Chamber and committees

Mr Simpson asks what I have been doing since the points were put to me. I have been asking the permanent secretary of the Scottish Government to raise the issues with Audit Scotland, thereby enabling Audit Scotland to consider them. Audit Scotland has, of course, already undertaken audit work in relation to the Ferguson’s procurement process and will establish whether any further inquiry is required. That would enable independent scrutiny of the procurement process, which is something that Audit Scotland does on countless other issues and has already done on the Ferguson’s contract.

That is what I have been doing, because I thought that Parliament would want an independent assessment process that allows the issues to be properly considered, so that any appropriate action can be taken as a consequence.

As I set out in my answer to Rhoda Grant, the Government published a huge volume of material in 2019, which covered all aspects of the procurement process. Obviously, specific points have been raised with us about information to which Ferguson’s had access, which ministers did not previously know was the case. That is why we have taken the steps that we have taken in raising the issues with Audit Scotland today to enable it to make a judgment about the issues that are raised in the BBC documentary.

The Government wants to make sure that any question that is raised in this regard is properly and fully considered as part of the analysis that should properly be undertaken on the awarding of a contract, if concerns of this type are raised.

As I indicated in my first answer, there is a lot of material in the BBC report. It was first put to ministers last week and I responded in good faith by giving an interview. I have indicated that there are issues of concern that require exploration and I welcome the comments that have been made this afternoon by the Auditor General, who has said that he will consider what further audit work is required in the light of the points that are raised in the BBC report.

There are issues of concern. I do not believe that it would be appropriate for the level of specific information that the BBC documentary says was available to Ferguson’s to have been made available to the company. It is important for me to place on the parliamentary record that CMAL has made it clear to the BBC that it can find no trace of that document going from CMAL to Ferguson’s. It is important that those points of factual accuracy are put on the record.

In relation to the wider questions that have been raised, that is why I gave a commitment that the new points of detail and information that are raised in the BBC documentary must be explored further. I welcome what the Auditor General said about that today.

In relation to the point that Rhoda Grant puts to me in connection with any further investigation, I have set out to Parliament the steps that we have taken to raise with Audit Scotland the issues that have been put to us, and Audit Scotland has made its own judgment, as it should do as the independent auditing body in Scotland.

In relation to documentation, I remind Rhoda Grant that the Government published a huge volume of material in—if my memory serves me correctly—December 2019, which included all the detail around information that was available on the procurement process and development of the contract with Ferguson’s. As I have indicated in my answers today, the Scottish Government, CMAL and Ferguson’s all commit to fully supporting any investigation that is properly undertaken under the auspices of the Auditor General.

Despite the huge challenges that the Scottish budget faces, the UK Government has offered no support to deal with inflationary pressures. With inflation now at more than 10 per cent and predicted to go higher, the Scottish budget is worth around £1.7 billion less than it was when it was presented to Parliament in December.

The Scottish budget is fixed, we cannot vary Scottish income tax in year, our reserve funding is fully allocated and our borrowing powers are woefully inadequate. We need to secure from the UK Government the necessary financial flexibility to enable us to address the very real financial challenges that we face this financial year.

It will be allocated across 31 islands, in six island local authorities. The funding will be allocated directly to support islands that have populations in the low hundreds. The projects include the development of digital and community hubs, which will provide or safeguard key economic and social infrastructure to support healthy, thriving islands. The largest single award of £1.3 million will support a major new nursery development on mainland Orkney, which will benefit all of Orkney’s islands. The project is directly linked to population retention and growth, but it will also address child poverty and provide practical training opportunities for employment.

The cost of living crisis is an unprecedented challenge for us all and action must be taken by all Governments, including and especially by the UK Government.

The First Minister wrote to the Prime Minister on 6 September emphasising the need to act urgently to support citizens now. Given the grave nature of the crisis, I also wrote to the new chancellor to press the need for action. The Prime Minister’s announcement on the energy price cap is welcome, but more action is required to support struggling families and businesses.

That idea was put to me in recent discussions with the leaders of island authorities. I might come on to that in a subsequent question, if we reach it. The idea will be considered as part of a range of measures that we want to take forward to improve connectivity among the islands. We want to ensure that practical measures can be taken to tackle depopulation, which I know is of concern to Mr McArthur and his constituents.

Budgets are not allocated by the Scottish Government to agencies specifically for the purposes of social media advertising and information is not held on the breakdown of social media advertising expenditure by agency. Scottish Government spend on social media advertising from April to August 2022 was £371,993.

I am always interested in the thinking and contribution of Jim Hunter on all matters, and particularly on matters in relation to the Highlands and Islands. Therefore, along with my colleague Mairi Gougeon, I will look with care at those issues. Rhoda Grant helpfully points out the significant relationship between the issues of availability of affordable housing, economic opportunity and depopulation. Without doubt, there is an interrelationship between those matters.

On the question of a new authority, I reserve my position. I would rather that we actually tried to achieve the outcomes that Jim Hunter talks about, which I am certain Rhoda Grant will support. I hope that the measures that the Government is taking in relation to our islands expenditure is of assistance in trying to support the objectives of tackling depopulation, boosting economic opportunity and boosting the supply of housing in the Highlands and Islands.