Chamber and committees

As John Mason might recall, in session 4, we decided to look at the Barnett formula in some detail. In our naivety, we thought that it would be pretty straightforward, only to find out that how it functions in reality is quite byzantine. Therefore, any transparency that we can get on that is important.

I will touch on your forecast document. You have outlined the issues in great detail in the report, but I would like you to talk about the one area in which there was a significant difference from the original forecast, which is that of income tax receipts, which were some £1,498 million—about 11 per cent—higher than the forecast.

Given the intricacy of some of the issues that you have talked about and how very localised they are, how could a commissioner with four staff possibly deal with that?

Thank you very much for that opening statement, Jeremy. Our first question is why you feel that a commissioner is the best route forward to promoting and safeguarding the rights of disabled people. What gaps are there in current Government provision that make you feel that that is the best way forward?

Human rights is one of the issues that has come up in our evidence sessions. Perhaps, rather than having commissioners that look after a number of different areas, beefing up the Scottish Human Rights Commission so that it could look at some of the rights-based issues might be a more effective way forward. A rapporteur could look at specific issues, such as disability. What is your view on that?

I am going open up the session to colleagues around the table.

Do you have any final points that you want to make, before we wind up?

It remains to be seen whether the Government will proceed with those commissioners. You talk about there being a community of disabled people, but there is a vast array of disabilities and a colossal number of people in Scotland have one disability or more. How would a commissioner prioritise? There are many groups that advocate for specific types of disability, as we all know. A commissioner could suddenly have an incredibly wide range of organisations, people and issues to deal with.

On the overall picture, the SPCB has raised concerns with us about the proportion of its budget that is being used to pay commissioners and fund these bodies. As you know, the budget has increased from about £16.2 million to £18.2 million in the current financial year. The proposed disability commissioner would add to that, even if the fairly modest figures in the financial memorandum are accurate. Jeremy Balfour said earlier that funding is a political choice. Does that mean that the Scottish Parliament’s budget should be increased, or do you think that other areas of the Scottish Parliament should have to cut their cloth in order to fit in the commissioner and others?

Thank you very much. I thank you and the officials for the evidence that you have given this morning.

The next item on our agenda, which is a consideration of our work programme, will be discussed in private.

It is 23 months, not 15, so there is still a wee bit of time.