Chamber and committees

My reason for asking is that you mentioned the working group in your submission.

No, because I am sure that others will ask you about that.

You suggested that barriers to work need to be removed, so my question was about which barriers should be removed.

Thank you.

Stephen Boyle, I was astonished to read in your submission that

“there are over 40 different regular financial outputs published by ten government departments or public bodies”.

How can those be rationalised and made more transparent, and what savings might ensue?

The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee said:

“it would be helpful for the Scottish Government to provide a fuller explanation of the reasons for the timing of the instrument”.—[Official Report, Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee, 6 September 2022; c 1.]

Can you help us with that?

Is it £37-odd million?

It seems a colossal sum of money, to be honest, and 95 per cent of data being locked up also seems a very high percentage. How did you come to those figures and, again, what is the split between the private and public sectors?

You said that it could be £70-odd million, as it could be doubled.

Right, so you are talking about a 5 per cent gap.

One of your suggestions—indeed, it is also in the main COSLA submission—is about multiyear settlements. I think that committee members round the table are really sympathetic to and supportive of such an approach for local government. Of course, the issue is that the Scottish Parliament does not have such settlements, which makes it difficult for us, especially given the proportion of resource that goes to local government.

Two weeks ago, I had a private meeting with representatives of the Accounts Commission. When it gives evidence, it always talks about long-term planning. Most local authorities, although not all, are involved in medium to long-term planning. What work is COSLA doing on long-term financial planning?