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Chamber and committees

Rural Affairs and Environment Committee, 07 Nov 2007

Meeting date: Wednesday, November 7, 2007


Contents


Flooding and Flood Management Inquiry

The Convener:

Our flooding and flood management inquiry is in progress and we are still gathering written evidence. I wish simply to ask the committee to agree that, at the first meeting in January, we will take oral evidence from the Met Office, as that seems to be the most appropriate way to kick the inquiry off, and that we will hold a full committee meeting in Elgin in February, along with associated visits. I assume that Peter Peacock will agree to that.

Yes.

I think that we have just given Peter his local press release for the day.

Elgin is one of the most recent areas to have flooded badly. We are visiting Perthshire, which is another flooding area, and Glasgow in November.

On a practical point, if there is going to be snow at all in Scotland, it is in February—that is when the A9 is, statistically, most likely to be least good for driving.

The Convener:

I suggest that everybody takes the train. You might not be aware that there is a train from Glasgow to Elgin. If we are going to do this kind of inquiry, overcoming some of those difficulties is part and parcel of what the committee is about. That is what other people have to endure and we may as well be subject to it.

Just for the record, John Scott should look at some of the data on weather in Scotland. The Moray coast has one of the finest climates anywhere in Scotland.

The climate in Elgin compares unfavourably with that of the riviera of Scotland, which is Ayrshire.

Before we all start putting in a plug for our own areas, do members agree to the two recommendations?

Members indicated agreement.