Finance Committee, 01 Feb 2000
Meeting date: Tuesday, February 1, 2000
Official Report
238KB pdf
Budget Process
Item 4 is the annual budget process. Members have copies of the revised questions that were drafted following our discussion at the meeting on 18 January.
Are we putting off discussion of other inquiry topics until another meeting?
I mentioned that. You must have been looking at your papers.
I heard you say it.
We are delaying discussion of those topics until a future meeting. We do not have to decide on them today.
We are now discussing the stage 1 and stage 2 questions that will be given to the various subject committees. The clerks to this committee have briefed their colleagues on the other committees, and the matter will be put on the agenda of the conveners liaison group. I hope that it will not be on the agenda for today's meeting as I cannot attend—the group meets fortnightly, so it may well be discussed at the meeting two weeks today. That is how information will be passed on to the conveners of the various subject committees.
At the conveners group, I raised the question of the Equal Opportunities Committee being included in our briefing. It was agreed that it was appropriate that the budget should go to that committee. I do not know how that committee will deal with the additional work load, but its convener thought that it should be consulted.
Members have had the opportunity to consider the list of questions, which has been expanded in light of members' suggestions at our previous meeting. Are there any further comments?
The questions are flexible enough to allow other committees to work with them. They may not all work in the same way as we do. It is important that they should not feel steered to a view as it is their view that will add value to the response that we receive.
As there are no further comments, it is agreed that this will be the form in which the committees will be asked to consider the budget.