Environment and Rural Development Committee,

Meeting date: Monday, May 8, 2006

Official Report 339KB pdf

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Interests

Good afternoon and welcome to the Environment and Rural Development Committee, which is meeting in Oban. I welcome our witnesses, the members of the public and press and colleagues at the table. I remind everybody to switch their mobile phones or BlackBerries to silent. We have Dave Petrie with us and I am told that Jamie McGrigor will attend, although a little later.

Our first agenda item is a declaration of interests. On 4 May, the Parliament agreed that Richard Lochhead should be appointed to the committee. I welcome him back to the committee—he was not absent for long. The code of conduct for members states that it has been established as good practice that members should declare interests that relate to the remit of their committee at the first committee meeting they attend. Richard, do you have any relevant interests to declare?

Thank you, convener—it is nice to be back. The parliamentary authorities have asked me to complete the relevant forms in the next few days but, at this stage, I am unaware of any relevant interests that I will declare.