Legacy Report of the Public Audit Committee, Session 6

The Committee has found it beneficial to receive Audit Scotland’s impact monitoring and evaluation reports and recommends that its successor committee continues to receive and take evidence on the reports.

The Committee also recommends that its successor committee uses the option set out in the Scottish Public Finance Manual, to seek progress reports on the implementation of recommendations made in its own reports.

The Committee recommends that its successor committee continues to scrutinise the effectiveness of the sponsorship support the Scottish Government provides to public bodies.

The Committee recommends that its successor committee continues to scrutinise the effectiveness and the governance arrangements of the Boards of public bodies.

The Committee recommends that its successor committee continues to monitor how the Scottish Government ensures it has adequate data to measure how its spending is delivering key policies and the intended outcomes.

The Committee remains significantly concerned about the increasing costs to complete the delivery of the two new vessels for the Clyde and Hebrides and the ongoing costs of supporting the yard to develop a long-term future. The Committee welcomes the Auditor General’s intention to undertake further work on the total cost of the project on completion of both vessels, and to consider the findings of the forensic examination of the historical account records of Ferguson Marine Engineering Limited.

The Committee recommends that its successor continues to pursue and thoroughly examine these matters in the next parliamentary Session.

The Committee recommends that its successor committee seeks an update from HES when it has completed its independent external review, and from the Scottish Government on changes to the Scottish Public Finance Manual.

The Committee draws its successor committee’s attention to the ongoing issues around the valuation of Scottish Canals’ assets to inform scrutiny of future audits when laid before Parliament.

The Committee draws its successor committee’s attention to the statutory review of the Scottish National Investment Bank that is underway.

The Committee welcomes the Auditor General’s plans to monitor the progress of the SCCPES Contract, and to consider its request for a value for money assessment and draws this to the attention of its successor committee.

The successor committee may wish to take an interest in further work relating to flood resilience when the Auditor General next consults with Parliament on his future work programme.

The Committee considers that the ongoing issues at the Scottish Public Pensions Agency remain a matter of concern and draws its successor committee’s attention to the work that has been undertaken to date on this important matter.

The Committee draws its successor committee’s attention to the planned work to undertake a review of Police Scotland’s Policing Together programme.

The Committee recommends that its successor committee continues to regularly and robustly scrutinise the ongoing financial concerns in Scotland’s college sector as highlighted by the Auditor General.

The Committee recommends that its successor committee continues to scrutinise robustly the ongoing concerns in the NHS in Scotland.

The Committee draws its successor committee’s attention to the serious and long-standing concerns about mental health services at NHS Tayside, which were identified by the Auditor General in his report. The Committee also draws its successor committee’s attention to the work that NHS Tayside is currently undertaking and asks it to note that the Auditor General may report again on this matter if he considers it necessary.

The Committee draws its successor committee’s attention to its work on delayed discharges and to COSLA’s commitment to provide a future update on the progress that has been made towards implementing the recommendations in the report.

The Committee believes that the proactive approach the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) exercise provides in the detection and prevention of fraud and error is important given the significant financial pressures faced by the public sector. The Committee recommends that its successor committee continues to scrutinise the NFI and monitor existing mandatory and voluntary participation rates.

The Committee draws its successor committee’s attention to the update on HMRC’s trial of a new process to identify Scottish taxpayers, to support its compliance activity.

The Committee recommends that its successor continues to closely monitor the Scottish Government’s investments in private commercial companies and ensures that the Scottish Government is transparent around these investments, including continuing to publish Shareholder Authorisations.

The Committee recommends that its successor committee considers the Scottish Government’s response to its report on the Cairngorm funicular railway and carries out any follow-up scrutiny as required.

The Committee welcomed the correspondence from the Auditor General setting out his reasons for not reporting further on a public body. The Committee found it helpful to receive an update on the most recent audit work, and of the reasons for the Auditor General’s decision. The Committee recommends that this informative and transparent approach continues in Session 7.

The Committee recommends that its successor committee continues to monitor the progress of the Written Authorities.

The Committee recommends that its successor committee continues to receive updates on Major Capital Project Updates and scrutinises the arrangements for expiring PFI contracts.

The Committee recommends that its successor committee continues to receive updates on Major ICT projects.

The Committee recommends that its successor committee continues to receive the annual reports on the use of Settlement Agreements.