Education, Culture and Sport Committee, 06 Sep 2000

Meeting date: Wednesday, September 6, 2000

Official Report 245KB pdf

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Committee Business

Item 3 on our agenda is an update on committee business—and I am frantically trying to find the update that I had written out. The committee has an outstanding item in its remit—to look at school infrastructure. Members will remember that, before the recess, we appointed an adviser and started to consider taking evidence. Given our responsibilities with the school exams inquiry, I suggest that we shelve that work on school infrastructure for the time being, rather than leave people hanging on and not knowing when they are likely to be called. I suggest that we rejig the timetable and consider the matter again after the Christmas break. Do members agree?

Members indicated agreement.

We will have a number of items to deal with following the school exams inquiry.

We have been asked by COSLA to nominate a representative of the committee to attend the cultural network meetings that it now holds regularly. To keep in touch with what is going on, and accepting that much cultural work is done through local authorities, either directly or through their assistance to the voluntary sector, I think that it is probably worth while for one of us to attend those meetings. Do we agree that we should send someone to COSLA's cultural network meetings, and could we have a nomination?

I nominate Cathy Peattie.

As it is a tradition in this committee to nominate Cathy Peattie for everything, we should not break it. I nominate her, too.

We are agreed on that—and you will love this, Cathy, because I have another one. Can we nominate someone from the committee to be the contact for the research that is going on into consultation with children and young people? Members will remember that, as sponsoring committee, we passed the matter to the conveners liaison group and then to the Parliamentary Bureau. They have agreed that that work will be carried out, and as everyone seems to be pointing at Fiona McLeod, we will nominate her as the contact.

Members indicated agreement.

So it was not Cathy Peattie this time. Does anyone want an update on any other matters?

We were supposed to start taking evidence on Hampden.

We were indeed.

I presume that we will rejig the timetable for that, although I hope that it will not be pushed too far back.

There was a proposal that we would start to take oral evidence next week. However, as we have only two weeks before we start the school exams inquiry, I will speak to the clerks about that. I am aware that many of you visited Hampden and that it is still fresh in your minds. We want to make progress on that, which is one of the reasons why I asked members whether we could put back the work on school infrastructure. I want to ensure that we deal with the work on Hampden as soon as possible.

Are you saying that we will start next week?

I am not sure. We need to decide whether there is merit in starting next week and then breaking off, or whether there is merit in holding off the taking of oral evidence until we have dealt with the school exams inquiry. I will discuss that with members before a final decision is taken. It is in the balance at the moment—it was not previously.

We have received quite a number of submissions on the film inquiry, which is one of our longer running inquiries, as will be shown when the report appears. Given the commitment that we have now made to the SQA inquiry, I suspect that the best thing to do would be to bring that work to the committee before the end of the year as a pleasant Christmas present. I shall gift-wrap it of course. If the committee agrees to a further inquiry, that could be timetabled for next year. There is a fair measure of agreement, and now that we have seen the national cultural strategy, we know the Executive's views on the priorities for Scottish film. Our work may be a useful counterpoint to that.

I had you pencilled in for next week as well, Mike; but if you are not in a position to—

We could rush it through, but I think it would be far better to take our time.

Far be it from me to make you rush. I am happy to accept what you say.

It has been a slightly busy summer, you know.

Has it?

Indeed.

Although it has been a busy summer, I am sure that no one missed the release of the cultural strategy. I am concerned that we have not had an opportunity to discuss it. I remind the convener, again, that we made a commitment to consider folk and traditional music but have not done so yet. I want to put a marker down on that. If the cultural strategy is around, the committee should consider folk and traditional music. I worry that that discussion will be lost yet again.

I do not think that you would let us lose it, Cathy, and I do not think that other members would either. I take on board what you say. It may be that, if we decide to hold off from taking oral evidence on Hampden, we could try to slip something in on the cultural strategy.

The cultural strategy document has been published, but has not yet been discussed in Parliament. The minister has not made a statement on it, but I shall certainly be asking for one. Only after we have had a ministerial statement or a debate on the strategy should the committee consider hearing evidence on the recommendations. It is a longer-term issue, although Cathy Peattie is right to say that we must not lose sight of it. Perhaps we could schedule it in for December.

I shall take those points on board. The timetables that the clerks are working on take us up to the Christmas recess, so I shall ensure that something is pencilled in and does not get lost.

Will we be meeting in the Christmas recess?

I shall ignore that question for the moment and move quickly on to the next item.