Ladies and gentlemen, we have a reasonable turnout. Do we have any apologies?
I think that Des McNulty will not be here.
If there are no further apologies we will move to item 1 on the agenda, which is to consider whether we ought to take a number of agenda items in private. As members should be aware, item 1 was originally on genetically modified crops, and we expected the minister to be present, but because of his timetable, and the fact that there is a Cabinet meeting this morning, we agreed to rearrange the agenda to take that item last. We intend therefore to take that item at approximately 11 o'clock.
In the Standards Committee, we did not take discussion of our annual report in private, and I know that the other committees have not done so either. It seems that we take items in private at any opportunity. I have always wondered why.
The clerks have prepared a draft of the annual report, which has been submitted for consideration by members of the committee today. Traditionally, we have taken draft reports from the clerks in private.
My point is that other committees do not necessarily do that, but we seem to discuss in private every report that comes our way, draft or otherwise. Look at today's agenda—how many items are we taking in private?
It is not really an issue, Mike. We just want to get the work done and get it done properly. If we are discussing draft reports, we need to do so in private until they are our reports. If they are draft reports, they are not what we are thinking.
We do not make draft reports public until the committee has had the opportunity to comment on them. If we allowed draft reports to be placed in the public domain, views that were not the views of the committee would be published.
May I make a point? The annual report covers ground that we have already gone over. It is as simple as that. It is all in the public domain anyway, so why are we doing it in secret?
The draft report should be our final report, but until we discuss it we cannot be sure.
But the information is in the public domain already. I do not understand the problem.
As a committee, we have to decide whether the report is an accurate record of the year's activities.
But why do we have to do that in secret?
The term is "in private", rather than "in secret". The reason for taking the item in private is that the story would become what we added in and what we took out, not the report itself. We are better to do that in private until we put our own stamp on the report; it can then become public knowledge.
I want to record my disquiet at so many items at the Rural Affairs Committee being considered in private.
Is this in private?
No.
No. This is in public.
Given that Mike Rumbles's view is now on the record, are we content to take the items in private?
As I said, I am not content.
Meeting continued in private.
Meeting resumed in public.