Chamber and committees

Auditor General, you have mentioned real-terms cuts. I presume that that is based on a multiyear forecast of what inflation will be. That is a bit of a stab in the dark, is it not? At the moment, the retail prices index is more than 12 per cent. In the context of the multiyear funding award, we could be looking at quite a drastic real-terms cut in funding.

Before I bring Colin Beattie in, I want to have a look at one other area: Brexit. There have been periods in the past when Scotland’s colleges have been able to draw on European social funds and other streams of support from the European Union. That support is no longer available or is being tapered out of the system completely. In its place, we are offered the United Kingdom shared prosperity fund. Will that find its way through to Scotland’s colleges in the way that European Union funds did? Given that it is likely to be administered by, or go to, local authorities, what expectation is there that that money will reach the further education sector?

I invite Colin Beattie to ask some questions about the sector’s financial sustainability.

We move to questions from Craig Hoy.

However, you know that the Scottish public finance manual says:

“The essence of the Accountable Officer’s role is a personal responsibility for the propriety and regularity of the finances under their stewardship”.

So the buck stops with you, does it not?

Does Graham Simpson want to come in?

Good morning. I welcome everyone to the 21st meeting in 2022 of the Public Audit Committee. The first item on our agenda is a decision on taking business in private. Do members agree to take agenda item 3 in private?

Members indicated agreement.

The second item on our agenda is consideration of the Auditor General for Scotland’s section 23 report entitled “New vessels for the Clyde and Hebrides: Arrangements to deliver vessels 801 and 802”. I welcome David Middleton, who is our first witness this morning. In 2015, he was the chief executive of Transport Scotland.

David, the committee appreciates that time has elapsed since you left your role at Transport Scotland. However, you were the most senior official at Transport Scotland when key decisions to award the contract to Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd were made, and there are questions that we need to ask and that we need you to answer. Before we proceed to questions, I invite you to make a short opening statement.

Thank you, Mr Middleton—we appreciate that. The deputy convener of the committee, Sharon Dowey, has questions to put to you.

And on 25 August as well.