Chamber and committees

Before I ask my questions, I thank the Scottish National Investment Bank for the investment in Lost Shore, Scotland’s only surf resort, which will open in my constituency in a few weeks, I hope—not that I will be on the water. [Laughter.]

I want to ask about financial transactions funding. The Scottish Government’s overall financial transaction funding has been cut by 62 per cent, or around £350 million, compared to 2002-23. We know that the Scottish Government has virtually no borrowing powers, so it is in a bit of a straitjacket. We have seen financial transactions funding being cut year on year to its current low level. If it continues to be cut, what impact will that have on your organisations?

Adrian, you mentioned that the cuts change your attitude towards investment and so on. What is the change in your appetite to risk? If your budget continues to be cut, because of cuts in financial transactions funding, what impact will that have in relation to losses, since there will be the occasional loss from investment from time to time? Do the cuts affect your attitude to risk and does your knowing that your budget is being cut mean that you then have to reassess a lot of potential investments?

Thanks very much.

Professor Bell, I would like a bit of clarification on something that you said earlier. You said that, if we get the market design right, we should see lower electricity bills, but electricity is traded on the wholesale market. If you look a year ahead, you see that prices are 5 per cent higher than they currently are, and the UK Government has guaranteed Hinkley Point a price of £92.50 per megawatt hour, which is 12 per cent higher than the current spot price in the wholesale market. What do we need to do to change the market design, and how do we go about it to get lower bills?

Despite the pressure on your marketing budget, numbers are increasing and we now get just short of 4 million visitors a year. What is driving that?

You said that you are worried about visitor numbers going forward. How do you intend to address that worry? How can you influence the situation?

I will leave it at that, convener.

There is no doubt that it is important to encourage people to come to the country in the first place but, in your strategic pillars, you say that you want to encourage people to

“spend more time and money across Scotland”.

You also say that you have to manage overdemand, make sure that visitors are safe and manage those visitors. However, you have lost all local knowledge. You have no local presence.

How do you spend your marketing budget?

I have one last question, which is to do with the quality assurance scheme that you have had for businesses. If my understanding is correct, that is coming to an end. Many visitors will be looking at bed and breakfast accommodation, hotels or decent restaurants, but if you guys are removing your quality assurance programme, how will they get independent advice on where to go and, more important, where not to go?