09:31
Agenda item 2 is to allow us to highlight our plans for the consideration of recent reports published by the Auditor General for Scotland.
On 8 October, we will take evidence on the courts backlog follow-up report—“Criminal courts backlog follow-up: Transforming for the future”—from the accountable officers from the Scottish Government and the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service. That will be followed by an informal briefing session with the Auditor General on the Scottish Government consolidated accounts, in advance of his section 22 report being published at the end of the month.
On 29 October, we will take evidence from the Auditor General on his renewable energy report, “Renewable energy: The Scottish Government’s Offshore Wind Investment Programme”, which was published this morning, and from accountable officers from the Scottish Government, the Scottish Funding Council and Skills Development Scotland on Audit Scotland’s “Post-school education and skills reform” report.
Before we move to agenda item 3, I invite the Auditor General to say a few words about his new report on renewable energy.
A very good morning to the committee.
As the convener mentioned, this morning, Audit Scotland published a report on the Scottish Government’s offshore wind investment programme. The report found that there is a clear economic case for the programme and some important progress. For example, £141 million has now been committed across 17 projects, which has attracted £413 million of private investment.
We go on to say, however, that progress on the delivery has been slower than expected. Only 28 per cent of the potential £500 million fund has been committed, and most of that support has been provided through grants. That limits the opportunity, so far, to recover and reinvest public money. Beyond that, we found that governance and collaboration need to be strengthened, and there needs to be a clearer assessment of value-for-money arrangements.
Given the duration of the programme, we found that it is too early to conclude whether it will deliver the longer-term benefits. As ever with our reports, we also make recommendations; for example, on stronger investment, decision making and risk management arrangements, and on an updated business case and clearer plan as to what will happen beyond 2028-29.
As the convener mentioned, I very much look forward to discussing the report in detail with the committee later this month.
Thank you for your report. As you have acknowledged, the Scottish Government has committed £141 million across 17 projects, and there has been some progress. However, as you have also noted, the wider £500 million fund is making slow progress, and multiple risks threaten the potential to unlock billions of pounds of supply chain opportunities.
I was concerned to read that the Scottish Government does not have a clear plan from 2029 onwards. As you highlighted, I am also concerned about the limits to the potential to get public money back from offshore wind investment programmes and investments.
Clearly, the report is significantly linked to the ScotWind issue that we will discuss this morning. In the meeting on 29 October, I look forward to hearing from you on the report and the ability to get the most economic benefit from the investments that we make on behalf of the people of Scotland.