Chamber and committees

That is helpful. You touched on a lot of points that I was going to come back on, but my final question is about low pay. We are already seeing changes from the UK Government that aim to make the minimum wage a genuine living wage. Earlier, Helen Martin mentioned that we had already seen progress in Scotland, with an increase in the number of employers paying the real living wage: I think that we have the highest proportion in the UK. How do you respond to those who say that the change from the UK Government is not necessary, that we are already making progress, and that working with employers is the way ahead, rather than increasing the wage on a statutory basis? How do you respond to those suggestions?

I declare an interest as a member of Unite and the GMB.

Good morning to the panel. We are about to see probably the single biggest step forward in workers’ rights in a generation through the UK Government’s employment rights bill: a ban on zero-hours contracts, which Helen Martin mentioned, action on fire and rehire, and day 1 rights to parental leave, sick pay and so on. Crucially, that will apply across the UK, so we will not see a race to the bottom on one side of the border. I am interested in what you think our focus should be for devolved competences to add value to the changes that are coming. What should our focus be in relation to what is, in effect, Scottish Government policy?

The committee is looking towards the future budget and, to be optimistic, should there be even a partial reversal of the cuts that you face from the Scottish Government, what would the priority be for any additional resources and what would the impact be of that additionality on delivering the crucial economic growth that we want to see?

Thanks for that. I turn to the Scottish National Investment Bank. In June, it announced a target rate of return of 3 per cent to 4 per cent for the bank, up to and including 2025-26. How does that target rate of return compare with those of similar institutions such as other development banks?

To follow up on that, the point was made that you would not be able to meet your legal obligations if there were more cuts. What legal obligations are you referring to?

I apologise for not being in the room but I did not want to spread my cold to everyone. I hope that you can hear me okay.

Mr Gillespie, you commented earlier that the 30 per cent cut in the Scottish Enterprise resource budget by the Scottish Government over the past two years means that you are now in danger of not being able to cover your fixed costs. Will you elaborate on what it would mean if you had a further funding reduction in the forthcoming budget? Would that mean redundancies or recurring commitments not being delivered, for example? What is the implication of more cuts to your budget?

How do you anticipate that target evolving post 2025-26?

Do you have a view on whether the target is likely to reduce, or are you looking to further scale it up beyond 2025-26? I am not asking you to have a crystal ball, but what is your longer-term strategy for the target rate of return?

Has Professor Roy any comment on that? There are inequalities.