Chairman:

I have a number of quick comments to make. The Minister alluded to legislation a number of times. I assure her that any legislation that comes before this committee will be dealt with efficiently and effectively. We are not here to frustrate or prolong the process which the Minister will have seen with the pre-legislative scrutiny of another Bill. The Minister should be assured the committee will work effectively to carry out its responsibilities.

I will not reiterate what the Minister said in her opening statement but she said she would welcome input from the committee on what it thinks should be two or three main priorities for her in the budget. I will not go over the contributions made but the Minister has listened to them. We reflected significantly on the reports we produced which were on lone parents and pensions. While the Minister has spoken about the change from 2010 and said she cannot deal with it, I think she needs to have a look at it again. The two reports that have budgetary impact, the lone parents and pensions report, are priorities of this committee. The recommendations are there. It was cross-party and unanimous. The Minister needs to reflect on how those reports can be effected in the budget.

I thank the Minister for her attendance and wish her well over the next number of weeks. The outcome of the budget will have an impact on the people we represent. I know horse-trading goes on so I hope the Minister is successful and that the issues we have identified are in some ways addressed. I thank the Minister's officials. They got away lightly today because the Minister was able to do all the answering herself. I thank my colleagues for their attendance. It was a useful, worthwhile and informative meeting.