Education, Culture and Sport Committee, 06 Mar 2001

Meeting date: Tuesday, March 6, 2001

Official Report 182KB pdf

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Committee Business

We move on to item 6, which is an update on committee business. Our timetable has been subject to some change.

It is altered before the ink is dry on it.

Indeed. Some of the change was not of our making and was caused by inclement weather in various parts of Scotland.

As I understand it, the visit to Falkirk Council, which was due to take place on 13 March, has been postponed. We will now have the seminar that we were due to have this week on 13 March.

Is that at 2.30 pm?

Yes. It is from 2.30 pm to
4.30 pm or 5 pm.

On 20 March, we will have the much-publicised visit of the Scottish Qualifications Authority to the committee, when we will ask its representatives various questions. On 27 March, we will hear evidence from the Scottish Rugby Union, Historic Scotland and the Scottish Sports Association. We will also hear from Scotland's grant-aided schools. On that point, I know that most members have received letters from all the grant-aided schools. I have asked the clerks to draft a response from me, stating the committee's position on the letters that we have received. I intend to circulate that for your information when I have it.

That takes us up to 27 March. On 3 April, we will consider our draft report for our national stadium inquiry. We have a lot of information, which many of us have not had the chance to plough through. A number of other issues arise in supplementary evidence that we have received today. One is the final account and grant determination from the Millennium Commission. There appears to be some misunderstanding or difference of opinion about that. I shall write to the Millennium Commission, asking for a copy of the final agreement that it entered into at the time of the March 2000 sign-off. That will help us in our deliberations. The committee will also receive other information. Once we have that information, we may want to consider further evidence or proceed to a report; that will be for the committee to decide.

That takes us up to the Easter recess. We hope that, on 24 April, we will begin our schools infrastructure inquiry with a visit to Falkirk. We then have a meeting pencilled in for 1 May. It has been proposed that we go to Dundee on that day, although I suggest that that would not be the best day for us to go there. There may not be a maximum attendance of committee members, if other events go ahead. It might be best for us to hold the meeting in Edinburgh on that day and to visit Dundee another time. If we are to visit Dundee, we will want to do it justice and ensure that we can all attend. After that, we will move on to a detailed inquiry into schools infrastructure.

Our diary is full until the summer recess. I shall ask the clerks to circulate a copy of the suggested forward work programme. The programme for this year has been subject to considerable change as matters have arisen, but it is important that members have a copy of the new one. We will go to Stornoway on 11 and 12 June, to consider Gaelic broadcasting. Mike Russell is organising that for us, with the clerks.

Finally, as part of our work on establishing a children's commissioner, I said that I would contact colleagues in Belfast and Cardiff. I have asked to meet them, but to do so I must have the committee's permission to travel if necessary. We could put a proposal to the conveners group and the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body to allow me and one of the clerks to meet the relevant conveners and report back to the committee.

Members indicated agreement.

I have started work as a reporter on my inquiry into traditional arts. It would be helpful if I had the opportunity to look at some of the work that is being done. I am not proposing to visit a big festival over the summer—although that is tempting—but I would like to go north, to look at one or two projects there. When we go to Stornoway, I hope to spend another day there, speaking to various people. I would like the committee's permission to do that.

I gently remind members that we should have put together a programme of visits for our individual reports. I am as guilty as anybody of not having done that yet. I suggest that we do that as quickly as possible. Members can suggest their plans to the committee and we can approach the relevant bodies for approval if funding is required for travel. Members should let Martin Verity know when they have such plans, so that those plans can be put on the agenda.

Whereabouts on the agenda is the technology teachers investigation that we are undertaking?

It is not yet on the agenda. We have written for the information that the committee requested. Once we have received that information, I shall circulate it to committee members and we will seek a slot on the agenda for our discussions.

We agreed that we would consider the review of higher still at some stage. Although that review has not taken place yet, we must bear it in mind, as it will be important. On another matter, I shall meet John Angus MacKay of the Comataidh Craolaidh Gàidhlig tomorrow morning; I hope to produce a first-stage report immediately after the Easter recess.

There has been a huge amount of press coverage of various issues relating to the SQA situation, which has been difficult to get a grip of. It would be useful if the clerks could produce—perhaps for next week—a digest of the stories that have appeared since the committee's report and of the SQA's formal response to them, by heading, as we will need to analyse those systematically. The clerks might produce a briefing note for next week, to prepare us for the SQA meeting.

I suggest that we also write to the minister, asking for an update on the position as he understands it.

It would be useful if we could discuss the matter next week.

I will put it at the top of the agenda for next week. Can we agree to meet at 2 o'clock next week?

Next week is the week before we meet representatives from the SQA.

Next week, we will have a meeting on the schools infrastructure inquiry.

Aye. Can we address the SQA issue at the end of the meeting?

Rather than at the beginning?

If possible.

Okay. Can we agree to deal with the SQA issue at the end of next week's meeting?

Members indicated agreement.

As there is no other business, I close the meeting.

Meeting closed at 15:50.