European Structural Funds
Members will recall that our inquiry into European structural funds has been suspended partly because I was to propose, on behalf of the committee, that the conveners liaison group—which, when it is formally constituted as a parliamentary body, will be renamed the conveners group—should act as a siphon for committee requests for invitations to UK ministers.
I presented a paper to the conveners liaison group last week. The matter was considered but a decision was delayed. Some conveners expressed concern either because they had not seen the proposal beforehand or because they felt that their committees were best placed to decide who should be invited to give evidence and when.
Both points are perfectly fair. A decision was deferred pending inquiries by George Reid, who convenes the group, about establishing protocols between Scottish Parliament committees and Westminster. The matter will be revisited and at this stage I have nothing further to report. Unless members wish to comment, we will move on.