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You have spoken a lot about recruitment. What are you doing to retain the staff that you already have? Many junior doctors seem to be taking a gap year when they complete foundation year 2, because they say that they are overworked and exhausted. I have figures showing that 15,000 NHS workers left the health service in 2021-22. You have said that numbers have increased to 156,000 compared to 142,000 pre-pandemic, but a lot of staff still seem to be leaving because they are overworked. What are we doing to retain the staff that we already have?

Good morning. What steps has the Scottish Government taken to reduce reliance on bank and agency staff and the significant increase in expenditure on that?

So, when you are doing workforce planning and you see a gap where you need more students on certain courses, the Scottish Government has conversations with the universities.

That is fine. Thank you.

Does the Scottish Government agree that the target to increase the GP workforce by 800 by 2027-28 is on track?

Okay. Thanks.

This is my last question. To what extent is the Scottish Government preparing for a future funding requirement, recognising that financial assurances have only been provided until February 2024?

The report highlights that there could be a future funding requirement of around £9.5 million, based on FMPG’s estimate of final costs. The report also highlights that the consultant who was commissioned to review FMPG’s financial forecasts raised some concerns, including about the estimate of contingency being too low. On that basis, how realistic do you consider the future funding requirement of £9.5 million to be?

You state that FMPG funding requests are subject to due diligence by the Scottish Government. Can you provide more detail about the process that is in place for that work to happen?

The letter of comfort was given in 2023 and it covers FMPG until 2024. The latest update that we have is that 801, or MV Glen Sannox, would be finished by the summer or the end of 2023 at the very latest. The latest update on 802 is that it would be finished by the summer or the end of 2024 at the latest, which is actually outwith the letter of comfort.

Looking at the milestone payments, it seems to me that FMPG has already slipped on timescales. We have already said that we cannot be definitive about whether that cost will be accurate. We have asked officials before about whether this is a blank cheque until the boats are completed. Is it, in effect, a blank cheque?

Good morning, Auditor General. The Scottish Government issued a letter of comfort to FMPG providing assurances that it would be supported financially

“for at least 12 months from February 2023”.

Does that mean that FMPG can continue to make expenditure commitments, such as the ones made between October and December 2022, beyond its allocated budget for the year?