Transport and the Environment Committee, 04 Apr 2001
Meeting date: Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Official Report
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Budget Process 2002-03
Agenda item 5 is the budget process. We continue our consideration of the audit process for 2002-03. The Finance Committee has produced guidance for subject committees on areas of inquiry into the budget process; that guidance has been circulated to members. Members should also have received the Executive's spending plans, which are fairly large documents.
Elaine Thomson MSP has been appointed as a reporter to the committee, from the Finance Committee, on the budget process.
The Executive's budget proposals were published only late last week, so the information is new. The purpose of placing the item on the agenda today was to enable members to highlight, at an early stage, any issues that they would like the staff from the Scottish Parliament information centre, clerks and advisers to develop with the Executive or with other organisations that may be concerned. That can be done during the Easter recess, so that we do not lose time.
During the recess, SPICe staff will prepare, as they did last year, an analysis of the figures, examine spending trends and highlight key issues that may be of concern to the committee. If members have other issues that they want to be included in that work, Shelagh McKinlay and I would find it useful if they specified them now, so that we can use the two weeks of the recess to ensure that the work is done on their behalf. If members have no comments, we will proceed as we have in previous years.
As agreed, we will take the final two agenda items in private to discuss our approach to evidence taking for the trunk roads inquiry and to consider the contents of our draft report on the water inquiry. I thank members of the press and public for their interest in today's proceedings.
Meeting continued in private until 12:47.