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Mr Matheson says the committee has raised a number of proposals around protection of children and non-harassment orders.

Labour MSP Kezia Dugdale says Scottish Women's Aid and Children First have called for issues around the domestic abuse of children to be on the face of the Bill.

The justice secretary says child welfare legislation will be reformed to allow the domestic abuse of children to be addressed.

Mr Matheson says in response to the committee's report the government believes the bar has been set right.

The justice secretary says the way this offence is going to work is by criminalising specific behaviour.

He says children too are harmed by domestic abuse and that may be directly or the affects of witnessing a parent being abused.

Mr Matheson says this can be reflected when sentencing the perpetrator.

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Mr Matheson says domestic abuse is often not accompanied by physical violence.

He says this coercive or controlling behaviour can be very difficult to prosecute.

The justice secretary says the centrepiece of the Bill is a new offence of domestic abuse.

He says the new law allows the abuse in its totality to be prosecuted as a single offence, it is a course of conduct defence that enables the entirety of the abuse in a single charge.

Mr Matheson says this parliament has legislated to make stalking an offence.

The justice secretary says it is clear that the criminal law does not reflect what domestic abuse is.

He says the law focuses on individual experiences such as assault and does not take into account that it is normally a pattern which happens over a long period of time.

Mr Matheson says examples of what abusers do to their victims is truly shocking.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson says twice as many women report having experienced partner abuse in the last twelve months as men.

Mr Matheson says the parliament and the society have moved a long way on the issue of domestic abuse.

He says too many people saw domestic abuse as only physical and as a private matter.

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The minister says domestic abuse is commonly experienced as a pattern of abuse over time.

It can take the form of violence or control and coercion he says.

He says the Domestic Abuse Bill is the next step in the fight of the scourge of domestic abuse.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson says the number of instances of domestic abuse are truly shocking.

Mr Matheson says it is likely that everyone in the chamber has a friend or family member who has or is suffering abuse at the hands of an ex-partner.

"Anyone can experience domestic abuse," he says.

He says women are disproportionately affected.

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Last year we reported that Scotland is set to become one of the first countries in the world to criminalise psychological abuse.

In September 2016 MSPs debated the Domestic Abuse Bill in the Scottish Parliament.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson used the debate to condemn the "pernicious, coercive and controlling behaviour" of perpetrators.

Police Scotland recorded almost 60,000 cases of domestic abuse in 2014-15.

The majority (79%) of cases involved a male perpetrator and a female victim.

The bill will create a specific offence of "abusive behaviour in relation to a partner or ex-partner".

MSPs will now debate the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill at stage one.

Mr Hepburn says flexible working helps employers retain their top talent.

The employability minister says the government are committed to closing the equality gap for those who have disabilities.

He says it s important for employers to engage with this vision.

Employability Minister Jamie Hepburn says the government and parliament should be doing all it can to promote family friendly and flexible working.

Mr Hepburn says the lack of flexible working available is causing a talent bottleneck.

The employability minister says the government is committed to closing the gender pay gap.

He says there needs to be new thinking by employers.

SNP MSP Ash Denham says flexible working can do a great deal of good for families and businesses.

Ms Denham says attracting more working age people to work in Scotland must be a priority.

The SNP MSP says just over a third of workers are looking for part time or flexible working conditions.

She says many people feel trapped in their current roles because of working conditions that suit them.

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Tory MSP Jeremy Balfour says both employers and employees can gain from flexible working arrangements.

Mr Balfour says his staff in the parliament have flexible hours that suit them and gives him the best talent in the parliament.

Mr Balfour says 77% of part-time workers feel trapped tin their role.

He says Disability Agenda Scotland identified some disabled people are not able to work and that must be supported.

Mr Balfour says for others the focus should be on what they can do not what they cannot.

He says he was very fortunate with the flexibility of his first job after university.

SNP MSP Graeme Dey says this report raises some important issues.

Mr Dey says when it comes to recruitment most employers do not use flexible working as a tool to attract employees.

The SNP MSP says people need to know that they can ask for flexible working.

He says becoming carer positive is a win, win for employers and employees.

Image source, Scottish Government

Click her for the Timewise Flexible Jobs Index Scotland: Maximising talent and driving inclusive growth., external

Labour MSP Jackie Baillie commends the Scottish government for its role in commissioning the report.

Ms Baillie says: "I can see I have shocked the minister."

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Ms Baillie also praises Family Friendly Working Scotland for their role in commissioning the Timewise report, Flexible Jobs Index Scotland: Maximising talent and driving inclusive growth.

The Labour MSP says: "We know there is a long way to go."

She says many women are working part-time at a level below their qualification level and calls on the government to bed in flexible working into everything it does.

Tory MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston says flexible working could help regions such as the Highlands and Islands to attract more workers.

Mr Halcro Johnston says the infrastructure such as fibre broadband must be in place.

He says flexible working can help people back into work after a break.

Last October we reported that most working parents in Scotland are unhappy with the balance between their home and work life, according to a poll by a group of voluntary organisations.

The study suggested only 12% feel their work-life balance is "just right".

Less than a quarter (22%) think they have "the right balance of time and money for their family to thrive".

The poll was carried out by Family Friendly Working Scotland group, which works with the Scottish government.

The organisation said inflexible work arrangements were often to blame, with many parents saying they missed out on special family moments.

Image source, Thinkstock

These included attending school plays or putting their children to bed.

The poll suggested:

• Four in 10 working parents would work more flexible hours if they could
• Nearly a third (31%) would like to go home on time more often
• More than a fifth (22%) would like to work their agreed hours without pressure to do more
• Almost half (44%) felt work got in the way of attending school or nursery shows and events often or all the time
• Just over a third (34%) said it interfered with their ability to help their children with homework often or all the time
• More than a quarter (26%) said work got in the way of putting their children to bed often or all the time