Chamber and committees

A couple of you have mentioned funding. That leads me to ask about the impact of last year’s emergency budget review, which led to a £38 million cut in mental health funding for 2022-23. There was also a £65 million cut in funding for improving primary care services. We know that primary care GPs are principally—almost always—people’s route of entry to adult mental health services. Does anyone want to reflect on how you have coped with that, the impact of the cut and whether it has affected your ability to provide sustainable and effective adult mental health services, including at a primary care level? Simon Burt can start off on that question, and I hope that others will contribute after that.

Pamela Cremin, from a Highland health and social care partnership perspective, will you give us your reflection on the impact of the emergency budget review and any effects that it had on services in your area?

That is a clear and illuminating answer.

I turn to Jo Gibson.

Apologies to those who also wanted to come in on that question—I am sure that you will get an opportunity shortly—but Graham Simpson wants to raise a number of points to keep the conversation going.

Tracey McKigen from NHS Lothian wants to come in on that question.

I think that Tracey McKigen in the Lothians wants to come in. Hannah Axon, who is in the room, has also indicated that she wants to come in. We will go to Tracey McKigen next.

The evidence that you have given on this area this morning has been very valuable, so thank you for that.

Colin Beattie will now put some questions to you and elicit some more useful information for the committee’s consideration.

Actually, Colin, in the interests of time, Fiona Davies is online and wants to come in. She is an IJB chief officer. Jillian Galloway is also an IJB chief officer, and I do not know whether Simon Burt has got a view. Fiona has indicated that she wants to come in, so I shall bring her in first.

Good morning. I welcome everyone to the 30th meeting in 2023 of the Public Audit Committee. I am very pleased to welcome to the public gallery members of the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee of the Welsh Senedd. Thank you for being here.

The first item on our agenda is a decision on whether to take agenda items 3 and 4 in private. Do we agree to take those items in private?

Members indicated agreement.

We turn to the principal item on our agenda, which is further consideration of the joint report on adult mental health by the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission. I welcome our witnesses to the meeting.

The committee is taking evidence in a round-table format, which is intended to promote discussion between witnesses and participants, so feel free to interact. If anyone in the room wishes to come in on the discussion, indicate as such and one of the clerks will pick that up, and we will do our level best to bring you in. Those who are joining us online are very welcome. If you want to come in further to any times when we direct questions to you, you should use the chat room function and type in “request to speak” or “RTS” or use any other term to communicate the fact that you want to come in on a particular question. We have some time constraints, so do not feel obliged to come in on every single question. I will do my level best to bring in as many of you as possible, but experience tells us that there might be occasions when we cannot bring in everybody on every question.

I also say to those who are joining us remotely that the broadcasting team has set up your audio and camera, so you do not need to do anything with those. You should keep them on at all times, and, when it is your turn to speak, we will make sure that your audio is on so that we can all hear you.

As is customary with a round-table format, I will ask everybody who is taking part to introduce themselves and tell us which organisation they are from. I start by turning to the people who are joining us in the committee room.