Finance Committee

Meeting date: Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Official Report 351KB pdf

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Interests

Good morning, and welcome to the first meeting of the Finance Committee in the fourth session of the Scottish Parliament. I remind everyone present, including members, to turn off their mobiles and BlackBerrys, as they interfere with the sound system. I have been advised that they do so even when switched to silent, so please switch them off completely.

Agenda item 1 is the declaration of interests. With members’ permission, I will go round the table for declarations.

I have a few to declare. First, I continue to be an elected member of Renfrewshire Council and, as such, I am a member of the Strathclyde pension fund. I am also a member of the Scottish National Party, of course, and a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Amnesty International and Paisley Fairtrade Partnership. For any inquiries, I direct people to the register of members’ interests, where I have a full submission.

I declare that I am still self-employed as an economist and educational consultant and probably will be for a few months yet while I disengage from current client work. In the course of my career with previous employers, I have worked in a consultant-client relationship with a number of public sector organisations that may be affected by decisions of the committee. I therefore ask for members’ patience as I list them. I have worked for the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council, Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Government, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Careers Scotland, Skills Development Scotland, the National Museums of Scotland and a number of local authorities, including the City of Edinburgh Council, East Renfrewshire Council and Fife Council. I do not believe that that will interfere with my deliberations in the committee, but I record it for the benefit of committee members.

As well as being, like Derek Mackay, a member of the SNP, I am a member of the parent council for Ayton primary school in the Scottish Borders and a member of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Rail Action Group East of Scotland, which seeks to reinstate local commuter services on the east coast main line, Shelter Scotland and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

What do you do in your spare time?

I have reviewed my entry in the register of members’ interests and believe that there is nothing in it that is relevant to my membership of the committee.

I, too, have reviewed my list of interests and can confirm that I have nothing to declare.

I do not believe that I have anything to declare, but I voluntarily declare that I am a trustee of a couple of charities—the John Mather Charitable Trust and the Fair Share Trust. I am also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and a member of its ethics committee.

I do not have anything to declare, but I voluntarily declare that I have a flat in Glasgow that I rent out.

I am currently a councillor in North Lanarkshire, without remuneration. I also have a 1p shareholding with North Lanarkshire Municipal Bank.