Social Inclusion, Housing and Voluntary Sector Committee, 08 Nov 2000

Meeting date: Wednesday, November 8, 2000

Official Report 78KB pdf

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Interests

I welcome Johann Lamont and Brian Adam, who are new members of the committee. I hope that they will enjoy the work as much as we have. As they might have gathered, they come at an interesting time. We are finishing off a number of reports, but it is a good time to join the committee, because we are about to embark on work on the housing bill.

Does either Johann Lamont or Brian Adam have any interests in relation to the work of the committee that they would like to declare?

I am never quite sure which things qualify for being declared and which are just potentially relevant, so I will identify a number of interests that I believe may be significant.

I am a member of the Transport and General Workers Union, which has an interest in a lot of issues in this field. I am also a member of the Co-operative Party, which takes a particular interest in housing and certain forms of common ownership of housing. I sit on the interim management committee of the Glasgow housing association, which will have a key role in the future of housing in Glasgow. I am married to a Labour councillor in Glasgow City Council. I am not sure whether that is relevant, but I mention it on the off-chance that it may be held against me at some stage in future.

Brian, do you have any interests that you want to declare?

I do not think that any of them are terribly relevant, but I try to be up front about all the minor shareholdings that my wife, my children and I have. Some of them might just impinge on the work of this committee.

Is there anything specific?

I have a few shares in Aggregate Industries, which is involved in building, Hanson and George Wimpey. I also have shares in some of the utility companies: British Gas, Centrica and Scottish and Southern Energy. From time to time, we may deal with issues that are related to their work. I do not think that there is anything other than those.

Thank you.

I ask members to agree that we will take item 5, on our future work programme, in private. Is that agreed?

Members indicated agreement.