Chamber and committees

Instead of tinkering for tinkering’s sake, the SNP should focus on the day job, provide a clean, fast, modern and reliable rail service and actually deliver on the promises that it made.

Has there been any review of other organisations to see whether there have been other breaches of policies and processes similar to those that we have seen at WICS?

I would like to know whether the Scottish Government is doing a full review of all organisations to see whether such a culture exists in other places. Outside agencies are acting with impunity, and this devolved Government must either take control of outcomes or oversee them more robustly.

The cabinet secretary’s letter to the committee talks about establishing a peer-led sponsorship network. I suggest to the cabinet secretary that we might need a bit more than another talking shop. The narrative around WICS is not the only story of taxpayers’ money being wasted by this out-of-time Scottish National Party Government. Whether it is ferries, prisons, spin doctors or equality and diversity champions, time and again, the hard-earned money of hard-working Scots has been squandered. Quite frankly, it is a disgrace, and the Scottish public are well and truly sick and tired of seeing their cash disappear under the SNP’s watch. Only the Scottish Conservatives are offering commonsense solutions to the issues that Scotland faces. [Interruption.]

Some members think that money being wasted on Mulberry wallets is funny, but the people I represent do not find it funny at all.

I have a question on that £77,000. Was any of that able to be clawed back from that employee once they had left the company?

It gives me no pleasure to make this my first speech after recess.

I thank the committee for its forensic analysis of what went wrong at WICS. I welcome the convener’s contribution and the cabinet secretary’s words, which recognised the significant failings at the organisation.

The committee’s report catalogues a litany of errors that, at best, pushed the limits of the financial rules and that were, at worst, fraudulent. From a public viewpoint, there was clearly a massive waste of taxpayers’ money, which was used to line the pockets of quango fat cats who acted without fear of being caught or had some idea that they were untouchable and were simply taking what they were entitled to. From Mulberry wallets to lavish dinners, the culture of entitlement was rife. It is that spurious waste of taxpayers’ money that continues to undermine the confidence of the Scottish people in this devolved Government.

When those activities came to light and the chief executive was forced to resign, the Government continued to cost the taxpayer money with an ill-thought-out severance package. Audit Scotland said that that decision was taken too quickly and without considering the wider options. He should have been sacked for gross misconduct, not given a package to leave.

In Audit Scotland’s scathing report and in the committee’s report, we can see a culture of misspending, expenses claims that do not fit with policy and a flagrant disregard for ensuring benefit for the public purse. Audit Scotland found that WICS demonstrated poor governance over its finances, that there was little to no due process and that there was no concept of ensuring value for money. The way that senior officials used public money was simply “unacceptable”.

Audit Scotland also found that WICS needed to do more to ensure that it was delivering best value for money to the taxpayer. The board seemed to be disengaged with the day-to-day operation of the organisation, and oversight was not happening at any level. People need to understand that board membership for organisations such as WICS brings with it serious responsibilities, which seem to have been overlooked. Spending decisions were made without consultation with anyone, and the chief executive and senior management did not seek sign-off for large items of expenditure that should have been discussed.

Policies were in place but were ignored by the senior management team. That is a shocking state of affairs for any public body to be in. However, the list goes on. The committee’s report criticised the Scottish Government for not intervening on the WICS training policy. The Government was aware of the high cost of training, including—let us not forget—courses at Harvard University, which included all flights and accommodation, and we heard today that it was business-class travel.

The committee notes that there have been

“significant weaknesses and failings in the Scottish Government’s sponsorship of WICS. These have led to a failure to ensure appropriate safeguarding of public funds.”

More public money has been wasted. The report goes on to further criticise the Government for appearing to encourage the chief executive to negotiate an early exit date. That meant that a full disciplinary process that would have examined a full account of the failings at WICS by the chief executive never happened.

Although the financial irregularities are bad enough, there were also significant failings in the culture of the organisation, with high levels of bullying being reported by staff. There was a poor work culture after Covid, and there were failings by management to address issues among the staff. All that speaks to a breakdown in the operation of WICS and to a failure in oversight by the Scottish Government. That has led to massive waste of taxpayers’ money and a decline in trust in our public bodies among the Scottish people. Responsibility for that lies solely at the feet of the Scottish Government.

Although the committee has received a helpful response from the new chief executive that accepts the committee’s recommendations and talks about enacting remedial policies to fix the financial irregularities, the Scottish Government’s assurances fall short. The Scottish National Party has created a quango culture of organisations delivering services that should be under the purview of the Scottish Government.

That is set against the SNP Government’s never-ending preaching on what it thinks is best for the Scottish public. The cabinet secretary should hang her head in shame in coming to the chamber today and giving her response to the committee’s report, which highlights all too clearly the failings of this Government and its cosy network of quangos that deliver poor public service to the people of Scotland.

Will the cabinet secretary give way?

No, it was not.

This week, offshore Europe is taking place in Aberdeen, where the best of our energy sector are showcasing to the world the value and skills that an oil and gas sector provides. While I was there, it was put to me that the sector has been waiting more than 31 months for Scotland’s energy strategy. That is 31 months of people having no idea whether the devolved Government still has a presumption against new oil and gas. There is even a petition calling on the Scottish Government to provide the strategy. Can the cabinet secretary commit to releasing the strategy before the end of the year or even before the next election? Can she provide some clarity on this important strategy?

The first thing that I would like to hear is an apology to the people of Scotland for all the money that has been wasted. WICS was under the remit of the Scottish Government, and the Scottish Government has failed in looking after the organisation.

I also asked whether you knew of any other organisations being reviewed. Perhaps some of them are not under your remit.