Seòmar agus comataidhean

Good morning, minister. Thank you for joining us. I do not want to reheat old coal for the sake of it, but I want to go back to the issue of the additional consequentials being factored in. You said:

“These amounts are broadly in line with our internal planning assumption and is factored into spending plans.”

Could you provide the committee with the breakdown of that internal planning and, specifically, where you had factored into those spending plans either the reversal of cuts that you had planned or any additional expenditure that would flow from the consequentials?

We discussed that figure earlier. Would you be able to give the committee a breakdown as to how you have arrived at that £300 million number, relatively—

On a technical point, the guide says that the savings in the health and social care portfolio have been retained and are not included as funding reductions in the ABR. What is the reason for retaining those potential savings?

That is true, but this is to give the committee some comfort that you are not simply winging it. You were quite specific in your submission, which says that the figure was

“in line with our internal planning assumption and is factored into spending plans.”

Had that money not come forward, would you not have been facing quite a significant increase in the problem that you identified through the ABR?

Could there be a structural shortfall this year?

Police officers.

Can you benchmark in relation to that and look forward to future years?

But in October, you were saying that it was around £900 million to £1 billion, and now it is £1.433 billion, which is £400 million more, but in effect, you are saying that there is no—

For the record, it is therefore accurate to say that you cannot really reconcile that statement with the ABR that was laid before the Parliament on 3 October. The two are inconsistent, are they not?

Well, in the sense that you were saying that the figure was “in line with” the

“internal planning assumption and ... factored into the spending plans,”

but it is, materially, £400 million more than you were expecting.