Minutes: 17 September 2025

1. Declaration of interests/ Decision on taking business in private:

Keith Brown declared no relevant interests. The Committee agreed to take agenda items 4, 5 and 6 in private.

2. Cairngorm Funicular Railway:

The Committee took evidence from—

Stuart Black, Chief Executive, Sandra Dunbar, Director of Corporate Services and Elaine Hanton, Cairngorm Programme Lead, Highlands and Islands Enterprise;

Mike Gifford, Chief Executive and Tim Hurst, Former Interim Chief Executive and Board Member, Cairngorm Mountain (Scotland) Limited.

3. Flooding in communities: Moving towards flood resilience:

The Committee took evidence from—

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland;

Rebecca Seidel, Senior Manager and Fiona Brannigan, Audit Manager, Audit Scotland;

Andrew Burns, Deputy Chair, Accounts Commission.

4. Flooding in communities: Moving towards flood resilience (In Private):

The Committee considered the evidence heard at agenda item 3 and took further evidence from—

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland;

Rebecca Seidel, Senior Manager and Fiona Brannigan, Audit Manager, Audit Scotland;

Andrew Burns, Deputy Chair, Accounts Commission.

5. Flooding in communities: Moving towards flood resilience (In Private):

The Committee considered the evidence heard at agenda items 3 and 4 and agreed to invite the Scottish Government, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to give oral evidence at a future meeting.

The Committee also agreed to write to Scottish Water on issues raised during the meeting.

6. Cairngorm Funicular Railway (In Private):

The Committee considered the evidence heard at agenda item 2 and agreed its future scrutiny.