The fourth item on the agenda is a decision on whether our discussions on the conclusions and draft report on the budget process, during our meetings on 10 and 16 May should—as is normal with discussions on draft reports—be conducted in private.
Given that this is an open consultation, my gut feeling is that the meetings should be in public.
I take the opposing view. The meetings should be private to allow committee members to express themselves freely. That way, the committee can proceed without overtly party political considerations being raised.
So far, our discussions have been very constructive and have not gone along party political lines.
Furthermore, there is nothing sinister about private meetings, as the report will be made public.
That is true. As we have found before in private meetings, discussions can come down to nuances such as the choice of an adjective.
I tend to agree with Duncan. Private meetings give members the opportunity to discuss matters freely.
Okay. I propose that part of our meetings on 10 May and 16 May—to discuss the draft report on the budget process—be held in private and that we make the report public in due course. Are members agreed?
Thank you.
Meeting closed at 12:40.
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