Chamber and committees

Good morning, panel. While we are on the legislative audit—Nicola Killean mentioned that a couple of times as well—I am wondering what you think should be included in it, who should be involved with it, how long it might take and whether there could be unintended consequences to it.

Thank you.

Good morning, panel. Some of my questions have been answered, so thank you very much for that—it saves my voice. Vicky Crichton touched on how an independent regulator would help consumers. What would be the role of the Lord President if there was an independent regulator? I want to try to get right in my head where the two would sit. Would an independent regulator or the proposal in the bill be preferable to the current system?

I will go to Vicky Crichton first, because she started to touch on that issue.

Good morning, panel. Heather Williams and the convener have knocked the nail on the head there when they said that it has to be a continuous cycle. My question was going to be about when you feel that your participation is of most value—is it during the budget setting, during the budget scrutiny or in considering the outcomes of past decisions? I think that you have all answered that question for us, so I will go to the second part of my question.

Where should the responsibility lie for enabling participation and ensuring that the process is accessible and meaningful? That probably goes back to Allan Faulds’s point. It might include education on the budget process and providing data to support people engaging. It is about citizen participation. How do we encourage more people with lived experience to come and give evidence? Allan Faulds gave a bit of an example, so I will go back to him.

Does anyone else want to come in on that?

I was quite amazed by the statistic that she gave about how many MSPs represent coastal communities. That, in itself, shows that the CPG is needed.

Thank you, convener. I have no relevant interests to declare. I look forward to working with you and the other committee members.

I also thank you for the warm welcome, convener, and I look forward to working with you all. I have no interests to declare at this time.

Good morning. In 2018, COSLA called for a tax on visitors, not businesses. Given that, in the bill, the liable person is the owner of the premises, can the Government say that it is not a tax on business?

I have another question. The bill’s business and regulatory impact assessment and policy memorandum discuss a range of other options that could be considered, including the Manchester business improvement district and the Slovenian example. Will you describe the various other options that were considered and why the Government chose to pursue this tax?