Education, Culture and Sport Committee, 27 Jun 2001

Meeting date: Wednesday, June 27, 2001

Official Report 135KB pdf

---

Consultative Steering Group Principles

Committee members have in front of them paper ED/01/21/2 from the Procedures Committee. Item 5 is to consider whether the committee wishes to make a submission to the Procedures Committee's inquiry into the application of the consultative steering group principles in the Scottish Parliament.

Members have been asked for their comments on the paper. It would probably be difficult for us to reach a consensus on the issue. There is probably a wide range of views on it. When is the inquiry to be concluded?

I believe that the deadline for submissions has been extended. It was the end of June, but I think that it has been extended to the end of the summer recess. I cannot remember the date. It is the end of August.

When is our first committee meeting after the recess?

The first week in September.

We do not have much information from the Procedures Committee as to what it wants the committee to discuss. Individual members will have their questions, but they are not all relevant to the committee.

Would it be worth seeking guidance from the Procedures Committee clerks on what they want us to discuss? I ask that we put that on the agenda for our meeting on 4 September. If the deadline is 31 August, the clerks will not be able to collate the information quickly, and certainly not by 4 September. It might be useful to have clarification on the questions that the Procedures Committee asks us by 4 September. We will respond by the end of that week. Do members agree?

Members indicated agreement.