Justice and Home Affairs Committee, 16 Feb 2000

Meeting date: Wednesday, February 16, 2000

Official Report 193KB pdf

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Scottish Parliament Justice and Home Affairs Committee Wednesday 16 February 2000 (Morning)

[The Convener opened the meeting at 10:02]

Good morning, everyone. We will begin the meeting. I have received apologies from Gordon Jackson and notification that Pauline McNeill will be late. I understand that there have been problems with the trains from Glasgow this morning.

Item 1 on the agenda is to decide whether to take item 2, on stage 1 of the Abolition of Poindings and Warrant Sales Bill, in private, and I ask members to agree that we should do so. It has already been agreed that draft reports should be considered in private, and it would constrain discussion on this item if it were not treated similarly. I also ask members to agree that, at our next meeting, we should discuss our draft stage 1 report on the bill in private. Are we agreed?

Yes.

I wish to suggest that, rather than having that discussion now, we move it to the end of the meeting.

We cannot do that, because we have scheduled times for the witnesses who will give evidence to the committee on the Executive's freedom of information proposals—one of the witnesses cannot be with us before 11:45. Those arrangements have been made to allow us to discuss item 2 in private at this stage of the meeting.

Okay.

Meeting continued in private.

Meeting resumed in public.