Seòmar agus comataidhean

So, has an NPV been calculated in terms of the value for the companies that purchased the lease, and how have you benchmarked what will be received by the Scottish Government—the public purse—in comparison?

I would like to ask a follow-up question about business support funding. I think that, as of two weeks ago, £113 million had yet to be allocated. Has the funding all been allocated now? If not, could you confirm the quantum of funding that is yet to be allocated? Further, can you tell us what work is being done to assess the impact by sector? I am aware that the impact on retail was significant, but retail did not receive support in the initial announcements. I noted that the convener described many sectors as “booming”, but that is a relative term, and the importance of the Christmas trading period for retail and hospitality cannot be overstated. Has an impact assessment now been carried out of what the potential consequences of the restrictions might be in terms of business survival and business closures in the coming months?

I feel that it is required. The cabinet secretary fairly reflects last year’s conversation, but costs were produced and shared by both sides, if I recall correctly. We presented our assessment of those costs and it was a useful and constructive dialogue. I would be more than happy to share them; they were widely publicised this year and last.

To provide some balance to the issue, the budget’s context was one of proposals being presented within a fiscal envelope. There is a point of perspective about what that envelope was and what the carryover for Covid funding from previous years was.

The final point that I make is that the other element to the issue is that the proposals are not necessarily only for recurring funds but are also for alternative approaches to Covid recovery. That is a point of clarification and I would be happy to sit down with the convener at any point and go through my costings and how they compare with the fiscal envelope that was available as set out in the fiscal framework, if that would be helpful for him.

My second question is about the outcome of the procedure. I understand that the focus of the procedure is about establishing fact and doing so in a transparent, robust and independent way, but is it purely focused on that narrow outcome? To what extent is there also a need to establish the severity and seriousness of what is complained about? Does the process address that sufficiently?

I thank the Deputy First Minister for that answer and completely accept the sincerity with which he has given it, but I have to wonder whether this is the key tension in the process.

Ultimately, decisions on whether the ministerial code has been broken will be made by the First Minister or the Deputy First Minister, for a serving minister, but there are two or three issues with that. First, it is almost impossible for a serving First Minister to deliver a decision on one of their own ministers without the pressure or filter of political reality entering into it. Does not that make exceptionally difficult the independent decision making that the Deputy First Minister correctly identified as being important to this? I wonder whether it places too much pressure on the decision maker.

Secondly, the processes are required not only to be robust and transparent but to be seen to be so. If a First Minister is to make the final decision on one of their own ministers, is it possible for the public to see that as robust?

Thirdly, in her recommendation 10, Laura Dunlop says:

“complaints against a former Minister should be investigated and adjudicated ... independently.”

I wonder whether that final decision making on the breach of the ministerial code, which ultimately is an adjudication, is actually independent at that point, and whether that is a flaw in the process. I understand why, ultimately, you might wish for the decision to be made by the First Minister. I understand the argument in that respect—because of the democratic process, the First Minister has to be the final decision maker—but I wonder whether the procedure adequately addresses those three flaws.

I thank the Deputy First Minister for his answers.

Thank you, convener. I apologise for not being able to attend in person this morning.

I begin by asking about how the policy will be reviewed and maintained. One would hope that, by its very nature, it would be seldom used. However, such things are often left on the shelf and are sometimes, therefore, creatures of their context and time. It is imperative that the policy be proactively reviewed and renewed on an on-going basis to ensure that it is appropriate for its current time. What thought has gone into that? How will the procedure be reviewed on an on-going basis?

I do not have any—[Inaudible.]—but I would be interested to hear whether David Eiser has any comments—[Inaudible.]

Does either of the other Davids want to come in?

That is helpful. In the interests of time, I will not ask any other questions, but Guto Ifan might want to add something.