Official Report: search what was said in Parliament
The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
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Public Audit Committee
“Administration of Scottish income tax 2020/21”
Meeting date: 3 February 2022
Richard Leonard
Can you just confirm that you have no evidence of flight of income tax payers from Scotland to England, Auditor General?
Public Audit Committee
“Administration of Scottish income tax 2020/21”
Meeting date: 3 February 2022
Richard Leonard
Thank you.
I would like to capture the essence of what we have been saying today. I say to Gareth Davies and Darren Stewart that our approach today has not been pointed at you; we have taken that approach because we are trying to understand where there are gaps and where improvements could be made.
We reflect that this is year 4 or 5 of the distinctive Scottish income tax system, and yet, even at this stage, we do not have Scotland-specific tax gap data—that is, data about the amount that should be paid versus what is actually paid. Further, we do not have Scotland-specific data on compliance and non-compliance or on income tax debt, all of which we have been probing this morning. You are right to say that the reasons relate to the service-level agreement that is in place between the Scottish Government and HMRC, and we need to consider whether it would be useful for us to explore that avenue further.
In previous years—and, to a limited extent, today as well—we have been told that the issue is all about HMRC’s limited resources. If the service-level agreement were adjusted, would it be possible to get that data disaggregated to a Scottish level, so that it could be used to inform the decisions that this Parliament needs to make around income tax rates as well as to give us an understanding of the revenues that would be generated by the rates that are set?
Public Audit Committee
Decision on Taking Business in Private
Meeting date: 27 January 2022
Richard Leonard
Good morning. I welcome everyone to the third meeting in 2022 of the Public Audit Committee.
Agenda item 1 is to decide whether to take agenda items 4, 5 and 6 in private. Are we all agreed on that?
Members indicated agreement.
Public Audit Committee
Section 22 Report: “The 2020/21 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts”
Meeting date: 27 January 2022
Richard Leonard
Are you getting full co-operation from Transport Scotland, the Scottish Government and the people on site? There has been a bit of coming and going of senior personnel at the site, has there not?
Public Audit Committee
Section 22 Report: “The 2020/21 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts”
Meeting date: 27 January 2022
Richard Leonard
Thank you very much indeed. I would concur with Colin Beattie on that final point.
That is the end of the questions that we have on the consolidated accounts. Thank you, Auditor General, for once again giving us the benefit of your wisdom and analysis. I also thank Michael Oliphant and Helen Russell, who joined us online.
We have a changeover of witnesses now, so I will suspend the meeting until that takes place.
10:05 Meeting suspended.10:06 On resuming—
Public Audit Committee
Section 22 Report: “The 2020/21 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts”
Meeting date: 27 January 2022
Richard Leonard
Thank you—that is very helpful.
Another long-standing request—or demand—of Audit Scotland has been for the accounts of the whole of the public sector to be published. To move from one subject to the other, would the publication of the accounts of the whole of the public sector also allow for better scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s investments in private companies?
Public Audit Committee
Section 22 Report: “The 2020/21 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts”
Meeting date: 27 January 2022
Richard Leonard
In general, but also with particular reference to this arrangement, is there enough transparency and openness about the financial arrangements that have been entered into? I presume that that is also part of your inquiry into what is going on at Port Glasgow.
Public Audit Committee
Section 22 Report: “The 2020/21 audit of the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland”
Meeting date: 27 January 2022
Richard Leonard
As always, Auditor General, thank you very much for the frankness of your replies. I also take this opportunity to thank Richard Robinson as well as Pat Kenny of Deloitte, who have joined us online this morning.
That ends the public part of the meeting, and we now move into private session.
11:05 Meeting continued in private until 11:46.Public Audit Committee
Section 22 Report: “The 2020/21 audit of the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland”
Meeting date: 27 January 2022
Richard Leonard
So is it that there was a policy, but it was not fit for purpose, or is it that there was a policy, but people were not sufficiently aware of it?
Public Audit Committee
Section 22 Report: “The 2020/21 audit of the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland”
Meeting date: 27 January 2022
Richard Leonard
We will end where we started, with the comment in the Auditor General’s opening statement that this is all about public trust in the complaints system and how complaints are dealt with. What stands out in the report are recurring phrases such as “substantial weaknesses” and the need for “significant improvements”, and in paragraph 26, the report concludes:
“The overarching risk is a loss of public trust in the ability of the Commissioner’s Office to properly investigate and consider complaints made against the conduct of individuals in public life in Scotland.”
What is your assessment of where things stand today? Is there an existing crisis of confidence in the system?
