Chamber and committees

Okay. I have a couple more points relating to issues that are raised with the committee quite a lot. The first is about the way in which settlements are made and how multi-year is helpful. We hear that a lot from other sectors, and we have heard it in committee meetings. How are you placed to be able to offer that to some boards?

Good morning. My point probably links to things that my colleagues have said. It is about the sustainability of health boards and where we think that Government and the boards are required to work together. Cabinet secretary, you noted that there are five—although my papers said four—health boards that are indicating that they are having financial pressures.

What are the key actions that you are working on together in relation to financial sustainability? What three things are you working on together with the health boards that are on the escalation framework, particularly those that are at stage 3?

Sorry, yes.

Yes. You are right that it would be helpful for organisations to be able to predict whether they are likely to have similar funding or on-going increases in funding.

My last point is about NHS boards. Are the 3 per cent recurring savings considered to be achievable for NHS boards? What conversations have you had with the boards about whether that is realistically sustainable for them?

I am interested in some of the points that you have made around the balance between grass-roots community sport, with football as part of that, and the national team and the drive to get quality in that team.

First, on community space, I know from what we have read that you have an influence on it and you meet with stakeholders about it. Where are we at the moment in terms of having good quality space for people to play ordinary games of football?

Do you have a strategy to try and work with stakeholders? I think that everybody here would agree with your point that having those facilities is important for preventative health impacts, but have you started to pull together a strategy for that? Who might be able to work together to improve grass-roots clubs?

Lovely.

I appreciate the drive that you have put into that. I hope that the committee will get a chance to find out what developments there are, particularly if you are working with the Government.

Given the time, I will move on to ask about the national team. We have had some papers saying that there is a hope to develop a very top-end training complex. How far ahead are you with that, and given some of the discussions we have had, I would like to know whether that will involve only the men’s game, or whether it will involve the women’s game? Who will be able to use that facility?

Good morning. My question probably leads on from what Laura Wilson was talking about, as it is about the models of training for staff in the NHS. For a lot of professions across the NHS, we have a very university-based style. We have heard a lot of evidence about that and about how we encourage people in remote areas to train and stay in their own area, in order to build a workforce that cares a lot about that community.

I would be interested to hear from each witness, when it comes to their profession and the wider NHS, what models they think that we could use, or what the universities could do, to get a better balance for people.

I am sorry to interrupt, but do you have any good examples of where that has happened, or is it something that still needs to happen?