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Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 15 July 2025
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Displaying 1619 contributions

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Public Audit Committee [Draft]

“Scottish National Investment Bank”

Meeting date: 25 June 2025

Jamie Greene

Good.

Public Audit Committee [Draft]

“Scottish National Investment Bank”

Meeting date: 25 June 2025

Jamie Greene

That is fair enough. Thank you.

Public Audit Committee [Draft]

“Scottish National Investment Bank”

Meeting date: 25 June 2025

Jamie Greene

If you had the ability to roll over the underspend—I will call it that, but it is a non-committed allocation—you would effectively be sitting with a fairly chunky pot of cash at the moment that you could invest. Is that correct?

Public Audit Committee [Draft]

“Scottish National Investment Bank”

Meeting date: 25 June 2025

Jamie Greene

Okay. I am afraid that I now have some questions that are more icky. They might seem personal, but they relate to matters of public record. Mr Denham, you have resigned from your position. When did you do that? Are you serving your notice period at the moment, and what are the formalities around it?

Public Audit Committee [Draft]

“Scottish National Investment Bank”

Meeting date: 25 June 2025

Jamie Greene

—but I see your point about attracting good talent. In addition, the big difference here is that, if someone wants to be paid a big-bank salary, they can go and work for a big bank. There is a burgeoning private sector that people can go and work in, but we are talking about a very different environment.

Public Audit Committee [Draft]

“Scottish National Investment Bank”

Meeting date: 25 June 2025

Jamie Greene

Before I move on to the next issue that I want to discuss, can you confirm that all members of staff at the Scottish National Investment Bank are resident in Scotland and pay taxes here?

Public Audit Committee [Draft]

“Scottish National Investment Bank”

Meeting date: 25 June 2025

Jamie Greene

I am sure that you do.

Public Audit Committee [Draft]

“Scottish National Investment Bank”

Meeting date: 25 June 2025

Jamie Greene

As a result, it is very good to see you here today. When you handed your notice in, did you have to give six months’ notice?

Public Audit Committee [Draft]

“Scottish National Investment Bank”

Meeting date: 25 June 2025

Jamie Greene

Thank you for setting me up nicely there, convener.

I will caveat my questions by stating two things. First, as the Public Audit Committee, we have a specific role in scrutinising the numbers. We make no apologies for that, but please do not take any of our questions personally.

Secondly, I would note that, overall, the Auditor General’s report was perhaps at the more positive end of things, given some of the reports that we have seen in this room. I think that that is commendable and should be acknowledged at the beginning. I am not saying that just because you made a substantial investment in XLCC in my home region—although that, too, was very welcome—and I should also say that that will not influence my tenacity when it comes to asking my questions.

Let us start with your operating costs, gentlemen. My understanding is that, since 2020, you have spent around £41 million in operating costs—I have a little table that shows how much money you are spending on running the business. When it comes to income—and I appreciate that that is different from the profit that you will make from future equity or future exit strategies—the figure is £32 million, which makes a difference of about £9 million. You could argue that that is a loss, although I appreciate that, in 2023-24, the trend reversed. Is that normal in the first five years of a bank, first of all?

Public Audit Committee [Draft]

“Scottish National Investment Bank”

Meeting date: 25 June 2025

Jamie Greene

People who are watching this meeting might argue that £250,000 a year is a lot of money as a salary.