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Sorry for jumping about a bit. David Belsey, I want to come to you first, to flesh out something. Let me know if I have misunderstood, but earlier, you said that colleges should not consider economic impact, but then you qualified that by saying it should not be the primary consideration in the strategy. Given that qualification, could you highlight where there should be consideration of the economic benefit from colleges?

Okay. Mark MacPherson, I do not know whether you have anything to add. I have a wee supplementary to follow as well.

Within that framing, what consideration is given to social considerations, in terms of course provision? David Belsey, what are your thoughts about how we can prioritise that?

How interested will you be in the findings in our final report?

What did you make of the SPCB’s consideration of costs? Off the top of my head, I think that the cost of the commissioners is about 12 per cent, which is top-sliced off the SPCB’s budget. We do not have an estimate for what the figure would be if all the new proposed commissioners went through. However, given that it would be roughly double, we could say that that would take the cost of commissioners up to 24 per cent of the SPCB’s entire budget. What are your reflections on that? Do you think that that is acceptable or sustainable?

To what, then, do you attribute the cultural underpinning?

I do not have the exact quote in front of me, but when a former MSP who had originally proposed the establishment of a commission gave evidence to us, they were less enthusiastic about the idea now than they were when they proposed it. They suggested that the establishment of a commission can perhaps be about creating a sense of activity to give the illusion of progress. That speaks to me of a culture of being seen to be doing something, rather than one of a relentless focus on outcomes.

What are your reflections on the culture of the creation of commissioners, in the context, perhaps, of the numerous other public bodies that we have?

Good morning, Mr McKee. Thank you for attending today. You are the Minister for Public Finance, and I think that everyone can agree that the constraints on public finance are deeply significant. That has been one of the key issues that has driven the committee to look at the commissioner landscape. Given your role as Minister for Public Finance, what leadership do you intend to set in the commissioner landscape when you relate it to the issues around public finance?

What I am hearing is that you sound really quite relaxed about the current commissioner landscape. Is that true, and are you equally relaxed about the proposals for extension?

Okay, so—

Is trying to make any change in this area akin to having a circular firing squad? Government might not want to be seen as interfering in the commissioner landscape, the SPCB made its view clear last week that the dealing with the area is a role for Parliament, and members will continue to advocate. When you consider the significant blockers from vested interests, politicians, civil servants, Government and the media, might the net effect be no change and might we carry on doing what we have always done and getting what we have always got?