Official Report 167KB pdf
I welcome committee members and the public and press to the second meeting in 2004 of the Local Government and Transport Committee. Before we greet our first witness, we will deal with agenda item 1, which is to consider whether to take item 3 in private. Item 3 is on arrangements for our stage 1 consideration of the Prostitution Tolerance Zones (Scotland) Bill. Do members agree to take item 3 in private?
I hoped that you would elaborate a wee bit, convener, on why we should take item 3 in private. From previous discussions, I can understand why we should take in private consideration of a final report. However, why should we take in private our consideration of how we proceed with stage 1 of the bill?
I recommend to the committee that we take item 3 in private because the stage 1 consideration includes deciding which witnesses to call. We might have a debate on that and we might also indicate to the clerks the particular lines of questioning that we want to explore. I believe that it is best practice to have that sort of discussion in private so that, when we take evidence from witnesses, the lines of questioning are fresher than they would have been if they had been flagged up in advance in the Official Report. Furthermore, if we debate whether to call a particular witness and decide against doing so, our decision could be regarded as a discourtesy to that individual, which is not the intention. Therefore, for those reasons, I prefer to consider item 3 in private.
I register my opposition to taking item 3 in private.
Are other members content to take item 3 in private?