Transport and the Environment Committee, 06 Oct 1999

Meeting date: Wednesday, October 6, 1999

Official Report 209KB pdf

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Invitations

We have received four invitations. For members' information—and participation, if they deem it appropriate—the first is from the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, which has invited us to a small PR event on 13 December to launch its festive safety campaign. Details are available from the clerk.

Next, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar is seeking a meeting with us. Although we will be discussing matters of rural transport, we thought that we would put that one on the back burner until a more appropriate point in the committee's work plan, as we have done with other invitations that are being kept on file. Are we agreed? We are agreed.

The Scottish Association for Public Transport has written to us to ask for a meeting. We will discuss that later when the Scottish Executive's transport proposals come to the committee. Are we agreed? We are.

The Institute of Logistics and Transport has also asked for a meeting. Again, that may be more appropriate when we are discussing the Executive's transport proposals. Are we agreed? We are.

May I go back to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar? I think that there would be merit in meeting that organisation; if it has something worth while to draw to our attention, we might want to change our agenda. Unless we hear what organisations such as Comhairle nan Eilean Siar—and others, for example in Shetland and Orkney—have to say about transport, we might go in a direction that is not appropriate for rural areas. We should at least be open to them. I appreciate that there are budget limitations, but Comhairle nan Eilean Siar seems to have particular problems and we should listen to what it has to say.

I have no difficulty with that. We will ask the clerk to find out the issues that Comhairle nan Eilean Siar wants to raise with us. The problem with attendance is not money, but our short-term work programme. I take Kenny's point on board. When we have more details about what the organisation has to say, we will see how that would affect our work programme.

We might get more benefit from a visit if we go when our ideas about a national scheme are a bit clearer.

Yes. We will look into the matter further.

Could we invite the organisation to submit a paper to us anyway?

I am sure that the clerk will take that up.

Meeting closed at 12:04.