Chamber and committees

I ask Bill Ireland to come in on that.

Is it your impression that we will see some reversal to the fall in completions that took place in 2020, which was an extreme period? Are the numbers of starts and completions beginning to come back up?

From what you are saying, it sounds like you believe that there is an element of manipulation in the market. Is that the case?

It is embedded in the act that Scottish Government staff will be used.

So the actual concern is not a question of disagreement on a point of fact but disagreement on prioritising the proposals—is that correct?

Okay. Thank you.

Are there any specialised areas of PPE that we cannot produce in Scotland? Is that why we are not at 100 per cent? I am being ambitious here.

Did anyone in the Government’s sponsor division comment at all on the unusual route of contact?

Before I get on to that, I have to say that it is easy, sitting here, to forget how serious this section 22 report is. The impression that I am getting is that there is nothing to see here and that we should move on; there were just little technical hitches, we have sorted it all out and everything is cuddly again.

However, I come back to the fact that the report is extremely poor, and for that, the senior management, past and present, is responsible. I expect senior management to have the skills, knowledge and commitment to ensure that we do not get into this sort of situation and that we do not have to look at these reports. Yet here we are.

I realise that, from your perspective, you feel that a great deal of work has been done, with the changes to the board and everything else. I am concerned about ensuring that we do not see the Crofting Commission in front of the committee again as the subject of a section 22 report, but I am not really hearing much to reassure me that the senior management skills are there and that the people in charge are capable of managing this adequately. I think that Bill Barron said that extensive training was given to the new board members when they came in, eight out of nine having changed, but whether they are elected, appointed or whatever, they all have a responsibility that they cannot walk away from. They should have the skills to deal with that, and if they do not, they are clearly unsuited to the job.

We have seen the results of what appears to be failure after failure in the management process, which is why the section 22 report was issued. I am happy to hear your comments on that, but we cannot walk away from the fact that this is a serious report that highlights serious deficiencies. It will certainly take time for the committee to understand and accept that the changes to be implemented will be a step change in the situation. We might be just a little bit naive if we simply accept that everything has been fixed, because I see no evidence of that at this point.

Malcolm Mathieson has already touched on the current relationship with the sponsor division. Are you satisfied that it is now providing the required support?