Standards Committee, 24 Oct 2000

Meeting date: Tuesday, October 24, 2000

Official Report 98KB pdf

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Cross-party Groups

Our first agenda item is consideration of applications for recognition of cross-party groups. There are four applications and members have copies of the forms that have been submitted. We shall take the applications in order.

The first application is a proposal to establish a cross-party group on nuclear disarmament. Further to our previous discussion of this application, I had a very constructive meeting with the convener of the proposed group, Dorothy-Grace Elder. I briefed Dorothy-Grace on the committee's concerns regarding the application, which were set out in my letter of 26 September. That letter has been distributed to members. Our concerns related to the payment of subscriptions, the perception that the proposed group would be administered by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and the use of the word "campaigning" in the title of the proposed group. Dorothy-Grace Elder has taken those concerns on board and a revised application has now been submitted to the committee. Members will note that the group has been renamed the cross-party group in the Scottish Parliament on nuclear disarmament. I invite the committee to consider the application in the light of the revisions that have been made.

I am now perfectly happy for the application to be approved. With a little more co-operation, we could have reached this point several months ago.

I agree with Patricia Ferguson.

My reservations about this application are on the record, as I have made my point at previous meetings of the committee. There has been some movement on this issue and, if the Standards Committee is minded to approve the application, I will not maintain my objection.

I will write to Dorothy-Grace Elder to confirm that the application has been approved.

The second application is for a cross-party group on deafness. Do members have any comments on the proposed application?

The proposal appears to conform with the rules on cross-party groups and I am happy to give it my support.

I support the proposal strongly. This is a very important area.

I will write to the convener of the group to inform them that the application has been approved.

The next application is for a cross-party group on disability. Do members have comments on this proposed group?

I support the application strongly.

Do members agree to the application?

Members indicated agreement.

The next application is for a cross-party group on cycling. Do members have any comments on the application?

I am happy to support it, provided that it does not mean that cycling becomes compulsory.

Hear, hear.

I will write to the convener of the group to inform them that the application has been approved.