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Yes. A view has been expressed in the past that equality impact assessments are part of the red tape that we need to get rid of. Is it your understanding that the Government’s position is that it thinks that it is important that there are equality and human rights impact assessments of changes?

Thanks very much. That is very helpful. Those are all my questions, but Graham Simpson has a final one to put to you.

Good morning. I welcome everyone to the 31st meeting in 2024 of the Public Audit Committee. Agenda item 1 is for the committee to decide whether to take agenda items 3 and 4 in private. Are we all agreed to take those items in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Thank you. We might return to that theme a bit later on.

Colin Beattie has some questions to put to you, so I will hand over to him.

Thank you very much indeed for that opening statement, and for touching on yesterday’s budget. I invite Graham Simpson to put some questions to you now: he may well start with yesterday’s budget. [Laughter.]

Hang on a minute. A commitment to look at the outcome is different from saying that we are going to pay for it or that we will honour it.

You say that you are willing to fund the commitment, but that willingness is subject to the amount that is entailed in it. It is subject to whether you approve of the methodology of the job evaluation. It seems that you are dipping in and out with the extent to which you are prepared to intervene in the process.

You are saying, “This is not a matter for the Government; it is a matter for the employers and trade unions to sort out.” If the employers and trade unions sort it out, is it not then the responsibility of the Government to step in and say, “You have carried out a job evaluation. These are the results. There will be some losers, as well as some winners—possibly. How do we deal with that? We have a commitment to those employees, those workers, that they will get—”

Reflecting on the answers that you have just given us, do you accept that there is a flat-cash settlement that represents a 17 per cent real-terms cut in funding for Scotland’s colleges?

Are you saying to me this morning that there is still a possibility that the apprenticeship funding could sit in the hands of Skills Development Scotland?

So the answer to my question is yes; it could conceivably stay with Skills Development Scotland.