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That is a really useful insight. We have been doing quite a bit of work on understanding the barriers to local elected office. I am interested to hear Reform’s perspective on what more can be done to help Scotland’s councils be more representative of their diverse communities and what role could—what needs to be done to improve council remuneration. I absolutely agree that it needs to be improved; I am not sure why I stumbled on that question.

Before I bring in Miles Briggs to add another layer of complexity with his questions, I want to pick up on a few things. One thing that struck me while you were talking—you mentioned this at the beginning, and it was also mentioned in the committee’s previous evidence session—was the fact that, in the EU, local municipalities can raise 40 to 50 per cent of their revenue at a local level. You painted a picture of a Scotland with a lot of diversity. Is there that level of nuance in other countries, such as France? I realise that I have quite a fixed picture of that situation, whether that is of 250 people with a mayor or whatever. Is it quite diverse, depending on the geography and local issues?

You are bringing in an element of belonging, in a way.

This might be a radical idea for reform, but I was in conversation with somebody about forestry. We spoke at length and, several times during that conversation, we came back to local government reform. One of the points was that local authorities might own more land, perhaps for forestry or agriculture. Again, that ties into the community wealth building agenda. That may be a radical idea, because we do not do that. We tend to look at that more at the national level. We have talked about the need for a more local and nuanced approach. In that conversation, we kept coming back to the point that that is an opportunity. Local authority-owned forestry could be an income generator, and it could provide timber for housing. Has there been any thinking around that kind of approach? I know that we have the common good land, but that has evolved in a slightly different way. Certainly, locally to me, a lot of that land is a golf course rather than for other things.

Thanks for that. Does anybody else want to come in on that?

From being on the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee, I am aware that there are regional land use partnerships. In my region, Highland Council is involved in the regional land use partnership. It feels like that is another step in the direction of looking at land use.

Thanks for that. That is really helpful. We will keep an eye out for that work.

It is clear that it is about more than housing; it is about the full support package to help people. One thing has been flagged up to me in my region in conversations about housing. When I talk to people about “affordable housing”, they say, “We need housing that people can afford.” It would be good to have a look at what we mean by that. In the committee, we discuss affordable housing—housing that people can afford—at the local level, as salaries and incomes may be very different across the board.

Another thing that we have been looking at is whether the housing need and demand assessment is fit for purpose. You have pointed to the importance of councils understanding the need in their area to bring forward the right type of housing.

Thank you very much. It has been a super morning. The evidence has been really helpful for us, and we appreciate it.

I now suspend the meeting to allow for a changeover of witnesses.

Most people do not understand that that is as much as a straight-up councillor gets as their salary. I am interested to hear what Reform Scotland would like to see in the forthcoming legislation. There is the local democracy bill and, as I mentioned in the previous evidence session, the community wealth building bill. What are the opportunities there?

Good morning, and welcome to the 17th meeting in 2023 of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee. We have received apologies from Annie Wells and Marie McNair. I remind members and witnesses to ensure that their devices are on silent and that all other notifications are turned off during the meeting.

Under our first agenda item, we will decide whether to take items 4 to 7 in private. Do members agree to take those items in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Under agenda item 2, we will take evidence on the recent Accounts Commission report, “Local government in Scotland: Overview 2023”. We are joined by Andrew Burns, a member of the Accounts Commission, and Tim McKay, its interim deputy chair. We are also joined, from Audit Scotland, by Carol Calder, audit director; Antony Clark, executive director of performance audit and best value; and Lucy Jones, audit manager.

I invite Tim McKay to make a short opening statement before I open the meeting to questions from members.