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Is there a lack of pace? Every business needs transformation to keep it viable. You mentioned a lack of communication with staff, Auditor General. Is there a lack of pace in the board and the NHS more widely on transformation to ensure that recurring savings are made?

I come to my last question. We are always talking about sharing best practice. Are there any models of good practice in other boards that are facing similar challenges, from which NHS Forth Valley could learn?

Good morning, Auditor General. Paragraph 4, on page 4, which is the start of the summary, states:

“This report highlights concerns raised by a range of review bodies in 2022/23, in relation to the governance, leadership and culture of NHS Forth Valley and the progress the board is making in addressing these issues.”

Can you give us more detail on the nature of those concerns?

My colleagues will ask further questions on governance later. Paragraph 5 of the report says:

“In 2022/23, NHS Forth Valley delivered a break-even position, achieving an underspend of £0.229 million against its Revenue Resource Limit … However, the board experienced significant financial challenges, during the course of the year, due to ongoing capacity and staffing pressures, increases in medicine costs, ongoing Covid-19 legacy expenditure”

and

“delays in delivering recurring savings plans”.

Why have there been delays in delivering the recurring savings plans?

You mentioned that NHS Forth Valley will face the same challenges that all other NHS boards across the country will face. Does NHS Forth Valley face any unique challenges, and if so, can you tell us a bit about them?

Good morning. My first question is for Professor Thomas. You said in your submission that the reason for juryless rape trials being considered in the bill is because of the low conviction rate in Scotland. Is it acceptable to remove juries for the sole reason of increasing the conviction rate?

My next question is for Professor Munro and Professor Chalmers. The Scottish Solicitors Bar Association has said that

“no amount of judicial training or legal direction can remove unconscious biases.”

Is a single judge not also susceptible to the same rape myths and unconscious biases? I ask Professor Munro first.

I have a question on the pilot itself, which I will put first to Professor Chalmers. We have heard from various witnesses that such a pilot would need extensive debate and discussion. Are you at all concerned that the details of the pilot are not included in the bill and will be brought in through secondary legislation? Might that mean that we will not interrogate the proposal as much as we could if it was contained in the bill?

Resource is probably the answer to my next question, too. In the Law Society of Scotland’s submission, you noted that the requirement that solicitors and advocates take an

“approved course on training on trauma-informed practice”

in order to represent clients in the new court would

“restrict the capacity of defence solicitors”,

considering the restraints that they are already under with legal aid. Again, do you think that the Scottish Government has to fund the defence properly before the reforms are passed?

My concern is financing the whole bill. If we do not fund it properly, we will not be able to implement any of it.

I will move on and ask a question about juryless trials. Do you have any concerns about bringing in such a shake-up of the jury system for sexual offences through secondary legislation rather than doing so through the bill? I have a concern about that. Do you have any comments on that?