Good morning and welcome to the 31st meeting in 2012 of the Finance Committee of the Scottish Parliament. Could everyone present please turn off their mobile phones, tablets, BlackBerrys and other electronic devices. We have received apologies from Jamie Hepburn, who is unwell. However, I am pleased to see that David Thompson is here again as a substitute. How many times is that now, Dave?
I think that it is the second or third.
I am sure that it must be more than that, but you are certainly a welcome addition to the committee when you are here.
I ask members’ indulgence, because I would like them to—
Switch off their phones.
Indeed, Mr Mason. I would like members to agree to take the employability report first in our private session. We did a lot of work on that last week and all we have to do is go through some paragraphs that we did not fully agree on. Taking it first would give us much more time to go through the budget report in detail. Are members okay with that?
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