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[The Convener opened the meeting at 10:00]
I welcome everyone to the 2nd meeting in 2002 of the Public Petitions Committee. We have received apologies from Helen Eadie, the committee's deputy convener, who is in hospital. She is off long-term sick. I apologise for the failure of the committee to meet last week; I could not attend and Helen Eadie was off long-term ill. The Parliament's standing orders require the convener or the deputy convener to be present at all meetings of the committee. I apologise to petitioners and committee members, for whom the cancellation of last week's meeting was a great inconvenience.
The Public Petitions Committee relates closely to the public. Given the inconvenience that you mentioned, it seems nonsense that another member cannot be nominated to deputise if the convener and the deputy convener are missing. Someone from the same party as the missing member should be able to deputise if that is the party's wish. I suggest that we approach the Procedures Committee to ask what can be done to change the existing rules on convenership.
That is a fair point. The quorum for the committee is three members out of seven. If five members could attend but the convener and deputy convener could not, the committee would not be able to meet. That anomaly should be addressed. Are members agreed that we should write to the Procedures Committee about that?
Further to that point, convener, we recognise that Helen Eadie is likely to be off for a while. I am sure that we all send her our good wishes. Perhaps something urgent could be done about appointing a nominee to take over as deputy convener in the short term.
We can certainly ask about that.
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