Public Audit Committee

Meeting date: Thursday, June 16, 2016

Official Report 309KB pdf

Interests

Welcome to the first meeting in this parliamentary session of the Public Audit Committee. Under standing orders, the oldest member of the committee present chairs the first meeting until a convener is appointed—and, unfortunately, that task falls to me. I am sure, though, that I am one of the youngest oldest members doing this task across the Parliament.

We have received no apologies—we expect Jenny Gilruth to catch up with us later.

Agenda item 1 is declaration of interests. As members will see from the agenda, every committee member has to declare any relevant interests at this stage. I also advise members that, in the months and years to come, they should declare any interests that might need to be declared with regard to particular items that come up as part of the committee’s business. That will prevent members from getting into any difficulties with our friends in the media.

I will kick off by saying that I have no relevant interests to declare.

I, too, have no relevant interests to declare.

I have no relevant interests to declare.

I have no relevant interests to declare.

I am not sure whether I have any relevant interests to declare but, voluntarily and for good order, I will declare that I am director and 100 per cent shareholder in my own business, Trinity Kerr Ltd, and a member of the Law Society of England and Wales and the Law Society of Scotland; I am also a landlord in Edinburgh.

I draw to the committee’s attention that I am a local authority councillor in South Lanarkshire.

We will obviously need to ask Jenny Gilruth to declare any interests that she might have when she comes along. However, I will leave that up to the new convener.