Official Report: search what was said in Parliament
The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
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Public Audit Committee
Written Authority: Completion of Vessel 802
Meeting date: 22 June 2023
Sharon Dowey
Did you have meetings prior to 14 May?
Public Audit Committee
Written Authority: Completion of Vessel 802
Meeting date: 22 June 2023
Sharon Dowey
How many meetings did you have, and who did you meet?
Public Audit Committee
Written Authority: Completion of Vessel 802
Meeting date: 22 June 2023
Sharon Dowey
Obviously, we have concerns about the completion dates as well. We have heard that, throughout, there have been issues embedded in the Glen Sannox and vessel 802. How confident are you that no more issues will be found? Did the report highlight any other concerns that the committee should be aware of?
Public Audit Committee
Section 22 Report: “The 2021/22 audit of South Lanarkshire College”
Meeting date: 22 June 2023
Sharon Dowey
Good morning.
We noted that the independent auditor is monitoring progress against the governance review programme. When was the programme implemented, and what has been the progress to date?
Public Audit Committee
Section 23 report: “Early Learning and Childcare: Progress on delivery of the 1,140 hours expansion”
Meeting date: 15 June 2023
Sharon Dowey
Are we confident that the report will come out in the summer?
Public Audit Committee
Section 23 report: “Early Learning and Childcare: Progress on delivery of the 1,140 hours expansion”
Meeting date: 15 June 2023
Sharon Dowey
Okay.
Paragraph 49 on page 17 states:
“As in our last audit, representative bodies of private and third sector ELC providers … report that their members have challenges in recruiting and retaining staff.”
Can you set out in a wee bit more detail why staff stability is higher in council settings than in the private and third sector? Is there any more detail on what the Scottish Government can do to improve stability across the sectors?
Public Audit Committee
Section 23 report: “Early Learning and Childcare: Progress on delivery of the 1,140 hours expansion”
Meeting date: 15 June 2023
Sharon Dowey
I move on to funding for ELC. You mentioned that there is no comprehensive picture of how much councils have spent specifically on the expansion at national level. You mentioned the various complexities that can make it difficult for the Government to establish the overall amount that has been spent on implementing the expansion from 600 hours to 1,140 hours. Does that mean that we might never know the cost of implementing the policy?
Public Audit Committee
Section 23 report: “Early Learning and Childcare: Progress on delivery of the 1,140 hours expansion”
Meeting date: 15 June 2023
Sharon Dowey
Thank you.
Public Audit Committee
Section 23 report: “Early Learning and Childcare: Progress on delivery of the 1,140 hours expansion”
Meeting date: 15 June 2023
Sharon Dowey
My question is on the views of children, which you touched on earlier. Paragraph 103, on page 32, refers to a recommendation made in the 2020 Audit Scotland follow-up report
“that the Scottish Government considers how to include children’s views in the evaluation of the policy.”
The report explains:
“The Scottish Government is working with stakeholders on whether and how to do this in a meaningful way, given other research priorities and capacity to undertake the work, but has yet to finalise plans.”
To what extent is the Scottish Government committed to seeking the views of children as part of its evaluation work?
Public Audit Committee
Section 23 report: “Early Learning and Childcare: Progress on delivery of the 1,140 hours expansion”
Meeting date: 15 June 2023
Sharon Dowey
It is complicated, then.
Paragraph 64 of the report states that, in 2023-24, the Scottish Government allocated £9.1 million less to councils for funded ELC than in 2022-23 and that COSLA is concerned that that reduction in funding may affect service delivery in the future. To what extent do you share COSLA’s concerns?
