Standards Committee, 31 Jan 2001

Meeting date: Wednesday, January 31, 2001

Official Report 132KB pdf

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Cross-party Groups

Under agenda item 5, we have one application for a proposed cross-party group on the Scottish contemporary music industry. Do members have any comments?

I am a member of the proposed group, as are Mr McAveety and Lord James.

I sense that we may be moving towards approving the application.

I am not a member, but can I move that—

There is a new rule that members have to get their record collections vetted by the three of us to see whether they are credible. If you have any Meat Loaf, you are in trouble.

I have seen yours. The group seems to meet all the requirements for a cross-party group and I think we should accept it.

This has nothing to do with the new group, but I am concerned about the number of cross-party groups that are being set up. We have talked about the matter before and I am concerned that MSPs do not have time to go to every group that they have joined. I also worry about overlap between some of the groups. It would be helpful to have a note from the clerks, at our next meeting, to tell us the total number of cross-party groups that exist.

I can inform members that there are 36 cross-party groups.

Thank you.

It would be helpful to have a note of the number of cross-party groups in the UK Parliament and of that number as a proportion of the total number of MPs. It would be interesting to see the terminology that is used for the UK Parliament's cross-party groups. I am not so worried as other members are about the number of groups, but I am concerned about two or three groups that seem similar enough to be merged.

When proposed new groups come before us, it is within our remit to return the application.

It would be useful, when we are asked to consider applications from new cross-party groups, to have an accompanying list of the established groups. With the best will in the world, we cannot remember them all. Tricia Marwick's point is valid. Knowing just the title of the proposed group is not enough; sometimes we have to delve into its purposes. Having a list would give us a steer.

I am informed that the clerks look at the list of established groups when a new application comes in. The clerks assure me that they do not see any overlaps.

We can circulate the current list to members at the next meeting. [Interruption.]

Does Mr McAveety want to say something?

I am sorry. I was not listening.

He was being facetious about one of Glasgow's premier football teams.

I can tell that the conversation is wandering off the point. It is my job to bring it back together again. We will write to the convener of the proposed cross-party group to inform her that the group has been approved.

Agenda item 6 is consideration of the standards adviser's report into his investigation of the alleged leak in November last year of the Health and Community Care Committee's draft report. As agreed at the beginning of the meeting, we will move into private session.

Meeting continued in private until 11:05.