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Good morning, Gregor Irwin and colleagues. I want to ask about particular investments of the Scottish Government. You have mentioned Prestwick, and I am an Ayrshire MSP. I am delighted at the intervention that took place 11 years ago to recognise the strategic importance of Ayrshire, and it is great to see the airport returning to profitability, with more routes and so on. As was stated at the outset, however, the intention was to return the airport to the private sector—and that could perhaps also apply to the other investments that we have made when the time is most appropriate.

Could you give us a little flavour of the policy intention behind something like that—driving the business back towards profitability? Is there a tension in doing that for its own sake rather than to address the demands of the local economy? We want to return the airport to the private sector, and that has clearly led to a number of actions over those 11 years that have made the airport profitable. What is the balance between getting the airport ready for returning to the private sector and the operational nature of the airport and what it can and should be in the future?

Not this committee.

I thank you for those reassuring words.

In general, how are the public assured that the continuing investment by the Scottish Government in all the assets provides value for money? We will continue to retain and invest in the assets, to keep them operating. Prestwick is profitable, but how does the public get the assurance that the money that we spend on all the assets that we have invested in will deliver value for money in the years to come, before we can think about returning perhaps all of them to private ownership?

I am probably talking too much about Prestwick, but the need to look beyond the current situation applies to the other investments, too. Given that buyers could potentially come in for any of the assets that we are talking about, does the Government retain a view of what those assets should be and how they should develop in the future? The minute that we hand over an asset to a private owner, they become the owner of that asset and it could change completely. If the Government were to hand an asset over to the private sector, what guarantees or assurances would it seek in order to protect and preserve what has been delivered locally for the economy?

How would the Government assure the Ayrshire public, for example, that, following any future sale of Prestwick, it would continue as an airport with passenger aircraft traffic and those kinds of services? Any new buyer might wish to take it in a different direction. Would the Government have a say in guaranteeing that operational capability in any future sale?

Thank you very much for your answers.

Very diplomatically answered—thanks very much for that.

Can I ask you about the different banding arrangements that we see in Scotland? Council leaders in Glasgow or Edinburgh, for example, potentially earn up to £20,000 more than council leaders in other authorities. From my experience as a local councillor for many years, there is the same number of hours in every day and every week, and I certainly know council leaders and civic heads who spend all their time on their civic duties, and that is the case in both smaller and bigger authorities. Why is that difference there and how is it justified?

Does Steve Heddle have a view on that—particularly the recommendation to replace the four bands with three bands? I think that that would mean moving those in the first band into the second band, if you understand my meaning. What is COSLA’s view on the banding arrangement? Do you support the move to have three bands?

My last question is whether there should be any legislative requirements for councillors in relation to the performance of their duties, for example, to attend formal committees and meetings of the council and so on. That has been an issue in the background for a wee while. Did you look at that issue and make any recommendations on it?

Shona, on the point that Pam Gosal raised, what is causing the drift back from online digital participation to in-person attendance? Is it the political party groupings or is it the officials? That was one of the few benefits that saved us during Covid. Digital participation was widespread throughout workplaces in Scotland, and everywhere else for that matter. Who is causing that drift back to in person?