Health and Community Care Committee, 26 Oct 1999

Meeting date: Tuesday, October 26, 1999

Official Report 309KB pdf

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Scottish Parliament Health and Community Care Committee Tuesday 26 October 1999 (Morning)

[The Convener opened the meeting at 09:16]

Good morning, everybody. My first suggestion is that we take the next 10 minutes in private, to discuss our strategy for approaching the witnesses this morning. I draw to the attention of committee members—particularly Dorothy-Grace Elder and Ben Wallace, who have just joined us—the fact that our expert, John Forbes, has given us two sheets of paper, copies of which members will find on their desks. One sheet contains some suggested questions; the other contains some of the main points that were brought out from the many submissions that we have received.

If members are in agreement, I suggest that we now go into a private session to discuss our tactics, in respect of who will ask what questions. John's questions are a starting point, but members will have other questions that they have either thought of in advance, which we can discuss now, or that will occur to them while we are questioning our witnesses. Is that suggestion acceptable to members?

Members indicated agreement.

Meeting continued in private.

Meeting resumed in public.

We have had a useful discussion of our tactics for this morning's meeting. It is nice to have Sir John with us again, and I welcome him and Mike Palmer to the committee.