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Chamber and committees

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 16 August 2025
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Displaying 2597 contributions

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Public Audit Committee

Section 22 Report: “The 2023/24 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts”

Meeting date: 22 January 2025

Colin Beattie

I will move on to a slightly different aspect. The Scottish budget is under considerable financial pressure. Indeed, in August 2024, emergency spending controls were put in place. With regard to sustainability, the Auditor General picked up the fact that a large number of savings are non-recurring and that you are using those to fund recurring expenditure. What is the target to fix that? It is not sustainable in the long term—you cannot keep doing that—so how are you going to deal with that in the future?

Public Audit Committee

Section 22 Report: “The 2023/24 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts”

Meeting date: 22 January 2025

Colin Beattie

Have you done that?

Public Audit Committee

Section 22 Report: “The 2023/24 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts”

Meeting date: 22 January 2025

Colin Beattie

I am sure that the committee will be looking at that. However, what I was trying to get at in my question is how the information is helping the Government to see a consolidated picture. There must be some benefit to the planning process. I would also hope that it would assist with fiscal sustainability and so on; there should be all sorts of knock-on benefits. What would be the next big step in enhancing the consolidated accounts?

Public Audit Committee

Section 22 Report: “The 2023/24 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts”

Meeting date: 22 January 2025

Colin Beattie

Permanent secretary, to start with an obvious aspect of the management of the finances, the consolidated accounts show a net expenditure in 2023-24 of £53.98 billion, which is £277 million less than was budgeted, and that is split between the resource budget at £193 million and the capital at £84 million.

What were the main reasons for the underspends?

Public Audit Committee

Section 22 Report: “The 2023/24 audit of Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow (Holdings) Limited”

Meeting date: 16 January 2025

Colin Beattie

Okay. I will leave that subject for the moment.

A few minutes ago, you mentioned settlement agreements and the HR committee’s handling of them, and this committee has been interested in such agreements in the past. Are you aware of whether a financial package or settlement agreement was offered to the former chief executive when his contract was terminated?

Public Audit Committee

Section 22 Report: “The 2023/24 audit of Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow (Holdings) Limited”

Meeting date: 16 January 2025

Colin Beattie

The report says that it is important that the FMPG management engages with internal audit. The implication is that it is not engaging with internal audit. Is that correct?

Public Audit Committee

Section 22 Report: “The 2023/24 audit of Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow (Holdings) Limited”

Meeting date: 16 January 2025

Colin Beattie

I would like to look at some of the changes that have taken place in senior management and on the board. You highlight that significant changes were made in 2023-24. You also note that a review of governance arrangements has been completed.

The chief executive of an organisation is usually also the accountable officer. Can you expand on any concerns that you have about the impact of those changes and whether that ensures that there is stability in the leadership? The chief financial officer is now the accountable officer, which is a bit of an odd sidetrack. Can you comment on that?

Public Audit Committee

Section 22 Report: “The 2023/24 audit of Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow (Holdings) Limited”

Meeting date: 16 January 2025

Colin Beattie

Continuing on the review of governance, you state that

“FMPG should assess whether the existing cohort of board members provides sufficient capacity to support the updated committee structure.”

By “capacity”, are you referring to skill sets or the sheer number of members on the board to support the committees? How many committees are there, and what do they do?

Public Audit Committee

Section 22 Report: “The 2023/24 audit of Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow (Holdings) Limited”

Meeting date: 16 January 2025

Colin Beattie

Are you satisfied as to the competencies of the board members?

Public Audit Committee

Section 22 Report: “The 2023/24 audit of Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow (Holdings) Limited”

Meeting date: 16 January 2025

Colin Beattie

So that was approved by the Scottish Government.