Transport and the Environment Committee, 19 Jan 2000

Meeting date: Wednesday, January 19, 2000

Official Report 210KB pdf

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Invitations

We have received an invitation from Freightliner Scotland to visit its facility at Coatbridge. A copy of the letter is included in members' committee documents. Does the committee want to take up the invitation collectively or as individuals?

I think that it is worthwhile to accept the invitation, although I do not know whether we could organise a visit for the whole committee. I went there just out of interest in an attempt to research and understand the freight process better. I was fascinated by it and learned a lot by spending a couple of hours there. The people who run the facility are informative and understand all the linkages across the UK.

It may also be worth tying in a visit to consider the issue that Cathy Jamieson raised about coal and other freight movements. It may be possible to take a quick look at that issue, and a visit to Freightliner might offer that opportunity.

I share your interest in visiting that facility. It may not be something that the whole committee wants to do. A delegation could go, and members who are interested could contact Lynn Tullis so that a date can be arranged. If a suitable date can be found, we can go along.

I would like to visit the Freightliner facility. As I meet people from such organisations, they often say that they would be pleased to meet other members of the committee. Freightliner has written to the committee, inviting us directly. Could we establish a protocol for how to go about initiating a committee visit? I could pass on half a dozen verbal invitations, but should I ask people to write to us?

At the moment, there is no such protocol. One would hope that committees are fairly flexible in responding to invitations. We always recommend that people write to the clerks and we will bring the letter to the attention of members. I must remind members that any visit may take place only with the endorsement of the bureau.

I was going to ask about that. If we decide to accept the invitation as a committee rather than as individual MSPs, do we need to seek further permission and are we then required to report on our findings?

One would expect that as a matter of course.

Any correspondence that I receive is given to Lynn; that is how it finds its way on to the agenda. If members get letters that they think will interest the committee, they should put them into the system. Visits may be appropriate or not, depending on the legislation that is in the pipeline. For instance, we have had invitations from British Energy to visit nuclear plants. That is not particularly appropriate to our current work programme, but all those invitations are sitting on the shelf ready for the time when we come to discuss relevant matters. We keep all the invitations that we receive.

We intend to take our final agenda item in private, so I must request that the public galleries be cleared.

Meeting continued in private until 12:16.