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Okay.

The Audit Scotland report identifies that the creation of the national care service requires

“a significant unknown financial commitment to be met from the Scottish Government’s health and social care budget.”

As you are aware, ministers have paused stage 1 of the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill. Does that have any financial implications, in this year or in future years, for the health and social care budget in Scotland overall?

The SFC estimates that projected spending on health in Scotland will rise from a third of all spend to 50 per cent within 50 years. Do you recognise that figure? What conversations are you having with ministers about the model of healthcare in Scotland, given that projected shift in spending?

When they were asked about what has gone wrong and the shortcomings and misgivings, the Scottish Government and the former First Minister said that we should leave all that to one side because, ultimately, they have saved the yard and the jobs there. In light of what you have said, is it premature to say that the yard has a safe, long-term future?

When we visited the yard, some of the workers who had been there from the get-go said that, at various stages, they could liken the situation to a gravy train running through the middle of the yard, because the people who were doing the work were not necessarily being rewarded but, at various points, people in senior management certainly were. That gave us some cause for concern. Obviously, it appears that the issue of pay is now being addressed satisfactorily. Are there any other areas, such as expenses or the use of contractors or third-party agencies, that could give you cause for concern in the future or have you adequately looked into all other areas of potential expenditure?

Mr Coffey asked about the bonus payments. Paragraph 26 of the report confirms that the

“Framework Agreement includes an overall framework for pay”

but that that

“was not formally agreed until March 2022”,

which was obviously

“after bonus payments were approved.”

Given that FMPG came into public ownership in November 2019, why do you think that it took so long to establish that vital framework for pay?

Mr Boyle, you have mentioned that the language was somewhat opaque around the issue of the pay policy. You said that pay should be

“broadly consistent with the provisions of”

Scottish Government

“pay policy”,

and that

“Any significant deviations will require further approval.”

In February 2023, the Scottish Government provided clarification on those requirements. Can you provide further detail on what those clarifications were, and whether you are confident with the steps that the Scottish Government has subsequently taken?

Good morning, Mr Boyle. For clarity and to recap to some extent, from your perspective, does the yard have a viable future?

In relation to the chief executive’s bonus, the provision is that 40 per cent of base salary could potentially be granted as a bonus. You say that those negotiations are on-going, but what would cause there to be a delay? It would seem to be a relatively easy thing to benchmark. Is that the prevailing rate in the private sector? I recognise what you say about the need for there to be some consistency with the private sector. Should we read anything into the fact that that has not yet been agreed and that the outcome is somewhat delayed?

Good morning to you, Mr Boyle, and to your colleagues. In the past, you have said to this committee that you will not wait until the huge piece of public policy work that is the national care service is created before you start to audit it and to analyse the numbers around it. In your report, you warn that the national care service will place a huge strain on the health and social care budget. Obviously, concerns have been raised within the Parliament, particularly by the Finance and Public Administration Committee, in relation to the financial memorandum that accompanies the bill, which is on pause. What is your understanding as to why the legislation has been paused? Is it to look further at the numbers?