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Notwithstanding that, is it not the case that the overall tax revenues are nothing like what we need to be able to take in to address some of the funding gap? That is the problem, and today’s statistics about unemployment, employment and economic inactivity were pretty stark about the numbers of people who are not actually in work at all, which means a loss of potential revenue. Then we have the issue with north-east jobs, which are some of the better-paid ones with people paying slightly higher tax rates. That money is not coming to the Scottish Government, so there is a pretty serious situation where the tax revenue that the Scottish Government is getting just now is nothing like what is required to deliver extra money for its public expenditure.

One final question, cabinet secretary: what would you do to make Scotland more competitive in terms of tax in comparison with the rest of the UK?

The committee is interested in the issue on two fronts. First, as you know, we have issues with the initial financial memorandum to the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill, the lower estimate for the cost of which was £1.3 billion, which is a considerable amount of money in relation to some of the things that we are discussing.

Given that so many stakeholders gave evidence in committee that showed that the particular national care service programme that the Scottish Government has put forward is not desperately popular—we have four committee reports that demonstrate that—will the Scottish Government consider realigning some of that money to help with other expenditure? I am asking for confirmation that that will be reviewed.

Thank you for that. I will come to the point about widening the tax base in a moment, but I want to go back to the issue of projected increases in health, social care and social security spending. You said that you are looking at 500 different programmes to see where potential savings might be made. Does that include the national care service?

Secondly, I turn to the tax issue. You have made no apology for a progressive tax agenda, but is it not the case, cabinet secretary, that the current structures are not yielding the increase in revenues that we need? In the 2020-21 budget, the revenues were only £96 million more than the amount that was subtracted from the block grant—that figure came from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and the Scottish Government came out with the same statistic. What do you propose to do to ensure that the tax base is not only wider than it is now but also that the revenues that we get from tax overall increase? That is a major part of the equation that you described in your opening statement.

Good morning. My questioning will focus on two areas. The first is about the frustration that I think we all feel about the different timings of the various forecasts that underpin strategies—whether it be those for the medium-term financial strategy or any other set of forecasts—and how the OBR and the SFC forecasts relate to the different timings in the budget cycle. That has an impact on the projections that can be made, given the data at that time. Is there scope to bring the timings of the forecasts slightly closer together so as to make things easier? I am sure that the OBR and the SFC would welcome that as well.

On the discussions about the forthcoming new fiscal framework, which will replace the 2016 version, are you aware of any dialogue about the forecasting element?

Just to finish off on that point, at your breakfast in the Parliament event some weeks ago, we focused on the potential high-growth areas of financial services, renewables, digital industries and technology. Are there other areas of the workforce where we have a chance of better, higher-paid jobs that will widen that tax base?

You said something very interesting about some people in the workforce taking a territorial approach. The same is also true of patients and families, who get very attached to their local hospital or medical service; indeed, we have seen what can happen when there is any hint that a hospital will be closed or that certain parts of it will be shut. However, you are correct to say that, for the benefit of medical services in the future, that is exactly what will have to happen to make the system more efficient. Given the nature of the reform that is needed, do you have any suggestions for what we should do to bring the public with us? I think that that will be a very difficult challenge.

You are, in effect, saying that the better decisions—and the ones that will probably be more accepted by the public—will be those made by clinicians and medics rather than by administrators.

In relation to the Covid era, it is interesting that, given how serious the situation was for everybody, decision making in hospitals was pretty effective, because clinicians decided how they had to run the wards. It provides quite an interesting lesson for the future, as it shows how incredibly important clinicians and medics will be in changing the health service’s whole set-up. I am interested in hearing your views on how easy it is in modern health services to ensure that the medics, rather than the administrators, take these decisions.