.