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All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
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Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 23 February 2023
Richard Leonard
On that positive note, I draw this morning’s evidence session to a close. I thank the witnesses—the permanent secretary, Colin Cook, Jackie McAllister and Alison Cumming—for their input. We did not quite get to some areas because of time, but we might follow those up in writing, if that is okay, and I think that you have undertaken to look at some of the issues that we have raised in the session and come back to us. I thank you very much for your time and your contributions.
10:35 Meeting continued in private until 14:00.Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 23 February 2023
Richard Leonard
Did you have conversations with the business about the fact that its accounts would not be audited?
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 23 February 2023
Richard Leonard
My final question is about sponsorship arrangements, which the committee has taken a keen interest in. We have dealt, over the years, with good and bad examples of such arrangements. A review carried out in 2021 made 14 recommendations, and, permanent secretary, you gave an undertaking that those recommendations would be implemented by, I think, the end of December 2022. As we meet on 23 February 2023, have you met your ambition of implementing all 14 recommendations?
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 23 February 2023
Richard Leonard
Good. Craig Hoy will now ask some questions.
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 23 February 2023
Richard Leonard
Okay. Do you accept the Auditor General’s critique in his briefing on public finances? He said just a couple of months ago:
“The pace and scale of reform required across the public sector needs to increase.”
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 23 February 2023
Richard Leonard
The main business this morning is consideration of the Auditor General for Scotland’s section 22 report on “The 2021-22 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts”, along with his briefing on “Scotland’s public finances: Challenges and risks”.
It is almost exactly a year since we held our previous session on this subject, and I am pleased that, this time, all the witnesses are in the room with the committee. I am pleased to welcome the permanent secretary, John-Paul Marks. Alongside him from the Scottish Government are Colin Cook, director of economic development, Alison Cumming, director of budget and public spending, and Jackie McAllister, chief financial officer. Welcome to you all.
We have a range of questions to put to you, but, before we get to them, I invite the permanent secretary to make a short opening statement.
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 23 February 2023
Richard Leonard
Thank you. We have two or three more critical areas that we want to cover before the session ends. One of those is public sector reform, which I think Alison Cumming alluded to a few minutes ago.
We know that, following the resource spending review, last May or June, an outline of public sector reform priorities was set forward by the Government that spoke about
“New approaches to public services (such as the development of the National Care Service)”,
“Reforms to public sector capacity and pay”,
“Efficiencies for the public sector, including further use of shared services?and efficiencies in the management of the public sector estate”,
and
“Reform to Scotland’s 129 public bodies.”
What progress have you made with that agenda?
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 23 February 2023
Richard Leonard
I am afraid that you cannot get away with mentioning Prestwick airport without Willie Coffey wishing to come in with a question, so I invite him to put his point.
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 23 February 2023
Richard Leonard
Yes. I do not think that I was suggesting that people are not working hard, permanent secretary; I was asking whether we are prioritising, whether the strategy is right and whether the leadership is there. Many of us remember the Christie commission, which had a full-scale agenda for reform involving early intervention, doing things differently and investing at the right time in order to have the most effective outcomes. Much of that remains underutilised. To quote the Auditor General again, I note that he has spoken at various times about the “implementation gap”. The stated aims are very worthy, but the question that we are bound to ask is what is going on out there on the ground.
We are short of time, so we will move on to questions from Craig Hoy.
10:15Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 23 February 2023
Richard Leonard
Thanks. In the end, this is about accountability to Parliament.