Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has committed to increasing investment in social care by 25 per cent to the end of the current session of Parliament. Can we really consider and project future costs effectively? I put that question to Sir Harry Burns first.

I agree entirely that we have not had sufficient time to scrutinise. The information about the consultation that is outstanding makes the matter even worse. The Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health and Sport says in her letter to the committee that she cannot share the draft statutory instrument, because it is not yet in the public domain. The process all seems very rushed, and the committee is being put in a difficult position.

Good morning to you both. What is sportscotland doing to support Cricket Scotland generally and in its record keeping, reporting procedures and complaints processes?

In sportscotland’s statement of 30 September it was noted that

“robust actions and genuine cultural change”

are needed within the sport. Can you offer us assurances today that that is what we will get? Given the progress to date, we do not see that now. Can you give us assurances that there will be real cultural change within Scottish cricket?

I have a follow-up question. The points that you have made help to clarify how we move forward with the work. I am interested in how IJBs dealt with the pandemic. Did the pandemic highlight issues? Did it make people think about things differently? What are our learning outcomes from the pandemic? How can we include those in our future reviews?

Okay. You have talked about a reset but when that happens, who will be responsible for making sure that we do not get into this situation again? Where does the buck stop?

Good morning. You made some strong points, Vicky, about previous reviews, how things have got better and how you worked through issues. Given your comments, am I right to think that, as we move forward, we should be looking at streamlining governance and accountability and taking out duplication? You mentioned various reporting arrangements and doing things more than once but in different avenues. Can you expand on that? I seek comments from the other witnesses as well.

Would it make any difference if we had an overall national strategy?

Do you feel that health inequalities are a top priority for other organisations outwith the health service, such as local authorities, that will need to assist with health targets?

At our meeting on 24 May, I asked Dr David Walsh whether, because we do not have overall powers over social security, taxation or employment in Scotland, it would make any difference if we had an overall strategy to reduce health inequalities. Dr Walsh replied that, if the aim was to narrow health inequalities across society, a strategy would be great but the relevant powers would also be required. Minister, what is your view of those comments?