Transport and the Environment Committee, 17 Nov 1999

Meeting date: Wednesday, November 17, 1999

Official Report 282KB pdf

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Work Programme

In regard to the work programme to December 1999, two meetings are scheduled for the period prior to the Christmas recess. It would therefore be useful to confirm what activities we wish to undertake between now and December. At our next meeting we will take evidence from local authorities and from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on the telecoms inquiry in which we are involved. In addition, we are expecting some statutory instruments to be referred to us.

I suggest the following action and I am happy to receive any comments or additions from members. In the committee's scheduled time prior to Christmas, it will be necessary to consider the statutory instruments that will come our way. There will be scheduled time in private at our meeting on 15 December to consider the forward approach to the telecoms inquiry. The private discussion will concern our current position on that matter and where we expect to go with it. The committee can carry forward further discussion on concessionary fares to our meetings between January and July 2000. In other words, we realise that that is an area of work with which we wish to proceed and that we should schedule time in the 15 December meeting to receive petitions.

We are advised that one area that could come our way in time for that meeting is the national waste strategy. As members will recollect, we have discussed that as an area of interest on a number of occasions. If it is compatible with our schedule and if the document has been published, it might be possible to have the Minister for Transport and the Environment along to discuss the strategy. That would be a good starting point for a discussion on that area. At that meeting, we would request the clerk to put together a detailed work programme to take us from January to July 2000. Given that we have only two meetings left this year, we know how effectively we can fill them. Is that agreed by the committee?

I want to make a couple of points. First, the telecommunications inquiry has been a learning curve for us, because we have conducted it in considerable depth. That gives us some indication of how long it takes to do something properly and of the need both to be thorough and not to get totally bogged down in an issue. It is important to strike a balance, as we need to keep our work topical and moving forward.

I know that Murray Tosh has raised concerns about the current state of the water industry, which most members share. There are real concerns about charging. Some areas of Scotland may have the highest prices in the United Kingdom. We need to structure our programme in a way that allows us to find time to consider issues of that sort, although I will take your advice on that, convener.

I sympathise with Tavish Scott's view. As committee members are aware, we are expecting further briefing on the water industry. When that information is available, I will try to incorporate it into our work programme.

That would be good.

There is also the issue of our work load. If we need to schedule further meetings, I will discuss that with the committee before proceeding.

You flagged up in the report that we might consider the strategic roads review. I do not think that it is particularly important that we do that before Christmas, but there is a great deal of work that the committee could be getting on with in that area. We would not want to revisit the politics of the decisions that have been made, because we have already had a debate in the Parliament about that. However, it would be useful for us to have an opportunity to discuss with the minister where the review goes from here.

How do the local authority initiatives progress? How do the deferred schemes get reconsidered, if at any stage they do? How do additional projects that might be considered important in the long term fit in? What about the multimodal travel studies to which the minister referred in her statement? After the debate, we received the big booklet containing the detailed information. We should have time to reflect on that and, in a calm and structured way, to explore its implications and how the Executive sees the situation evolving over the next decade.

That would be another useful way of keeping our business topical. We will try to schedule it in.

There are three other—

Just the three?

I am sorry, but these are topical and important issues that the committee may want to consider, if the Parliament does not find time for them. All impact on the Scottish environment.

The first is the possible extension of genetically modified crop trials. The second is the fluoridation of water in Scotland, which will be considered initially by the Health and Community Care Committee. We may want to discuss the environmental aspects of that. The third is the setting of organic targets, something which has already been discussed by the Westminster Parliament. The Rural Affairs Committee may want to consider that first, but in view of how such targets could impact positively on the water environment of Scotland, we may want to do so too.

As you point out, Robin, other committees may be planning to work in those areas. It would be worth discussing with the Health and Community Care Committee and the Rural Affairs Committee what they have already done. We will include all the issues that have been mentioned in the programme for our meeting in early January. It will be for committee members to decide which of them they want to pursue. We have time available, and it will be filled effectively.

If we are bidding for things that we want to be included in our programme—

Not quite yet. I will let you make your bid, none the less.

We do not want to fall behind other countries in our use of renewable energy, so we should ensure that that issue is discussed. Railtrack and airports are other topical matters.

We have decided what we will do at our next two meetings. Lynn Tullis will speak to all of you individually about areas of interest, as we could go round the table several times discussing those. At our January meeting, we will have a much more comprehensive overview of the way in which we want our areas of priority to develop. Was that what you wanted to talk about, Helen?

The railways are a big priority for me and the part of the country that I represent.

I know that other committees have split into sub-groups or have used a rapporteur system. Perhaps the clerk could think about that.

Smashing. Are we agreed about what we are doing for the next two meetings?

Members indicated agreement.

I want to notify the committee that the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities conference on 24 November is on the issue of telecommunications.

Our next meeting is on 1 December. I thank members of the public for their attendance and apologise for the fact that it is very cold in this room. I hope that the heating is fixed for the next time there is a meeting here.

Meeting closed at 12:40.