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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 14 February 2025
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Displaying 167 contributions

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Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Scottish Budget 2025-26

Meeting date: 30 January 2025

Colin Beattie

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate as chair of the Scottish Commission for Public Audit. One of the commission’s main roles is to scrutinise Audit Scotland’s budget proposals and report to Parliament on them. Last Friday, we published our report on Audit Scotland's budget proposal for 2025-26, and I thank the committee clerks and staff for their support on that.

Audit Scotland’s budget comes from two sources. For 2025-26, it estimates that the fees that it charges to audited bodies will provide 63 per cent of its budget. The remaining 37 per cent will be funded from the Scottish consolidated fund, totalling £14.983 million.

We noted that Audit Scotland’s budget proposal represents a 10.3 per cent increase in the funding that is required from the Scottish consolidated fund, which equates to an additional £1.394 million. When the commission met in December last year to examine the budget proposal, we heard that the majority of the 10.3 per cent proposed increase comes from a £672,000 investment in its audit modernisation project. The other substantive cost is funding to cover increased employer national insurance contributions arising from the 2024 UK autumn budget, which is estimated at £520,000.

To aid our scrutiny, we sought a breakdown of the audit modernisation project costs, given that £592,000 is allocated to people costs. Audit Scotland clarified that £250,000 is for project management, legal services, procurement, external assurance and other specialist skills; another £275,000 would be for implementation; and the rest will be used for hosting and analytics.

It also pointed to the assurance arrangements that are in place, including undertaking of an internal audit of the arrangements. The commission is conscious that some public sector information technology projects have been subject to significant delays and cost increases. We have therefore requested detailed progress updates as part of our scrutiny of annual reports and budget proposals.

We also wanted to know why Audit Scotland decided not to share the project cost requirement across the public bodies that it audits—in particular, because they would benefit from its successful roll-out. Audit Scotland told us that the project costs are ring fenced for greater transparency and accountability, because they would otherwise have to be distributed across 200-plus public bodies, a number of which are non-chargeable bodies, which would, in effect, result in cross-subsidisation. The commission is satisfied with its approach to the start-up cost, but it expects future running, maintenance and licensing costs to be recovered from all audited bodies proportionately.

A similar point arose in relation to increased employer national insurance contributions and whether that cost should be borne by an increase in the auditing fee. The Auditor General, as accountable officer, advised that he had given that careful thought, but because of the cross-subsidy issue and the degree of uncertainty about how much of the additional costs will be funded by the UK Government, the preferred approach is to ring fence those costs. The commission accepted that, given the timing of the UK announcement, but we expect those costs to be baselined in future years and to be recovered from audit fees levied on all audited bodies.

There is a pressing need for all public bodies to look for efficiency savings. Last year, we asked Audit Scotland to set out more information on savings. We are pleased to see the additional evidence that was provided this year on how Audit Scotland achieved £2 million of savings. It has made progress with its productivity activities, such as moving to a 35-hour week as well as increasing its vacancy factor from 2 per cent to 5 per cent. However, the budget proposal recognises that those savings pose a higher level of operational and financial risk, and we have asked to be updated, should any of those risks materialise.

To conclude, I note that the final budget allocation for Audit Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Government, but I draw the attention of the Parliament to the conclusions that are set out in our report.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

General Question Time

Meeting date: 30 January 2025

Colin Beattie

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on relaxing any conservation area restrictions that prevent the installation of solar panels and other energy-saving initiatives. (S6O-04266)

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

General Question Time

Meeting date: 30 January 2025

Colin Beattie

I am regularly contacted by my constituents who are understandably frustrated, as the restrictions mean that they are unable to install solar panels. What support does the Scottish Government have in place to help my constituents in conservation areas contribute to our journey to net zero?

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 23 January 2025

Colin Beattie

Constituents have contacted me to report that the carer support payment will make a great difference to them, only for the DWP to remove the same amount from universal credit, because it is classed as income. Are discussions taking place with the UK Government to ensure that a no-detriment agreement can be put in place to allow carers in Scotland to benefit from the additional money?

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 23 January 2025

Colin Beattie

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether carer support payment should be classed as income by the Department for Work and Pensions. (S6O-04245)

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 16 January 2025

Colin Beattie

Will the cabinet secretary set out how the pending outcome of the ongoing station opening hours consultation would have affected those scores, how the Government expects to see significantly improved scores and how all that will drive efficiency and improvements on our publicly owned railway?

Meeting of the Parliament

Decision Time

Meeting date: 9 January 2025

Colin Beattie

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I could not connect for that vote. I would have voted yes.

Meeting of the Parliament

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 12 December 2024

Colin Beattie

Can the minister outline the increase in Scotland’s renewable energy generation capacity as a result of developments such as onshore and offshore wind and solar energy?

Meeting of the Parliament

General Question Time

Meeting date: 12 December 2024

Colin Beattie

I understand that the Scottish Government contacted NHS board leaders two weeks ago to outline a changed approach to the planning of services in NHS Scotland, focusing on moving to population-level planning. Can the cabinet secretary speak to how that will help to meet Scotland’s changing needs and build the foundation for the transformation of our healthcare services?

Meeting of the Parliament

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 11 December 2024

Colin Beattie

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to independent businesses in rural and small communities. (S6O-04095)