Chamber and committees

I have another couple of questions, convener. I do not know whether you want me to keep them until the end or to ask them now.

So it should not impact on next year’s budget. I understand that I have been put on audio only, which is probably a blessed relief to the public and everybody present.

The Barnett consequentials funding that has come in to help to allay national insurance costs has not been passed on to local authorities, as it has been south of the border. Can you confirm that that is the case? What are the reasons behind that?

I have one specific question and a couple of slightly more general questions, so I will try to get through them quickly.

As has been mentioned, VisitScotland’s budget has been cut, and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities has highlighted the pressure on local authority budgets. Given the importance of tourism to the region that I represent and which your constituency is in, what concerns do you have about the impact of those cuts across the Highlands and Islands?

To clarify, you are suggesting that the funding for that has been passed on, but it has been passed on in general budget terms rather than through specific ring-fenced funding.

I will do—thank you.

I seek clarification from the cabinet secretary on a couple of points. On “Representing Border”, you suggested that you had allocated every penny of the budget and that, because it was a fixed budget, you could not create more money overnight, but then around £100 million-worth of funding for business support was found from what you called “existing budgets”. Which budget lines did that £100 million come out of?

At last week’s session, I asked Professor Bell and George Peretz about transparency. I highlighted Prestwick Airport Ltd, GFG Alliance and Ferguson Marine as examples in which large amounts of taxpayer money has been used to support businesses and there have been, in some cases, concerns about the transparency of those deals and the lack of ability to scrutinise them for a number of reasons. Will the bill improve transparency on the use of public money? Do you have any concerns in that regard?

Will the bill improve transparency and the ability to scrutinise deals, or will it not have an impact? I am thinking in particular about the GFG Alliance case.

Thank you. That is extremely helpful.

Your concern is that there will not be a single body of the type that we had previously to determine that a public authority is not operating in a way that any normal bank would operate in because it is taking on a risk that a normal bank would not take on, or putting in terms that a normal bank would not put in.

Before I ask my main question, I have a supplementary question for Councillor Heddle about engagement and consultation. It is good to see another Orcadian on the panel. I hope that that will continue. The Scottish Government has a position on the bill, and we have the minister coming in next week. What consultation has there been with COSLA or with Orkney Islands Council and the other councils in Scotland on the bill and the Scottish Government’s response?