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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 24 November 2024
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Displaying 565 contributions

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Finance and Public Administration Committee

Subordinate legislation

Meeting date: 17 January 2023

Daniel Johnson

Thank you. I will leave it there.

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2023-24

Meeting date: 10 January 2023

Daniel Johnson

What about the split between gas and electricity?

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2023-24

Meeting date: 10 January 2023

Daniel Johnson

How safe is that budget of £1.46 million? That is an increase of 39 per cent, but wholesale gas and electricity prices are almost five times what they were this time last year. Have you already bought the gas and electricity for the coming year so that that price is safe? Do we need to anticipate a significantly larger increase in next year’s budget, if that £1.46 million has already been contracted for?

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2023-24

Meeting date: 10 January 2023

Daniel Johnson

I understand the purpose of the system; my question is more about how the amount will be split. Given that it is a four-year project and that half the amount will be spent in this coming year, it would be helpful to understand the split between the cost of the work that will be done, the cost of software and the cost of infrastructure.

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2023-24

Meeting date: 10 January 2023

Daniel Johnson

A simpler way to make the point is to say that it strikes me that there is limited flexibility in the health service budget, which is why I wanted to clarify that detail.

I will go further. In response to the convener’s question on the national care service, you outlined sums that are included for pay, which I understand, but you did not specify the sum that has been allocated for setting up the care service. The financial memorandum stipulates a range of £60 million to £90 million just for set-up costs. I understand that that might change, but is funding of that order of magnitude included in the budget and, if so, where? That is not entirely obvious from my reading of the budget.

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2023-24

Meeting date: 10 January 2023

Daniel Johnson

The budget line that you have just quoted is a level 3 budget line, which is quite high level. May I clarify again whether the figure of £60 million to £90 million is contained in that line?

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2023-24

Meeting date: 10 January 2023

Daniel Johnson

[Inaudible.]—Social Security Scotland at that point, is my understanding.

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2023-24

Meeting date: 10 January 2023

Daniel Johnson

My reason for asking the question is that your immediate predecessor made the statement—and I think that you have reiterated it—that public sector head count will have to return to pre-pandemic levels. As long as the approach is stated as broadly as that, there will—rightly—be anxiety among people who work in the public sector as to whether their bit might come under scrutiny. Is that still the Government’s commitment? If so, it strikes me that there needs to be clarity from the Government about how and over what time period that might be implemented. Otherwise, it will cause anxiety. Surely the Government needs to clarify what it means by that approach if it still intends to implement it.

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2023-24

Meeting date: 10 January 2023

Daniel Johnson

I have a final, technical question. The Government has made a commitment to present this budget and provide an analysis of the spend using the classification of the functions of Government—COFOG—categories. I believe that that presentation is forthcoming. Will it set out the previous year’s budget in a similar way, and will it use the budget as passed or as subject to subsequent reviews? If we are aiming to use that approach, having a basis for comparison is as important as having the categorisation.

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2023-24

Meeting date: 10 January 2023

Daniel Johnson

Yes: that is the question that I am asking.