Rural Development Committee, 11 Sep 2001

Meeting date: Tuesday, September 11, 2001

Official Report 154KB pdf

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Annual Report

Item 6 is the annual report. Members have received a private copy of the draft annual report, which is pretty clear. A report has to be given to the Parliament annually. I assume that members have read it. I am glad that Dr Murray has read it.

The report seems to be a straightforward and factual account of the committee's progress during the year. I have nothing to add.

The deadline for the report is not until the end of September, so if members are desperately keen to come back to it, we could do so. However, I think that everybody is happy with it. Do we agree to the terms of the report?

Members indicated agreement.

I endorse the report. As the report shows, the work load of the committee has been substantially dominated by the consideration of legislation. Mr Watson's member's bill—the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Bill—has taken up a huge amount of time, but there has also been serious Executive legislation such as the National Parks (Scotland) Bill and the Salmon Conservation (Scotland) Bill. Because the work load of the committee is so taken up with legislation, we have not really had the time that some of us would have liked to address other serious issues in the rural economy, which in many ways is facing great crises. I am sure that members from throughout the political parties are greatly concerned about that. My private view is that if the number of MSPs were reduced from 129, it would be more difficult for the committee to do the job that it is entrusted with and there might even be a case for considering, as the Justice and Home Affairs Committee was split—

I am sorry to butt in, but please stick to the debate, which is on whether we accept the draft report. I think that the answer to that is yes, but I am not sure that the debate was meant to encompass future policy on members of the Parliament. However, you made your point before I managed to stop you. This is my first convenership—I will be quicker next time.

Are you sure, convener?

I should have said that I will try to be quicker next time.

If members have nothing else to say on the draft report, we will accept it and it will be sent to the appropriate place. On that note, I draw the meeting to a close.

Meeting closed at 15:11.