We move to agenda item 2. There are two applications for cross-party groups, which we will take in order. Members have copies of the submitted forms. The first application is for a Scottish Parliament cross-party group on children. Are there any comments on the application?
It seems highly worthy.
Are members happy to approve the application?
The next application is on citizenship, income, economy and society. Do members have comments on that application?
The application seems to meet all the requirements, so I am happy to support it.
Does everybody else agree?
I will ask the clerks to write to the chairperson of each group to inform them of the committee's decision to approve their applications.
We should keep the profile of the cross-party groups under review. An issue that has arisen regarding a group that has been approved, and which is likely to come before the committee is whether the scope of that group is sufficiently general. Do we want cross-part groups that are, in effect, local campaigns, or should groups be about broader issues? I do not want to discuss that question at length now, but we should consider whether applications that we receive are for the best kinds of cross-party groups or whether we should encourage people to examine broader, more general issues.
That is a fair point. It is part of our job to consider each application as it arrives, and to apply the test of whether the group is sufficiently general in nature. I appreciate what you are alluding to. We can review applications later.