Chamber and committees

Exhibit 2 shows a flat cash settlement, does it not? Am I reading that correctly?

Willie Coffey is also deputy convener of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee, so he has a particular interest in seeing how that spread works.

Can I return very briefly to infrastructure, capital spend and so on? In the report, you talk about completion rates. I think that you said that the completion rate had risen from 87 per cent to 95 per cent over the course of the year that you were looking at. What is the current completion rate?

I am sure that we will return to that theme as early as next week.

Craig Hoy has a final, short question.

Earlier, Craig Hoy had questions about the sustainability of providers. He has more questions on that.

Yes. Thank you very much. I turn to the deputy convener, Sharon Dowey, who has a series of questions to put to you.

That is a very clear answer, which is very helpful. Thank you

Willie Coffey has some more questions to put to you.

We have spoken a little bit already about flexibility and outcomes. One of the expected outcomes that there has, I think, been some measurement of was that the increased provision for pre-school education might lead to parents and carers taking a decision to defer their children going into primary school. On the evidence that you have produced in the report, that does not appear to have happened to the extent that people may have expected. Will you say a little more about that? Do you have any understanding of why that is? Is it a cultural thing? Are there other factors at play that mean that we have not seen the choice, which is there, being made to defer children’s going into primary school?

Good morning. I welcome everyone to the Public Audit Committee’s 18th meeting in 2023.

The first item on our agenda is for members to consider whether to take in private agenda items 3, 4 and 5. Are members agreed?

Members indicated agreement.

I should also record that we have apologies from Colin Beattie.