We have only one item on the agenda today, which is a draft annual report, as required by standing order 12.9. Members should have seen a copy. Are there any comments on the report?
I have one. I am content with everything in the report, but paragraph 9 on page 2 states that the Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Bill provides for "mandatory registration". I argued for voluntary registration. Is it possible to enter "subject to the reservation of one member"?
We agreed on the draft bill. The sentence that you quote gives a factual statement. The report is a factual account of what we have already agreed. Your comments will be noted in the Official Report, which certainly can be read as an appendix.
Paragraph 11 on page 3 is about meetings. It is quite right that the committee records how many times it met in private, but we need to say that, when we are dealing with complaints against members, although we consider draft reports in private, our deliberations are done in public and our findings are made public. I recognise that the report is factual, but we need to stress that our inquiries on MSPs were conducted not behind closed doors, but in public.
I think that we can agree to that. The clerks will add that.
I have a separate and minor point on cross-party groups, which are mentioned on page 2. I have expressed my hope at previous meetings that the issue of cross-party groups will be taken up actively and speedily by the new committee and the new Parliament. To reinforce that point, rather than saying,
That is a fair point.
Meeting closed at 12:58.