Seòmar agus comataidhean

In relation to paragraph 11 of the clerk’s paper, it might also be worth asking the Scottish Government to outline to us the benefits of aligning Scots law with European law and to give us a regular update on progress with that—perhaps annually, if that is appropriate. That is all that I would suggest that we do in addition to the bullet points that are in the paper.

Thank you for that.

I have a final point of clarification. If a person whose dog is subject to a DCN moves to another authority, who is obliged to tell the authority? Is it that person who is obliged to report to the authority whose area he or she has moved into that they have a dog that is subject to a DCN, so that that can be recorded in the database? Is that how it works?

If they did not notify the local authority, would that be an offence under the 2010 act?

My question is about another barrier that perhaps has not been explored yet, and Alison Evison might be best placed to answer it. We are having great difficulty attracting people into local government, and I am thinking of those who are perhaps lucky enough already to be in a job and earning more than the salary that councillors get. How do we get more of those people into local government? Inevitably, it will touch on the issue of getting time off for public duty. When I was a local councillor, I found it incredibly difficult to continue with what I will call my day-to-day job as well as do my council work, given the hopelessly inadequate time off that I managed to get from my employer in order to carry out my public duties.

How can we begin to address that? Should we be thinking of, say, giving people fully paid sabbaticals so that they do not lose the money that they earn from their main jobs? If not, how do we attract such people into local government? How do we ensure that their employers do not lose their service—or. indeed, have to pay for the loss of their service—and that people do not feel as if they are being run off their feet trying to do two jobs at the same time?

We heard about difficulties when local authorities felt that there was no flexibility or discretion for them to assist companies that do not fall within the guidelines on and scope of the various schemes. If any further support funds arise, do you intend to afford local authorities a little more discretion and flexibility to look at their local situation and ensure that businesses get the help that they need?

I did not hear a word of it. The minister’s microphone is dropping in and out.

Good morning, minister. As you know, the UK Government also plans to rule out the use of the MCC process in such circumstances. On the back of that, in March, it announced a £1.5 billion scheme to support businesses, Scotland’s share of which would be about £145 million. Have we received any of that money yet?

If and when the money finally appears, what is your view on that mechanism being applied, rather than the mechanism of the appeals process? We were told in evidence that small and medium-sized enterprises in particular very rarely appeal or are successful in their appeals, because of the difficulty of the process. SMEs can lose out in the appeals process, but it was stated in evidence to us that the mechanism that is proposed can be much fairer and can reach many more local businesses if local government is at the heart of the distribution of the relevant funds. What is your view on that aspect?

Has the Scottish Government done any preparatory work in anticipation of it receiving those funds? You will be aware that, during the pandemic, some of the many local businesses that sought help and assistance sometimes fell through the net. An example of that is wholesalers, who were able—technically and legally—to trade, but had nobody to trade with. They felt particularly disadvantaged, as did many other local businesses. Have we looked at that aspect to make sure that those who need help locally can get it, should the sum of money in question come to the Scottish Government?

Good morning, everyone. We have already mentioned other forms of support and relief. Back in March, the UK Government announced a £1.5 billion fund for further reliefs for business rates, Scotland’s share of that being around £145 million, as was mentioned. We have not seen any of that money yet, but is the more targeted method of distributing that support by our councils a better way to help than to engage in an MCC appeals process?