Chamber and committees

Witnesses have been telling us how complex the procurement process is and how difficult it is to access. How do you tackle that? I am thinking particularly about small companies that do not have the resources or experience to put together complex documents.

Do you have a process in place for that?

We have heard a great deal about accessibility being an issue, particularly for smaller businesses that do not have the resources to fill in your forms and comply with all the requirements. Are you satisfied that what you are doing is sufficient to open up that process?

We have heard that it can be difficult to understand whether a product or service that has a higher up-front cost might deliver value in the medium or long term. To some extent, procurement is used to manage costs, and there is a bit of a conflict between paying more up front now in the belief that, in a few years’ time, you will obtain better value for the product or service in question. To what extent do you make decisions that capture that, so that the life of a product or service is properly assessed in terms of value for money? Are there barriers to that? Perhaps Lynette Robertson can start.

The whole public sector is under pressure cost-wise. Is it not true that the whole-life costing approach is less adhered to simply because of the short-term need to save money, stay within budget and reduce costs? Does that not put a lot of pressure on the adoption of whole-life costing?

I was going to ask a question about improving training for board members. Having read the Auditor General’s report and the corporate governance review, frankly, I think that the level of incompetence in the board is breathtaking. There is no challenge and very little scrutiny and there seems to be no understanding of proper governance. To me, an induction for board members is an induction, rather than training. Board members should be chosen for the skills that they have and the expertise that they can bring to the board, and not because they come in needing training.

Is there a problem with our recruitment process for non-executive directors? This is not the first time that the committee has looked at problems that have arisen in the public sector and found at least some issues with the way in which non-execs have approached a situation. I am not blaming the board solely—there are other issues—but I am focusing on the board. Is there a problem with our recruitment process?

Again, when it comes to the board, I would like some reassurance that proper scrutiny and challenge are in place, because—hopefully—we have learned through all the deficiencies that have been thrown up both in the audit and in the corporate governance review. What sort of reassurance can we have that those deficiencies have been rectified?

My understanding, based on evidence that we have taken in other meetings, is that each NHS board has unique characteristics because of the way in which it has developed, and that there is a need for each board to provide some familiarisation for directors coming in. That is normal: it is not unique to the NHS. Non-executive directors are appointed to the boards of many different types of private and public organisation.

Let me move on.

Good morning, Auditor General.

Nothing happens without money. The whole programme hangs on whether public and private investment can be obtained in very large quantities. The fourth recommendation in the report is that the Scottish Government should

“clarify how it will use public money in the short and long term to support the delivery of its Heat in Buildings Strategy objectives, while achieving value for money”.

When would you expect the Scottish Government to be able to do that? What evidence would you expect to see in order to demonstrate that value for money is being achieved?

To me, there are two ways that the private sector can get involved. One is by directly financing discrete projects; the other is by providing finance to householders to carry out whatever works are needed in their homes. Has consideration been given to the balance between those? It seems problematic that the facility to go into debt to do that work will be particularly attractive to households. Has any analysis or work been done on that?