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Having the show in Edinburgh stresses the great importance to Scotland as a whole not only of farming but of the rest of the rural economy.Anyone who has been in the food tents at the royal highland show will have witnessed the huge expansion in local food products; there is the best meat, the best fish and the best shellfish in Europe.
As Sarah Boyack has said in the chamber and elsewhere, we must address how we deliver things as a country, but we are not doing things in the best way. Members are facing an excessive workload, which they are not best qualified to deal with.
We need to ensure that, regardless of where our children live in Fife, they have access to the best schools and the best education. That requires money.
I would not necessarily say that all the agencies are working from the same sheet to achieve that, or that we are achieving either the best fit or the best value for money.
I also have some humility because I recognise that I now have the best-paid job that I have ever had— probably the best-paid job that I will ever have.
If the best-value audit is successful, it should be rolled out to the whole public sector, not only local government; the rest of the public sector should be held to account under the best-value regime.