Item 5 is about the constitution of the conveners liaison group. There has been discussion on whether it should be an informal or formal body, but the group itself has indicated that it wishes to be formalised. That would require an amendment to the standing orders, and to deal with that efficiently and timeously, we would need to do so in terms of the second paragraph of the report.
For any paper that we receive, we need to understand exactly what it would mean for the operation of the Parliament. One of my concerns, which I know has been expressed by several members of the bureau, is that there is already the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body and the Parliamentary Bureau. There are difficulties with that in terms of roles and responsibilities—they are being worked out. If we have a third standing group, the committee of conveners, does that add to our difficulties or does it diminish them? I would like that question to be addressed, because clarity in parliamentary business and in the Parliament's operation is what we need.
All that will be addressed in the paper that will be submitted for further discussion at the next meeting. It would be pertinent to ensure that the decision of the conveners liaison group and its recommendations on its own status were relayed to the bureau for its consideration.
They have been.
That is fine. I hope that we will manage to smooth over the matter and determine the respective roles of the bureau and the conveners liaison group. However, that might be a triumph of hope over expectation. This committee's job will be to try to facilitate whatever is resolved.
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