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Is that not a massive disincentive for a council? It essentially means that what it pays for a property does not represent anything close to what it will get back. Is that not right?

It does. An issue that we have seen in a number of areas with regard to economic development and support is that there are almost too many options and opportunities, and different pots. Is that a problem in this field? It can be quite confusing for a local community, a town or a local high street to find the right support for their area.

Before I move on to put my questions to Martin Avila, I want to ask about some of the larger national bodies. A lot of public bodies have a role in helping with regeneration and support, whether that involves tourism or the arts, or whether they are economic bodies. What are the key bodies for that regeneration and support? How well do they co-ordinate and engage with communities?

I put the same questions to Martin Avila. First, how well is local government funded to provide support? I am asking about on-the-high-street support and, for example, local champions and development officers. My second question is on the wider role of the larger bodies such as the heritage lottery fund, arts bodies, tourism bodies and other economic bodies. How well do they co-ordinate? Does the approach make it easy enough for people who enter the field to get the help and support that they need?

I want to put questions to Ian Buchanan and Adam Stachura on the same issue. During and after the pandemic, there have been issues around public toilets being closed, which has limited their availability and therefore limited accessibility for a number of people. From speaking anecdotally with friends and colleagues, I understand that that must have been a concern for older people, people with disabilities and others.

A lot of councils have cut back and closed loos. There have been issues in the Highlands and Islands, in particular, where loos have been vandalised and then closed. Even where there are developments and plans for new toilets or upgrades, they are not always for toilets of the highest accessibility level. For example, they might be disabled toilets but not changing places toilets.

How do we ensure that we not only embed facilities into plans but make sure that they are the right facilities and that it is not just a tick-box exercise? We talked about disabled or older people having their say. If councils are signing off plans, should there be somebody who is responsible for ensuring that the right facilities are embedded into developments? That is for Ian Buchanan first and then Adam Stachura.

Thanks very much. That is very interesting.

Good morning to the panel. I have a couple of questions—I will direct the first one to Pauline Smith and then come to Martin Avila.

We are talking again about public funds. We know that Scottish councils are under real financial pressure, as they have been for a number of years. Will you give your opinion on the calls from the Scottish Property Federation and SURF for more resource at local authority level, particularly with regard to town champions, development officers and others within communities to support regeneration and new ideas on that side?

So it is a problem already that we need to make sure that we get right going forward. Adam Stachura, can you respond quickly as well?

I have another question before Craig McLaren answers my first one—perhaps he can answer this one as well. An issue that has been raised a couple of times on our visits—this is perhaps anecdotal—is that, in some areas, town centres have been overpedestrianised. That is not necessarily widespread.

How do we create a balance? How do we make it so that somebody who has limited mobility can get to where they need to go? How do we ensure that pedestrian areas are accessible not just for people but for businesses? As I am sure we all do whenever we are in town centres that have large pedestrian areas, we see cars and other vehicles—vans and the like—still accessing those areas, regardless of whether they are meant to.

Good morning. A number of the areas that I had intended to ask about have been covered, but I want to turn to what we will need on the infrastructure side. I think that we all accept that high streets and town centres will change over the next decade or so to respond to changing times. For example, there will be fewer offices and perhaps more accommodation.

My question is for Adrian Watson and then Craig McLaren. What needs to be improved on the infrastructure side? One such area of improvement could be broadband, which will be necessary if more hubs develop and more people live in our town centres. We have talked about active travel, but there are obviously various transport issues in town centres. How do we make sure that our town centres remain accessible to everyone, including through things such as electric vehicle parking and charging? Are there any other issues on the infrastructure side that you think are important?