Chamber and committees

Good morning. I was really pleased to see just transition principles being embedded through the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019 and the setting up of the commission, albeit not on a statutory basis. Is there a concern about just transition being interpreted in the same way as sustainable development? In other words, it has a thousand different flavours, and the board of an oil and gas company and a community affected by a major development will have very different perspectives and points of view on the matter.

Can just transition and the work that you have started deliver the real systemic change that is required, or is it still predominantly about mitigating climate impacts by building more efficient kit or putting carbon capture and storage solutions into existing plants instead of making wholesale change? I would be interested to get your sense of where discussions on just transition have reached and, more important, who is leading them.

Professor Skea, you co-authored the groundbreaking IPCC report on 1.5°C that ignited the whole debate. Where do you see oil and gas development and the Cambo oil field? Is that compliant with our need to keep the world under 1.5°C?

Were the community and unions involved in the Grangemouth industry cluster?

Should the use of gross domestic product as a measure of progress simply be stopped outright, or should a more transitional approach be taken?

I have nothing to declare.

My question has been partially answered. The reduction in travel and subsistence expenditure was significant—more than half a million pounds. On your way of working, how much do you expect you will bounce back and be doing much more travel and overnight work to engage with the public bodies that you audit? Will some of the beneficial practices that you have developed be sticky? Can you forecast how you intend to work in relation to Covid? Will the extent of in-person auditing that you were doing previously be suitable as you move forward, and how much money you will need for that work?

I have a question about the home nations Covid-19 group that you have been part of and which has been sharing the experiences of public audit across these islands. What have been the main areas of learning from that group, and will it continue? Is it also benchmarking experiences outside the UK?

Do you want me to continue with my other questions, chair?

I will kind of build on the theme then move on to something else.

I think that Diane McGiffen mentioned the point about the lack of seamlessness between Audit Scotland’s IT and that of the bodies that you audit. To what extent will that continue to be a challenge? Will it get better? It could slow down the auditing process and mean more in-person visits if you cannot exchange online the data that you need, or whatever. Is that a bit of a headache or is it something that will resolve itself as we get into the new normal, which is to work more online?