Seòmar agus comataidhean

Were the community and unions involved in the Grangemouth industry cluster?

Should the use of gross domestic product as a measure of progress simply be stopped outright, or should a more transitional approach be taken?

I have nothing to declare.

My question has been partially answered. The reduction in travel and subsistence expenditure was significant—more than half a million pounds. On your way of working, how much do you expect you will bounce back and be doing much more travel and overnight work to engage with the public bodies that you audit? Will some of the beneficial practices that you have developed be sticky? Can you forecast how you intend to work in relation to Covid? Will the extent of in-person auditing that you were doing previously be suitable as you move forward, and how much money you will need for that work?

I have a question about the home nations Covid-19 group that you have been part of and which has been sharing the experiences of public audit across these islands. What have been the main areas of learning from that group, and will it continue? Is it also benchmarking experiences outside the UK?

Do you want me to continue with my other questions, chair?

I will kind of build on the theme then move on to something else.

I think that Diane McGiffen mentioned the point about the lack of seamlessness between Audit Scotland’s IT and that of the bodies that you audit. To what extent will that continue to be a challenge? Will it get better? It could slow down the auditing process and mean more in-person visits if you cannot exchange online the data that you need, or whatever. Is that a bit of a headache or is it something that will resolve itself as we get into the new normal, which is to work more online?

In previous discussions with Audit Scotland, it talked about the importance of being able to get the taste and smell of an organisation—to use Audit Scotland’s words—when auditing it. Are you confident that you were able to get a taste and smell of Audit Scotland through doing the work remotely, or, in hindsight, do you think that you could have done with going in there and spending time on X or Y, or doing things slightly differently?

Thanks, convener. On that point, to what extent will the change to the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets’ remit—particularly the incorporation of climate change into its remit—make a difference to the way that our whole energy system is regulated and investment is incentivised?