Transport and the Environment Committee, 30 Jun 1999
Meeting date: Wednesday, June 30, 1999
Official Report
114KB pdf
Convener
The next item on the agenda is the election of our convener. Subject to rule 12.1.2, the Parliament, on a motion of the bureau, has decided that only a member of the Labour party is eligible to be convener. I invite Andy Kerr and anyone else who wishes to stand to identify themselves and confirm their candidature.
Thank you, Robin. I confirm my candidature for that position.
As there are no other candidates, I invite the committee to confirm Andy as its convener by acclamation.
Mr Andy Kerr was elected convener by acclamation.
I get a swivel chair—now I know why Robin did not want to move.
First, I thank members for that vote of confidence in my becoming the convener of the committee. It is a vindication of the Scottish Parliament that someone as young as Robin can be the oldest member of a committee and that an MSP can come from the Green party. That says a lot about the Scottish Parliament—its make-up, usefulness and the diversity of political opinions that it represents.
In the Procedures Committee yesterday, we discussed best practice, which we would try to reproduce throughout the Parliament's committee structure. We agreed that committee staff should introduce themselves and that, instead of their whispering in the convener's ear, we should allow them to speak directly to the committee when appropriate. I believe that that is good practice.
I begin by introducing the staff. The clerks today are Lynn Tullis and David McGill. The official reporters are Claire Hall and Cameron Smith. Behind them are Alison Lang from the official report, Jenny Goldsmith from the committee support staff, and Graham Vidler, Stephen Curtis and Rebecca Badger from the Scottish Parliament information centre.
I have sat on the other side of the fence as an officer in a local council and believe that to ensure that everyone is involved is a good way to start. We shall be together for a long time in this committee and I am pleased to be a member of it, and even more pleased to be its convener. Some big issues lie ahead of us—we will be making decisions that we hope will improve transport and the environment for young families in particular. I look forward to working with the other members of the committee.