We move to agenda item 5, which is our consideration of a report from the Scottish Executive on the progress that has been made on implementing the Audit Committee's recommendations since its establishment in 1999. Over the past four years, the committee has published 15 major reports that have made recommendations for improvements in various areas of public administration and governance in Scotland. Under the written protocol between the Parliament and the Scottish Executive, committee reports must receive a written response from the Executive within two months of publication. The committee has considered Executive responses to all its reports and has occasionally requested follow-up responses on relevant issues.
In the circumstances, two out of 15 is not bad. We might want to flag that up with the Executive or pass that on to the next audit committee for a follow-up.
We could, indeed. I am quite sure that we could get swift responses from the Executive.
Oh, aye.
To be fair, convener, this is not an appropriate time to pursue the Executive regarding audit. I would have thought that that would be gone into in greater depth after the elections.
I am in the committee's hands on the matter because, as a member of the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body—SPCB—I can make no comment on the Parliament building project.
If I might finish the point, I accept what the query was about, but I think that it cannot be used as an example until the committee has had another look at the complete handling of the project.
No—that is not my understanding.
The Auditor General might want to comment. I believe there will be a final report on Holyrood once the building is completed.
I can confirm that I have no immediate intention to examine the Holyrood Parliament building. It might be worth bearing it in mind that the response relates to best practice for major one-off projects. If the Executive were here, its members might say that the Holyrood Parliament was truly unique and that there has been no project of that scale and complexity in Scotland since that project began. It is therefore difficult, from our perspective, to think of another project to which the same disciplines of best practice would need to be applied.
Will there be a final report once the building is completed?
I will certainly bear that in mind as a possibility.
The last recommendation asks us to highlight issues that we think might be of particular interest to our successor committee. I have been on the committee only since November, so I have not seen all the pain and hours of work behind some of the recommendations. However, it strikes me that the report is a very useful account of the progress that has been made as a result of detailed Audit Committee scrutiny. From 15 major reports, only two issues are outstanding. That is a positive set of outcomes from the work that the committee has done. Those who have been on the committee cannot really comment, but it does look like the committee has actually earned its salt.
Thank you for offering that perspective. Indeed, in this government year, the committee has dealt with major items, such as priority dispatch for ambulances and major reforms of further education and the National Health Service. There may be some small items outstanding, but the committee can be quite proud of what it has achieved.
Are there any omissions? In other words, are there any issues on which members wish to receive a progress report, but which are not featured? Other than the matters that are highlighted in the clerk's note, I am satisfied with the content. Is that agreed?
Are there any issues that might be of particular interest to our successor Audit Committee?
Cross-cutting issues are of concern. I have flagged that up in the past and you have called me to order because we cannot make suggestions to our successor committee—we can merely highlight points. Cross-cutting issues have come up in previous inquiries and the Executive is accelerating the use of a cross-cutting approach to dealing with various issues and problems: drug misuse was the first, but there are now a number of others. It is sometimes difficult to track expenditure on those matters, which is an important general issue to raise.
That will be noted in the Official Report and, I hope, passed on. Do members want the points that have been raised to be included in a letter from the clerk to the Executive for comment?
I draw attention to the Scottish Enterprise skillseekers programme. The progress report draws attention to
That point is now in the Official Report. I am sure that the clerk will ensure that it is brought to our successors' attention, whoever they are.