Seòmar agus comataidhean

I thank our panel for joining us and for their full submissions in response to our letter.

I am interested in hearing your views on the benefits and challenges of this year’s competitive process, compared with the direct allocations of previous years. Also, how does the approach compare with how councils allocate their own funds to island projects? Is there anything that the Scottish Government can learn from how you operate? Russell McCutcheon, I will come to you first.

That has been a sobering discussion.

I am interested in hearing how councils measure the impact of capital projects. What criteria do you use? How do you share that—perhaps with communities, for future bids? As councils, how do you learn from the criteria that you use to judge your capital projects?

Gareth Waterson, how does Orkney Islands Council operate?

I was thinking specifically about the projects that did not succeed in the latest round, and whether you continue to work with them. However, I appreciate that we are challenged for time, so we will move on.

Diarmaid, you touched on this in your previous answer. I want to ask about the timing of the application period, which was during the election period, and the relatively tight deadline. In its evidence, Argyll and Bute Council said that, as a result, there was not full council engagement. North Ayrshire Council commented that, because of that, the engagement process was much more pressurised. I would like to hear your views on that.

You talked about the ideal situation of having a pipeline of projects. What work are you continuing to do with local authorities and communities to ensure that that pipeline is kept full?

That is helpful. I suppose that, given that life happens, you can always review what your steps and criteria are for all the left-field ones that come in.

Russell McCutcheon, do you have anything to add on how North Ayrshire operates?

That is very helpful.

Pippa Milne, what are your thoughts on the process and how it compares with how Argyll and Bute Council allocates its funding to islands?

Thank you, panel, for coming to give evidence.

Lady Paton, I was very struck by your point about the bill modernising the law of assignation. I am interested to hear how the bill’s provisions on assignation will, on a practical level, change how businesses might access finance. Perhaps you can give some examples of that and, specifically, talk about the gender pay gap action plan. As you said, women have difficulties in starting up businesses and accessing finance.

Thank you.