Official Report 105KB pdf
Good afternoon, folks, and welcome to the first meeting of the Public Petitions Committee in the third session of the Scottish Parliament. Members may find it strange that I am sitting where I am, but there is a reason for that, which does not please me. I am the oldest member of the committee and consequently have to start our proceedings. Another thing that I have discovered is that, for some strange reason, I am the father of the house. I could do without that.
I have no relevant interests to declare, but I may find that when we consider petitions, I have an interest to declare that is not apparent to me right now.
I, too, have nothing to declare.
I have nothing to declare in addition to my entry in the register of members' interests. However, given that the committee's remit is rather wide, I want to state something for the record. I have been a social worker—my field of practice was mental health; I worked with mentally disordered offenders—and a local government councillor. There is no obvious conflict of interest at the moment, but I may have to declare an interest in the future.
Members will use their discretion when the committee is debating subjects.
I have no interests to declare, but I may need to point out an interest if I think that a conflict of interests could arise.
I have no interests to declare.
I have no interests to declare that are relevant to the committee's work. However, I will, obviously, use my discretion if I think that I need to declare an interest in an issue.
I am in the same position. I have declared my interests and signed the register; I have no further interests to declare at this stage.
My interests will appear in the register of members' interests. Like other members, I will provide notification if an issue arises in subsequent meetings.