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Thank you, minister. You mentioned the Verity house agreement, which is our new deal with local government, and the three shared priorities. I am interested in understanding, from your perspective and that of the Scottish Government, how the 2024-25 budget, and specifically the local government settlement, will help local authorities to work towards the priorities that you outlined.

That has raised a question for me. I do not necessarily expect anyone to have the answer to this, but I would like to know the root of the single-year approach. Obviously, it comes from the UK Government that the Scottish Government gets single-year funding and then there is a knock-on effect for local authorities. I wonder where that came from, historically. It is astounding that pretty much the whole of Scotland is run on a one-year budget. How can a country be run in that way? Do witnesses have any thoughts on that or understanding of it?

Good morning, and welcome to the second meeting in 2024 of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee. I remind all members and witnesses to ensure that their devices are on silent.

The first item on our agenda is to decide whether to take items 3 and 4 in private. Do members agree to do so?

Members indicated agreement.

Thank you. I will bring in Marie McNair.

Thank you. Would anybody else like to comment?

Good morning, and welcome to the first meeting in 2024 of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee. I wish members and everyone who is participating or watching a happy new year. I remind members and witnesses to ensure that all their devices are on silent.

The first item on our agenda today is to decide whether to take item 3 in private. Do members agree to do so?

Members indicated agreement.

Thank you very much.

The next agenda item is an evidence session on the Scottish Government’s budget for 2024-25. We are joined by Martin Booth, who is the executive director of finance at Glasgow City Council; Kirsty Flanagan, who is the director of finance at Argyll and Bute Council; Sarah Fortune, who is the executive director for council resources at East Lothian Council; and Jamie Robertson, who is the chief finance officer at East Dunbartonshire Council.

I will start with some initial questions. I am interested to get a sense of any assessment that you have made of how the Scottish Government budget 2024-25 will impact on your local authorities. What is the estimated gap between what you require and what are you likely to receive from the Scottish Government in 2024-25? Will you have the necessary funds to fulfil your statutory duties? If there are gaps between what you require and what are you likely to receive, what approach will you take to fill them? I will start with Martin Booth.

Willie Coffey has a supplementary.

Okay. Pam Gosal has a couple of questions.