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That is because you want more of X, so the Government gives you Y for that, and there are no efficiency savings around it because X just has to be done.
SLARC found that, on average, councillors spent about 26 hours a week in 2023 on the formal aspects of their roles and also took on additional responsibilities as councillors, which means even more hours.
That is why I have engaged with officials in Australia and why, when I was in Dublin recently, I visited the people who are taking forward supervised injection facilities there.
There was also operation roll 2 for the visit of President Trump. You mention “the significant demand placed upon policing in Scotland”, which we would all understand would be the result of such a visit.
We put a lot of effort into getting the Brussels officials to come over here and, to be fair to them, they have visited on several occasions, including a visit specifically on the issue that the member raised.
As far back as 1985, unemployment in West Lothian was sky high—sitting at up to 26 per cent in some areas—after the closure of British Leyland and the Polkemmet pit.