Social Inclusion, Housing and Voluntary Sector Committee,

Meeting date: Wednesday, May 10, 2000

Official Report 257KB pdf

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Communities Against Poverty

I will plough on, as we have one item left on our agenda. I apologise for letting the evidence session overrun, but I thought that it went to the heart of many of the issues with which we are dealing.

The next item is a report on the meeting with Communities Against Poverty that a number of members attended. We made it clear—and the group is well aware of this—that the meeting did not tie us down to consulting only with Communities Against Poverty. Rather, this is a preliminary way of working; we will see how things go and review the situation in future. However, most members who attended found the meeting interesting and innovative. We need to engage with groups, so let us start with this one and see how we get on. The recommendation is that we agree to meet Communities Against Poverty four times a year and afterwards review the situation. Do any of the members who attended the meeting want to comment?

I support everything that you have said, convener. This is a positive step forward and a good way of engaging with ordinary people who represent poor communities across Scotland.

One thing that came across at the meeting was that people working in the field are keen to engage in dialogue with the committee. This is a way of starting that dialogue and ensuring that we are accessible.

We will have to watch the time scales. If we adopt the same approach with a number of groups, the time commitment could be significant. That is my main concern.

What is important is the principle of consultation. If we accept the recommendation, that does not mean that we will be excluding other groups or committing ourselves to doing this for evermore. We will simply be moving in the direction of greater consultation. We will review our decision in future. Is that agreed?

Members indicated agreement.

Well done. I thought that the committee would do that, which is why I let the previous item run on.

Will the meetings with Communities Against Poverty be formal meetings of the committee or visits?

I should have clarified that. We decided that it would not be appropriate to fit those meetings into the committee's formal programme, but instead have them take place on afternoons. We would agree the topics for discussion with the group—two from them and two from us.

Meeting closed at 12:36.