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I welcome all my colleagues to the first meeting as the Devolution (Further Powers) Committee of the Scottish Parliament. I must say that we have a significant task to undertake on the proposals from the Smith commission in the heads of agreement, when they emerge. There will be a lot of detailed work for us to undertake over a significant period of time.
We have received apologies from Linda Fabiani, and Bill Kidd is here in her place. I have not yet heard about Tavish Scott, but I am sure that he will turn up at some stage.
At the beginning, I want to recognise the contribution of the clerk to our predecessor committee, the Referendum (Scotland) Bill Committee, Andrew Mylne, who is with us today although he is sitting to the side, and the sage-like advice that he provided us with and the attention to detail that he contributed to our approach. I thank Andrew very warmly—and I am sure that others will want to do the same—for his fantastic efforts in helping us with the significant piece of work that we had to undertake. Obviously, this committee’s lifespan is now a lot longer, which is one of the reasons for the changes that have come about. Does anyone want to add to my remarks?
I would like to praise Andrew’s patience with carnaptious old ladies, which was quite exemplary.
Was that reference to old ladies, plural?
Singular. It was a generic reference.
I think that everybody accepts what has been said. Thank you, Andrew. We very much appreciated your contribution to our committee and we wish you well with the rest of your duties.
I now need to ask the committee to agree to take agenda items 2 and 3 in private. Are we happy to do that?
Members indicated agreement.
Thank you very much.
10:02 Meeting continued in private until 10:50.Previous
Attendance