Seòmar agus comataidhean

One of my questions has been covered—it was about not being able to put a figure on the funding—but I will ask some more detailed questions with regard to how we take change forward.

NHS Scotland now has NHS Scotland Assure, which is looking at new buildings. I know that that is not a perfect science and that, as a new organisation, it will often be looking at buildings as they move towards their completion rather than when they were on the drawing board, but is the Scottish Government looking at what that will mean for local authorities and considering a new model? We heard from the first panel some suggestions about a public register of what buildings are made of. Is any work going on around that to consider what needs to change?

The committee has considered flammable cladding systems and we are now discussing RAAC. Are you satisfied that our public building procurement is fit for purpose and that it is looking not only at best value but at the long-term sustainability of the buildings and at live information from around the world when concerns are expressed? It is interesting that the members of our first panel, by and large, seemed to think that, as a country, we are very good as regards the health and safety element but that, rather than public services doing procurement work on their own, there might be a need for more specialist services.

I am a Conservative MSP for Lothian region.

My question is on an area that we have touched on already. Are there other widely used building materials and techniques that might pose a problem and which the committee should be aware of? Peter Watton, you touched on asbestos paint earlier. As you look at the issue, are you seeing other examples starting to come forward?

Does anyone want to add to what has been said?

Thank you for that. On future budgeting, do you know what equal pay claims settlement issues are outstanding across local government? Some councils have moved to do it, but what financial level are we are talking about for authorities that have not done it to date?

I have a couple of questions about what the workforce in local government looks like. Our predecessor committee looked at workforce planning in 2018 and noted that local authority workforces tend not to reflect the communities that they serve. What progress has been made towards making our workforce more representative, specifically at senior local government levels? What work has COSLA or the Scottish Government done on that? I will bring in Councillor Hagmann to start.

Thank you for that. Last week, the Withers report was mentioned, and we heard about what still seems to be a lack of connection between workforce planning in our college sector and local authorities, and a missed opportunity to look at different pathways into different jobs. That leads me to my next question on reports that often highlight the fact that most local authority staff are women, and the inequalities around pay and progression in councils. What actions have been taken around that issue and the gender pay gap? Is that improving? Which councils are not managing to make progress on that?

Most of the points that I wanted to raise have been covered, but I have two questions. The first is about changes to services. As I asked in relation to another matter, what work was done to consider potential negative impacts on women and ethnic minorities in the workforce, and what planning is going on around that?

That is grand—thank you.