Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee

Meeting date: Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Official Report 625KB pdf

Annual Report 2019-20

Agenda item 4 is consideration of the committee’s draft annual report, which covers the committee’s business during the parliamentary year from 12 May 2019 to 11 May 2020.

If any members have comments to make, they should please put an “R” in the chat function. Claudia Beamish has had to leave, because she has to attend another meeting, but she asked me to put on record that, in the section on petitions, she would like there to be a one-sentence comment on the petitions that we have taken evidence on or examined. She would also like the report to feature some photographs taken when we used to be able to go out and about and do things.

It would perhaps be worth putting something in the annual report about our social media and wider public engagement, which is a real theme of this committee and something that we have been doing successfully. We had a citizens forum on agricultural subsidy, possibly at the end of last year. We have been considering the feedback from that forum, and it would be worth reflecting that in the report.

If we are compiling statistics on the number of meetings, it would be worth looking at the length of meetings. We have had detailed but quite lengthy sessions every Tuesday and we have covered a lot of ground. It would be good if we could explain to the public the number of hours for which we have met in order to work hard on environmental issues, from climate change to animal welfare.

I agree. It might also be worth mentioning in our report that we are the first committee to pass a statutory instrument remotely. It is always good to be first, even though it is not in the best circumstances.

I was going to mention most of what Mark Ruskell raised. We certainly need to emphasise our outreach programme, because some of it was pretty innovative, particularly when we were dealing with things such as the deposit return scheme and climate change. I would like to see something included on that.

We have always had good, healthy debate about which photographs we should have in the report. That is important. I am happy for the convener to sign off the text, if we include those other bits, but it is probably a good idea to send us a final draft that includes the graphics and photographs, to make sure that we are all happy. We are not vain about our photographs, but it is always good to see them before the report goes to print.

Sure—we are not vain.

No other member has asked to speak on the annual report.

Are members content for me to sign off on the report, with the caveat that Finlay Carson gets to check that he looks good in his photographs? It looks as though all members are content.

Are members content for me to finalise the report before it is published? It looks as though all members are content.

That concludes the committee’s business in public. I thank everyone who has joined us. It has been a good session, and we got a lot done. The committee plans to meet informally next week to progress work programme items, and we intend to meet formally in the week beginning 15 June.