Chamber and committees

Clearly, it is a huge industry and there is a limit to what a CPG can do in meeting perhaps four times a year. As I see it, we would focus on two areas. One is the information side, which is about ensuring that MSPs are informed and understand the developments and what is happening. The other area, which is something that we will have to talk to the industry members about, is about where there are weaknesses or things that we can do to lobby or persuade. You will understand the limitations of a CPG, but, where there are problems and glitches, we can raise them to the surface and maybe collectively help with them.

I do not think that there is time at the moment. Are you okay with that?

Are there specific gaps or other areas where the auditor believes that there are weaknesses that the Scottish Government should be focusing on?

Is £0.5 million good progress?

In the early years, which is not that long ago, when Social Security Scotland was put in place, there was a relatively relaxed regime in respect of fraud. That was gradually tightened up as the volume and complexity of its work increased. Has the Scottish Government given you enough assurance around the assessment of fraud in this year’s accounts?

You said that the £67.5 million is the average across a number of component parts. Historically, how accurate have the estimates been?

Are you saying that it is not that accurate? In what way?

There is a formula. You can look back and see how close to reality that formula has been in the past. How close has it been?

You may recall that, some months ago, we discussed the Covid-19 business grant payments and the fraud levels there. That money came through local government, of course. I raised an issue that, south of the border, the fraud levels were massive—running into many millions—and yet, in Scotland, fraud levels were considered to be extremely small. I am pleased about that, but I am also suspicious about it. At that time, you were having another look at that. Now, according to our papers, there was a recovery of £504,000 of fraudulent Covid-19 business grant payments as at July 2022. Does that really reflect the level of fraud? Does it reflect good progress?

But it is happening.