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
Section 22 Report: “The 2021/22 audit of the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland”
Meeting date: 2 March 2023
Sharon Dowey
You mentioned the workforce planning exercise in your reply about the workforce to Colin Beattie. That revealed that the commissioner’s office would not be able to meet the statutory functions or to address the recommendations that were made in your 2022-21 audit report. Emergency proposals for additional funding were submitted to the SPCB in May 2022 and funding was granted in October 2022, which is quite a long time for something that is described as an emergency proposal. Do you have a view on that?
Public Audit Committee
Section 22 Report: “The 2021/22 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts” and “Scotland’s public finances: Challenges and risks”
Meeting date: 23 February 2023
Sharon Dowey
What plans does the Scottish Government have to increase transparency in relation to the Scotland reserve?
Public Audit Committee
Section 22 Report: “The 2021/22 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts” and “Scotland’s public finances: Challenges and risks”
Meeting date: 23 February 2023
Sharon Dowey
Finally, what plans do you have to be more proactive in publishing comprehensive Covid-19 spending information? Will that make clear links between budgets, funding announcements and actual spending?
Public Audit Committee
Section 22 Report: “The 2021/22 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts” and “Scotland’s public finances: Challenges and risks”
Meeting date: 23 February 2023
Sharon Dowey
When will it become transparent to us where the cuts have been in education and skills?
Public Audit Committee
Section 22 Report: “The 2021/22 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts” and “Scotland’s public finances: Challenges and risks”
Meeting date: 23 February 2023
Sharon Dowey
I have been looking at the track record of quite significant underspends, including, most recently, the £2 billion underspend. What processes are, or should be, in place to ensure that we, as parliamentarians, can provide scrutiny and see what money has not been spent and why it has not been spent?
Public Audit Committee
Section 22 Report: “The 2021/22 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts” and “Scotland’s public finances: Challenges and risks”
Meeting date: 23 February 2023
Sharon Dowey
Good morning. Can you confirm the amount that was transferred to the Scotland reserve at the end of 2021-22?
Public Audit Committee
Section 22 Report: “The 2021/22 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts” and “Scotland’s public finances: Challenges and risks”
Meeting date: 23 February 2023
Sharon Dowey
Will that money be used to support the 2022-23 budget plans?
Public Audit Committee
Section 22 Report: “The 2021/22 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts” and “Scotland’s public finances: Challenges and risks”
Meeting date: 23 February 2023
Sharon Dowey
That would be excellent.
Who in the Scottish Government agrees with ministers any funding that is announced? If a Scottish Government minister announces money for a specific project, how does that come about? Who agrees that the amount is available?
Public Audit Committee
Section 22 Report: “The 2021/22 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts” and “Scotland’s public finances: Challenges and risks”
Meeting date: 23 February 2023
Sharon Dowey
I am thinking specifically about the £156 million for the teachers’ pay offer. It was broken down into £30 million for this financial year and £123 million for the 2023-24 financial year, and it is coming from the education and skills budget. However, at the Education, Children and Young People Committee, Shirley-Anne Somerville stated that she was still working through the details of where exactly the money is coming from. Would that not be set in stone before the announcement was made? Obviously, that has huge implications for education and skills.
Public Audit Committee
“Administration of Scottish income tax 2021/22”
Meeting date: 9 February 2023
Sharon Dowey
Good morning. HMRC uses the same systems to administer income tax whether a taxpayer is from Scotland or from elsewhere in the UK. However, it operates additional rules and procedures for Scotland, such as residency checks and the application of “S” tax codes if individuals are identified as Scottish taxpayers.
The NAO report states that, as has been the case in previous years, one of the main administrative challenges that is faced by HMRC is the maintenance of an accurate and complete record of Scottish taxpayer residency addresses. That is because HMRC relies on taxpayers to notify it of any change of address. What can be done to improve on that? Would a legal requirement to notify HMRC of address changes assist with that administrative challenge and with overall compliance?
