Rural Affairs Committee, 03 Dec 1999

Meeting date: Friday, December 3, 1999

Official Report 234KB pdf

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Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee Report

We move to item 7 on the agenda, which is a report on the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee. I believe that Rhoda Grant and John Munro were present when the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee met in Inverness. A written report has been circulated. Is there anything to add? Where did the committee meet?

We met at the Town House.

Was it a productive meeting?

It was good. It showed how agencies working on the same problem can work together. The theme of partnership ran throughout the day. There was some overlap, but generally agencies were working together for the good of the area.

It was a full meeting of the committee at a remote site—or at least remote from Edinburgh. How did that work?

It seemed to work very well. Most important, those who came to give presentations to the meeting were very enthusiastic and were delighted that the committee had come, although I would not say that Inverness is remote.

No, but it is remote from Edinburgh. I corrected myself; I meant remote in the same sense that Edinburgh is remote from Inverness. [Laughter.]

The meeting was very well received. Reports of the meeting were good and the presentations were constructive and useful. Given the success of the first attempt to take a committee to the periphery, I imagine that there will be a number of requests from other committees to do the same.

Are there any other questions?

If not, I thank our reporters for representing our interests at that meeting.