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The committee has briefly discussed the appointment of a budget adviser. Members have a paper on the issue and a draft person specification. We are asked formally to agree to appoint a budget adviser to assist us in our scrutiny.
Convener, are you content that the specification is wide enough to attract the kind of candidate that we seek?
Let me first take the committee through the decisions that we need to make. We will talk about the specification in a moment. Do members agree to appoint a budget adviser?
It would be helpful if the specification included the requirement for the subject committee adviser to work within the advisory structure in the Parliament and in particular to work with the adviser to the Finance Committee. In general, advisers collaborate with one another—that has certainly happened in the past.
That is specified in the paper, in the final point under "Adviser duties".
It is not included in the person specification, which is what I was looking at.
Are members content that we look for someone who can focus on road and rail transport?
Given that a climate change bill will be introduced, it might be necessary in future to appoint a person with a wider brief.
Or someone else.
Yes, indeed.
We do not have to have just one adviser. We might appoint an adviser on budget issues and an adviser on the climate change bill.
That is quite possible. For clarity, I should say that we are considering the appointment of a budget adviser for the forthcoming budget process. If members have no more comments on the person specification, I will ask the clerks to submit the paper to the Parliamentary Bureau and request approval to proceed.
Meeting closed at 15:58.