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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 9 July 2025
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Displaying 2597 contributions

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Rural Affairs and Islands Committee [Draft]

Forestry and Woodland Management in Scotland

Meeting date: 15 January 2025

Colin Beattie

I am the MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee [Draft]

Forestry and Woodland Management in Scotland

Meeting date: 15 January 2025

Colin Beattie

We put a lot of focus on planting for the future and the difference between non-native and native woodland planting. However, in recent times, some people have said to me that we need to think further ahead than that. Some woodlands, whether they are native or non-native, will not survive climate change, so, for the long term, we will have to plan for different species. The question is, which species do we plan for and how do we go about that? I have not seen great focus on that.

Public Audit Committee

Section 22 Report: “The 2023/24 audit of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland”

Meeting date: 9 January 2025

Colin Beattie

My understanding is that there has been quite a bit of controversy about settlement agreements over a period. I understood that settlement agreements had to be signed off at a very senior level, yet the evidence that I have seen is that Scottish Government ministers were unaware that the settlement agreement had been concluded. If I recall correctly, ministers wrote to WICS to that effect.

Public Audit Committee

Section 22 Report: “The 2023/24 audit of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland”

Meeting date: 9 January 2025

Colin Beattie

I am pleased that you brought up sponsorship. As you know, we have a fairly patchy history on the quality of sponsorship. The Scottish Government carried out a review of the whole sponsorship system, which threw up a lot of issues. I hope that the Government is still addressing those, because they are certainly long-term issues.

In the case of WICS, there is no doubt that sponsorship failed—it just did not do its job. Your follow-up section 22 report is a wee bit light on the sponsorship side. I would like reassurance that the sponsorship process that is in place now is effective and doing its job.

Public Audit Committee

Section 22 Report: “The 2023/24 audit of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland”

Meeting date: 9 January 2025

Colin Beattie

Over a period, we have seen a lot of failures in sponsorship. To be fair, the committee sees only the failures and not the successes, so we have no real feel for what they look like. However, does the fact that there have been so many failures over the years not mean that the whole sponsorship system is failing to deliver what it should deliver? Maybe there should be another look at how it all works and how that support is given.

Public Audit Committee

Section 22 Report: “The 2023/24 audit of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland”

Meeting date: 9 January 2025

Colin Beattie

Auditor General, WICS is a very small organisation—tiny, in fact—but for quite a number of years, it has adopted a culture in which the irregular is almost the norm. Buried within that is what I see as a level of extravagance not matched elsewhere in the Government sector. I know that action has been taken to put in place new limits on that, and new ways of controlling and managing expenditure through financial controls—all of those things—but underneath all that is still a culture that has been allowed to flourish, and which has been embedded for a great many years.

In reading your report, I detect—and this is my interpretation—an element of caution as to whether, in fact, that profound cultural change throughout the organisation as it is presently structured can actually be achieved. Am I reading too much into that?

Public Audit Committee

Section 22 Report: “The 2023/24 audit of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland”

Meeting date: 9 January 2025

Colin Beattie

Other than an audit qualification, what does the refusal to grant retrospective approval actually mean? What does it do? What is the impact?

Public Audit Committee

Section 22 Report: “The 2023/24 audit of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland”

Meeting date: 9 January 2025

Colin Beattie

Good. I will leave that just now, but I have one final question about the financial settlement for the former chief executive. As you said, Auditor General, the total cost to the public purse was £105,488. You stated in your report that

“The Commission should have taken more time to consider the wider options”.

Did WICS provide any explanation about why it did not take longer to consider the options? The option that it chose to push through quickly virtually indemnified the chief executive against any repercussions from what was happening, because there was a settlement agreement that covers both parties. He was virtually given a get-out-of-jail-free card. What explanation was given for why WICS narrowed the matter down so quickly, almost within days?

Public Audit Committee

Section 22 Report: “The 2023/24 audit of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland”

Meeting date: 9 January 2025

Colin Beattie

I will ask you a couple of quick questions. We have talked about the changes that are taking place in WICS. In paragraph 84 on page 35 of the annual audit report, you talk about what has been done to address financial management weaknesses in particular. How long do you anticipate that it will take for financial management and a focus on value for money to be embedded across the organisation to the extent that they become business as usual?

Public Audit Committee

Section 22 Report: “The 2023/24 audit of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland”

Meeting date: 9 January 2025

Colin Beattie

Okay. I will stay on the financial side. Paragraph 8 on page 6 of the section 22 report talks about the three items of expenditure that did not meet the requirements of the SPFM. Paragraph 70 on page 32 of the annual audit report says that WICS sought retrospective approval from the Scottish Government’s sponsor division. It did not receive that retrospective approval.

Given the concerns that arose during the committee’s scrutiny of the 2022-23 audit report regarding the Scottish Government’s previous retrospective approval of expenditure, are you content that WICS’s subsequent request for retrospective approval has been handled appropriately by the Scottish Government?