Finance Committee

Meeting date: Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Official Report 445KB pdf

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Decision on Taking Business in Private

Good morning and welcome to the Finance Committee’s 19th meeting in 2013. As this is the committee’s last meeting before the summer recess and its last meeting before the contract of our current budget adviser, Professor David Bell, comes to an end and he departs from the committee, I put on record my sincere thanks as well as the thanks of the whole committee for all his expert advice and support.

David Bell is in fact the longest-serving member of the committee, since none of the rest of us was here before 2011, and he has been here since 2007. He has greatly assisted the committee in its scrutiny of the Government’s spending plans over the years and has done so fairly and equitably. On the committee’s behalf, I wish him every success in the future. I understand that Jim Johnston will be presenting him with a carriage clock later this morning.

I put on record the committee’s decision to appoint Angela Scott as our new budget adviser, subject to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body’s approval. She is head of regions with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, with responsibility for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. She will take up her post on 1 July and the committee greatly looks forward to working with her.

Agenda item 1 is a decision on taking business in private. Are members content to take items 3 to 5 in private?

Members indicated agreement.