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Item 2 is on the black economy. The committee will consider a briefing paper that has been written for us by Scotland's Futures Forum. We need to consider whether it is driving in the direction of the committee's interest in this area. Members will note that there is ongoing Government research. It may be appropriate to consider how any research that we commission would fit in with the Government's work. There does not seem much point in duplicating work that the Government is already undertaking. Christopher Harvie raised the issue in the first place, so I ask him to comment.
The paper is an interesting beginning, with a useful bibliography. I have not had time to do any work on the issue, but I wonder whether I could provide a memo for the next meeting on the state of research in other universities and on structures of inquiry that might usefully be followed. The paper would estimate the size of the issue and present a theoretical basis.
That sounds fine. I suggest that you e-mail that to the clerks and we will proceed with it in the usual way.
I will. It will be about one and a half pages long.
We will bring it back to the committee when some of the other issues come to light.
The paper seems quite drug-centric. I wonder whether there are ways of widening out the issue.
Gavin Brown makes a good point, which could perhaps be picked up by the clerks and in the submission that Christopher Harvie makes.
The reason for that is that Scotland's Futures Forum is considering drugs and alcohol. I know that Christopher Harvie's original intention was for much broader consideration, but the implications of drugs and alcohol and organised crime are undoubtedly significant, particularly for some of our cities.
When the Government has finished its research, we will consider whether there are gaps. We will bear in mind Gavin Brown's point and Christopher Harvie's work.
Meeting closed at 12:31.
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