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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 4 April 2025
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Displaying 1489 contributions

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Education, Children and Young People Committee

Pre-Budget Scrutiny and the Scottish Attainment Challenge

Meeting date: 27 September 2023

Michelle Thomson

I agree. Thank you.

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Sustainability of Scotland’s Finances

Meeting date: 26 September 2023

Michelle Thomson

I appreciate that it is a big area, and you are also coming off the back of questions that I myself asked of SNIB when I was a member of the Economy and Fair Work Committee.

I want to bring in Sandy Begbie and Louise Maclean to reflect on the focus on women in their sectors. I am aware that you have done a lot of work, and your statistics are different, but I would like to hear your reflections about entrepreneurialism, on the sum of money that we have mentioned and about the particular challenges for women in your sectors.

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Sustainability of Scotland’s Finances

Meeting date: 26 September 2023

Michelle Thomson

My last question will give Louise Maclean a chance to come in. I imagine that there are very particular challenges for women working in hospitality. Returning to the original theme of the session, what specific things can the Scottish Government can do in your sector for the women working in it?

Finance and Public Administration Committee

National Care Service (Scotland) Bill: Financial Memorandum

Meeting date: 26 September 2023

Michelle Thomson

Before I ask my main questions, I want to go back to the earlier question about training. I think that Donna Bell said that some programme management training, particularly around financial management and scheduling, was involved, but from my experience as a programme manager many years ago, I know that those are the fundamentals. You cannot deliver anything without a basic knowledge of scheduling and financial matters.

Therefore, I have to say that that worried me a wee bit. What on earth made you think before that you could deliver anything without having that basic skill set in place first of all?

Finance and Public Administration Committee

National Care Service (Scotland) Bill: Financial Memorandum

Meeting date: 26 September 2023

Michelle Thomson

I am pleased to hear that, but it makes me wonder what on earth was happening before if that was not in place to tackle a bill of such scale. Those are fundamental skills. I have often seen situations where the focus has been on policy but there has not been the associated rigour in respect of delivery. Minister, are you now confident that that skill set is in place across the board, given how fundamental it is to delivery?

Finance and Public Administration Committee

National Care Service (Scotland) Bill: Financial Memorandum

Meeting date: 26 September 2023

Michelle Thomson

Following on from that, I recall that one of our previous concerns about the use of secondary legislation was that such an approach lacked scrutiny of what could be significant spend over the long term. Will the new approach of evolution rather than revolution result in more secondary legislation, which might mean less on-going oversight of spend by the Finance and Public Administration Committee? Is that not a logical extension of the approach?

Finance and Public Administration Committee

National Care Service (Scotland) Bill: Financial Memorandum

Meeting date: 26 September 2023

Michelle Thomson

I would very much welcome further opportunities for us to capture baseline costs as near up front as possible, instead of seeing them slip into secondary legislation. Please feel free to write to the committee after the meeting with any additional ideas, because I suspect that this will be a concern for all members.

Finance and Public Administration Committee

National Care Service (Scotland) Bill: Financial Memorandum

Meeting date: 26 September 2023

Michelle Thomson

I have a wee point off the back of that. We have not discussed the national care service board and the governance therein today, although we may well at some point in future but, in the light of the current situation, I would expect to see the same rigour in its financial governance as in the policy element and standard governance. Again, I ask that you give that just as much attention, with a bottom-up as well as a top-down approach.

Finance and Public Administration Committee

National Care Service (Scotland) Bill: Financial Memorandum

Meeting date: 26 September 2023

Michelle Thomson

I want to pick up on the point that Liz Smith made. As well as finance, the committee is concerned with public administration, and we all know that the public purse is right under the cosh and every penny is a prisoner, if I may use that terminology. That suggests that the relentless focus on cost and value must be accentuated, but I am not necessarily sure that I am confident about that yet. For example, we all concur that the Verity house agreement is about a positive process but we do not yet understand how the fiscal framework will operate, because that work has not been done.

I suppose that the question is whether, as well as the top-down, policy-driven and thematic approach that you have outlined, you are doing the work to ensure that every single funding line is managed very tightly. That underpinning will give the committee confidence, not just on the finances but in terms of the public administration part of our remit.

Finance and Public Administration Committee

National Care Service (Scotland) Bill: Financial Memorandum

Meeting date: 26 September 2023

Michelle Thomson

Being able to follow the money will work for us, I sense.