The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
Displaying 1374 contributions
Finance and Public Administration Committee
Meeting date: 10 January 2023
Michelle Thomson
Finally, I mention a matter that has been alluded to and which I am sure other members will want to ask about. There are huge demands for public sector pay deals, which must be a massive challenge at the moment. I know that the Government is working extremely hard to reach agreement on various pay demands, but what contingencies do you have in place if a deal cannot be reached with a sector by the end of the fiscal year?
Finance and Public Administration Committee
Meeting date: 10 January 2023
Michelle Thomson
It is said that it is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it. That is probably what we are seeing with the fixed budget model. The committee knows that the extent to which the public understand how the financial framework for the Scottish Parliament operates is always a concern. I know that you and all the ministers have been at pains to help people to understand what a fixed budget actually means, but I still hear—whether it is about politics or otherwise—even media representatives blithely ignoring the fact that there is a fixed budget and the implications flowing from that. I know that you work very hard to try to get that message out there, but is there anything more that you and, indeed, we can do to support that?
Economy and Fair Work Committee
Meeting date: 21 December 2022
Michelle Thomson
The first thing is to put in place the data collectors, never mind moving on to interrogating the data. Of course, you can ask a question even if people do not answer it. I fully understand that. However, asking the question in the first place is at least a start.
Carolyn Currie, you have been in front of the committee before and we share some areas of interest around these matters. A lot of the pressures that are being faced now are international. Inflation is high everywhere, and everyone is being subjected to the same energy restrictions, but the UK has some special and unique challenges, which we have talked about.
What current international best practice in policy could you highlight? Are there creative ideas? It feels to me a bit like groundhog day. Could you give some insight into what is happening internationally?
Economy and Fair Work Committee
Meeting date: 21 December 2022
Michelle Thomson
It is the last day before we all break up for Christmas and Santa has not arrived at my household yet, so could you give a public commitment on behalf of the SCDI that you will action that after this meeting, so that the next time that you come in front of the committee and I ask whether you routinely disaggregate all data by gender in all surveys, you can say, “Yes”?
Economy and Fair Work Committee
Meeting date: 21 December 2022
Michelle Thomson
We know the failure rate for new businesses; most new businesses do not make it beyond the three-year point regardless of who runs them. What is your anecdotal sense of the failure rate for new businesses that have been set up by women over the past three years? I know that we do not have the data, which is why I am asking for a more anecdotal sense.
Economy and Fair Work Committee
Meeting date: 21 December 2022
Michelle Thomson
Before I ask Carolyn Currie a couple of questions, I have a standard question for the other witnesses. Do you routinely disaggregate all data in all surveys by gender?
Economy and Fair Work Committee
Meeting date: 21 December 2022
Michelle Thomson
I have a final wee question. The women in enterprise review, led by Ana Stewart, was launched—I am guessing—in April this year. How actively have you been able to contribute to that?
Economy and Fair Work Committee
Meeting date: 21 December 2022
Michelle Thomson
Why is that?
Economy and Fair Work Committee
Meeting date: 21 December 2022
Michelle Thomson
Thank you very much. Fergus Mutch, I appreciate that you work in one area and are playing two roles here, but I put the same question to you.
Economy and Fair Work Committee
Meeting date: 21 December 2022
Michelle Thomson
Thank you. Stacey Dingwall, I put the same question to you.