Official Report 273KB pdf
Item 5 is consideration of whether to discuss the draft stage 1 report, which is on the general principles of the bill, in private. We are not discussing the report today.
The committee has always considered draft reports in private.
We are discussing not the bill, but our report on the bill. Is the matter at our discretion?
It is at our discretion, but in the past three years, the committee has considered every report in private before it has been published.
Is any controversy expected?
There is no controversy. I received a letter from the minister that said that the Executive is happy with the bill, provided that the court of the University of St Andrews is happy with it.
I am fundamentally agin discussing matters in private when they do not need to be in private.
That is my instinct, too, but I do not want to set a precedent. If we agree to take the discussion in public, it will be a one-off, because it would be anarchic to draft reports in public.
That helps me with the point that I was about to make. The bill concerns a technical matter that has become the subject of statute because of the university's mechanism for creating new degree courses. For that reason, I support Brian Fitzpatrick's view.
Shall we strike a second blow for transparency and take the discussion in public?
That would be nice for the people who have stayed on.
I hope that that decision will be recorded by those who have reported that this committee is one of the most secretive. As the meeting is on camera, I hope that Business a.m. in particular has noted that we have decided twice to take matters in public and not in private. Is that agreed?
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