Chamber and committees

Since you have drawn our attention to appendix 1, I note that legal and professional fees seem to have gone up substantially.

Okay. If members have no other questions to ask at this point, I will conclude the evidence-taking session by thanking everybody, the witnesses in particular, for attending today.

That concludes the public part of the meeting. Members may want a couple of minutes for a comfort break before we crack on with the private session.

So I do not forget, I wish all the witnesses a happy Christmas and a great new year. All the best.

Yes, but they went up to £840,000 from £600,000-odd.

Historically, there has always been a shortage of skills and bodies in the digital area. I assume that that continues. How do you recruit people for those posts, and how do you specifically ensure that the mix of skills and resources that you need are in that recruitment process?

Are you still paying off-scale to recruit people into the digital area?

Are you satisfied that that brings the salaries to a level where they are competitive?

Given the competitive market, you would not think that £1,000 extra would swing it one way or the other for a senior IT person.

Having been in the private sector previously, one of the things that I am aware of is that employers encouraged employees in this area to move on after a period in the job. That was to allow them to go out and get more skills, more experience and broader exposure, and, then, they could come back in a few years’ time with much higher skills. What you do not want is somebody who will settle down for 20 or 30 years and just be in that groove and tick the box. Is that a consideration that you have taken?

Who makes the business decision?

Okay. I will leave it at that. Thank you.