Chamber and committees

I get that. However, without getting into a discussion on the Laffer curve and such areas, I think that it must be worrying that a senior person in a vital sector of the Scottish economy is saying that your tax policy is making Scotland a “dangerous place” for people to base themselves.

If funding that you accept is ring fenced for agriculture can be taken out of agriculture and used in other areas, because—and this is the case that you have made—budgetary constraints are tight, without any commitment being given with regard to timescales or how that money will be returned, does that not make a mockery of the idea of its being ring fenced? Surely that means that we are simply talking about general funds.

Do I have time for a very brief question, convener?

My apologies.

My question follows up on Ross Greer’s point about capital investment in the NHS. Plans for the new Belford hospital have been delayed and the same has happened in other areas. Obviously, delays to new buildings mean that NHS boards will have to consider how they can get the most out of the facilities that they have, so there will be increased maintenance costs. Will their budgets cover increased maintenance costs to increase the longevity of facilities that would have been replaced with new buildings?

You have made that point, and I know that we are short of time, so can you just talk about the proposed NHS budget?

That point might have more standing, had there not been cuts when times were better, too.

When you were here in January, I asked you about Business Gateway. Will you clarify the support for that? I apologise if I missed this in the large number of papers that we received for this meeting, but can you advise whether Government support is going into Business Gateway? If so, how is that going? Why is it not identified in the budget?

On the general principle of ring fencing, if the Scottish Government can take ring-fenced money and use it across its budgets, why should local councils not take ring-fenced money from the Scottish Government and use it across their budgets? What is the principal difference there?

Okay—thank you.

In March 2023, Informed Solutions was given a £24 million contract for a new IT system. Is that for an IT system, or is it part of the £60 million to review what is there?