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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 4 May 2021
  6. Current session: 13 May 2021 to 14 September 2025
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Displaying 1244 contributions

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Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]

Public Administration in the Scottish Government

Meeting date: 24 June 2025

Liz Smith

I find that a bit concerning.

I want to come to an issue that is troubling the committee a great deal. It relates to transparency and good government. Let us be honest: our job is to scrutinise both of those things as they relate to the spending of public money. The context is that an increasing number of framework bills are being introduced to the Parliament. Due to the bills’ very nature, it is very difficult for a minister to put the full cost on the table, because stakeholder engagement is on-going. In turn, that has led to a number of financial memorandums, which this committee has not been at all satisfied with, and we have sent several of them back. Is the growing number of framework bills a problem?

Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]

Public Administration in the Scottish Government

Meeting date: 24 June 2025

Liz Smith

To ensure that it does work well, the committees must work well. The bigger our frustration, particularly from a financial angle, the more difficult it is for us to carry out effective scrutiny. With all due respect, I do not think that that is our fault. We try our best to ensure that we have all the facts to hand and that we scrutinise as much as we can, but we are frustrated due to a number of aspects of how the legislation, especially the financial memorandums that accompany it, is presented to us.

We recommend that a big discussion on that be had with the Scottish Government. If that were done it would be greatly appreciated.

Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]

Public Administration in the Scottish Government

Meeting date: 24 June 2025

Liz Smith

Might I ask for a clarification before I come to my questions? Mr Griffin, are you advising the First Minister that the higher education sector has significant issues, or are you waiting for Mr Swinney to come back to you?

Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]

Public Administration in the Scottish Government

Meeting date: 24 June 2025

Liz Smith

Is a conversation going on between you and your officials and the Scottish Government about the need to upgrade some of that process in the Parliament?

Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]

Public Administration in the Scottish Government

Meeting date: 24 June 2025

Liz Smith

That is helpful. Nonetheless, there is a structural issue. Due to how they operate and by their very definition, framework bills make it much more difficult to provide an accurate financial memorandum, because engagement with stakeholders is on-going and, therefore, it is very difficult to calculate future costs.

The committee is concerned because we have recently received quite a number of financial memoranda that are nowhere near accurate. In turn, that makes our scrutiny of the public money spend that is involved very difficult. Is that a matter that concerns you and your officials?

Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]

Scottish Public Inquiries (Cost-effectiveness)

Meeting date: 17 June 2025

Liz Smith

I will begin by putting on the record that I am representing some former patients of Eljamel in the public inquiry. Will either of you give a view on why you think there is an increasing demand for public inquiries?

Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]

Scottish Public Inquiries (Cost-effectiveness)

Meeting date: 17 June 2025

Liz Smith

Mr Sturrock, do you have a view?

Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]

Scottish Public Inquiries (Cost-effectiveness)

Meeting date: 17 June 2025

Liz Smith

To pick up the points that you have both made, in the current environment, there is—sadly, in my opinion—an increasing mistrust in some public bodies because they are not as efficient as they should be and, therefore, are not dealing with some cases effectively. The Government and its agencies are not able to get the answers that they should get to genuine questions, and that is the main reason why the demand for public inquiries is increasing.

That trust element is interesting. The public are looking for trust, and I sometimes think that people trust a judge-led inquiry because they feel that it is the right form for an inquiry to take. However, you are suggesting—again, rightly—that there are other ways of doing inquiries. It is just about how—

Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]

Scottish Public Inquiries (Cost-effectiveness)

Meeting date: 17 June 2025

Liz Smith

The issue involves marrying together those two difficult issues with an opportunity cost and Government efficiency, and they do not quite fit together. That is one of the big challenges for the committee as to how we go forward.

Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]

Scottish Public Inquiries (Cost-effectiveness)

Meeting date: 17 June 2025

Liz Smith

You have both mentioned the NHS Highland inquiry. I know that that was done slightly differently to other public inquiries, but did you feel that, at the end of the day, those people who had been clamouring for a public inquiry felt more satisfied than has been the case with other public inquiries, where people have been dissatisfied with the result?