Chamber and committees

First, we talked about analysts and so on earlier. How many of the 21 staff are analysts?

Secondly, it cost £23,000 for the head of external relations and strategy to attend an executive development programme at Columbia University in 2019. The suggestion in the appraisal form is that they were a new member of staff. Will you confirm whether that was the case?

Do you agree retrospectively that it was inappropriate?

I will cover a couple of other things on the MBA side. On 31 July 2024, the director general net zero confirmed that he is

“not aware of any other public bodies in Scotland that require senior staff to hold MBAs”.

What is so different in WICS that senior staff are required to hold MBAs?

I am still curious about the meaning of the word “analyst”. I do not know whether that is a high-level post or a lower level one.

Knowing what is in an MBA, it is hard to see how an MBA is particularly appropriate as a medium to upskill people who are working as analysts in WICS.

To put to bed the issue of the MBA programmes, have you completed your human resources review of policies and procedures, which you said would include a full review of staff training and the policy of funding MBA programmes? Has that been completed?

Yes, but you are not actually answering the question. Is there, or was there, a requirement that senior members of staff—I am not sure what the definition of “senior” is—hold an MBA? That is the Scottish Government’s understanding, so is that correct or not?

I also want to know whether employment offers included access to an MBA qualification as part of the contract. That is a whole grey area; we need to understand what the policies were and how they were executed, as well as how the communication between the Scottish Government and WICS operated. Was the Scottish Government fully informed of how you were operating in that respect? Those are all key questions.

I will return to WICS. The opportunity to obtain an MBA was supposedly essential for staff retention. Why was it considered to be appropriate to spend nearly £120,000 of public money to do that? I am talking about the specific case that has been quoted.

I will ask a question or two about environmental management plans. At the meeting of this committee on 26 June 2024, Fisheries Management Scotland raised concerns about the lack of enforcement of EMPs and the planning conditions that are designed to limit escapes. I will start by asking you, Rachel Shucksmith, to what extent are environmental management plans standard practice. What impact are they having?

Highland Council does not enforce any aspect of environmental management plans at this time. Is that correct?