Chamber and committees

Are you convinced and comfortable that the Government is taking public sector reform as seriously as you would like it to and as is required?

You have kind of answered a question that I was going to ask about your understanding of the outcome of the actions. Your understanding seems to be that the outcome has not been clear enough yet. Is that a fair description of what you think the Government has done?

I have a couple of questions about the Oracle Cloud system, which was launched last month after a six-month delay. You have stated your intention to report in 2025 on its implementation, but do you have a sense of how successful the initial implementation has been?

As part of your report, will you look to see whether the delay represented value for money in that it enabled the completed project to be put in place, as opposed to having to go back and sort things out later on?

Do you expect to get any clarity in the near future? Is there any suggestion that clarity will be forthcoming?

I was tempted to pretend that it was not working, but the reality is that it is working fine, convener.

I am interested to hear that point about blue badges, because my partner has one, and we found it difficult to get that sorted. Anything that improves that process would be good news.

I want to ask about sharing good practice on digital inclusion. Lesley Fraser mentioned that subject earlier, but could somebody tell me how good practice is currently shared, and how you can improve collaborative working and co-ordination across the Government? For example, how are examples from the Near Me service and Social Security Scotland being shared across other departments?

There is potential for you to continue to share that knowledge with the private and third sectors to make sure that everybody benefits from it.

How is awareness raised about service design tools and other methods to support digital inclusion, such as social tariffs and developing the minimum digital living standard?

You have given two examples of how good practice from the private and third sector has benefited the public sector. What about the other way round? Have you seen examples of the public sector particularly benefiting the third sector?

You mentioned the private and third sectors. To what extent are you partnering with them? Can you give us examples of how they have learned from you and also how you have learned from them?