Chamber and committees

You have mentioned a couple of times the number of people you have. The Argyll and Bute IJB is not here, but its population is 85,000, so it is an even smaller organisation.

Last week, we heard from the police, and they are obviously an example of a major reform in recent years. They went from eight police authorities, or whatever it was, down to just one. Making anything like that kind of change in the health service could not be done internally, could it? It would have to be driven by central Government.

Yes. The problem is that our borrowing limit is only £300 million. We will raise that with the Deputy First Minister next week.

You mentioned data. How are you finding it now for getting the data that you need at the time when you need it? I know that that was a problem in the past.

Thank you very much, Ms Burden. You have been very frank and open. Maybe it has been beneficial that you have not been in your job for a long time, as you have given us a fresh approach and been prepared to be honest with us. I am very grateful for your input this morning.

Is there anything else that you would like to say that we have not touched on?

One of the terms that we politicians hear from the public is “postcode lottery”, which I personally detest and which I think really means local decision making. However, there needs to be a balance, does there not? When someone turns up with a broken leg, they get the same treatment in Ayrshire as they would in the Highlands, Glasgow or anywhere else. On the other hand, you are dealing with a particular situation: you have two islands, the Highlands are completely different from that, and Glasgow and Edinburgh are different, too.

How do we get that balance? The police model has become more centralised. Does health need to have a more centralised model?

My final question was going to be aimed more at the health and social care partnership, but I will try it with you anyway. Your area covers three local authority areas. Is that a problem, does it not matter or is it a strength? We know that other health boards, such as NHS Fife, for example, pretty well match the local authority area. Is that an issue for you?

Last week, we heard evidence on the information technology side, which was not just about health, that all sorts of public bodies are fishing in the same pool for IT experts. There seems to be a shortage. Has that been your experience?

That opens up a discussion on preventative spend, which is a huge area on which the committee has already spent a lot of time. I will restrain myself on that point, though, and hand over to Michael Marra.

I have a final question. You said that, in future years, you do not anticipate any negative reconciliations or forecast errors after 2024-25. Why is that?

Thank you. That concludes the public part of the meeting.

Thank you very much, Professor Roy. I think that we all have a number of questions. Committee members have around 13 minutes each.

You mentioned the fact that your forecasts and the OBR’s forecasts are somewhat different. You also said that there is more uncertainty than usual at this particular time. Why is there more uncertainty at this time, and why is there a difference on the divergence in earnings growth, in particular, between the Scottish Fiscal Commission and the OBR?