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I imagine that we do not have much more time for this agenda item, but I wonder what advice was given to ministers on those issues, ahead of 1 April 2022. Did anyone foresee what would happen—that services would be reduced by one third a month after the move into public ownership?

Good morning to the minister and her officials. Thank you for your opening remarks, minister.

People who welcome the nationalisation of Scotland’s rail services want to see improved accountability and clearer lines of responsibility. On a point of clarification, although I welcome your intention to have good relationships with the trade unions, I noticed that the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers—the RMT—accused you in the press of lying, which was obviously not a good allegation to hear. It also said that “the buck stops” with you, minister. On that point of accountability, which is what we are here to look at today, how can the public be reassured that it will not be a case of officials and managers taking responsibility when things are going badly and ministers taking credit when things are going well? How can we be sure that the lines of responsibility are clear? How do we very quickly get to a place where trade unions, which I know you respect, have confidence in you and are not accusing you of lying, which was an unfortunate headline to see at this early stage of the project?

Are you saying that a disproportionate number of wind farm applications end up in public local inquiries compared to other developments?

In this inquiry, we have had a lot of discussion about skills, expertise and capacity in local government, and there is lots of good practice to celebrate. However, I want to pick up on the point that Morag Watson made about time constraints. My question is for David Hammond, although I see David Rodger on my screen.

David Hammond, you work in North Ayrshire Council. Clearly, demands are high on the time of officers across the council. In order to have the networking and engagement that we have heard about, how do we free up the time of local government officers so that they can engage in that work in a meaningful way, and how do we get to a place in which we pockets of best practice are not thought of as the exception—how do we cascade those practices across local government and the public sector, so that we can learn from the best and can improve?

That is helpful—thank you.

That is helpful, thank you. As you spoke, I was wondering what morale is like in local government across the board. We hear that planning is a constraint and a barrier, which I suppose is quite demoralising for people who feel that they are working hard and trying to be helpful.

How do we attract people into local government? In the inquiry, we have had good discussions about the opportunities in local government and the contribution that people who work in local government can make to delivering important national priorities. The issue is not just about school leavers and people who leave education at a younger age. How can we attract people who have experience from other jobs and industries? How important is the link between industry, our education partners and local government, to ensure that people know about the opportunities and the exciting jobs?

A debate on solar energy will take place in the Parliament tomorrow, when I hope that the work that is being done on solar farms in North Ayrshire will come up. We do not want that to be a secret for those who are in the know—we must make it more widely known about, so that people feel that local government is an attractive and dynamic place to work in. How do we get more people into local government?

Thank you, minister. I am sure that we all agree that we need to see that dialogue happening—

We want the dialogue to be respectful. We want services to be restored. You made a distinction between the Scottish Government’s approach and what happens elsewhere in the United Kingdom. The Scottish Government is very committed to fair work, and I know that you have a good relationship with the trade unions on that matter. You mentioned rest days. The public want services restored for everyone’s convenience, but we need those services to be safe. Therefore, what is the position on rest days? You said that it is a historic practice that happens elsewhere. However, in your mind, is it good practice for workers to feel under pressure to work on rest days?

That was helpful.

A few weeks ago, we took evidence from some of the fuel energy charities and had a discussion about your Government’s fuel insecurity fund. I believe that the fund is in its third round, and that roughly £10 million has been allocated in each of the rounds. There is some concern—from Citizens Advice Scotland, in particular—that that money might not last the full three months this time around. Have you had any advice on how long it will last, and do you have any plans to increase the pot?

That is helpful. You also talked about the importance of political will and buy-in from senior management in local authorities. What would help to achieve that? Are you aware of any local authorities in Scotland in which there is good visibility of these issues, perhaps due to the existence of a committee on net zero? Should there be more net zero committees, such as the one that we have in the Scottish Parliament? What would help with regard to the way in which administrations organise themselves? Some of them will vote this week on who is in charge of what committee, so it would be helpful to know what would help to ensure that there is a joined-up and strategic approach in each local authority.