Official Report 348KB pdf
I welcome everyone to the 16th meeting in 2005 of the Enterprise and Culture Committee. I will deal with a few housekeeping points. I ask everyone to switch off their mobile phones. I have received apologies from Michael Matheson and I welcome Shiona Baird, who replaces Chris Ballance as the Scottish Green Party representative on the committee. I am sure that members want me to put on record our gratitude to Chris Ballance for his contribution to the committee.
I have a few interests to declare. I own a business that lets out farm cottages and I own land at Scotston Hill, which is grazed by livestock belonging to the family firm, J S Baird and Sons, of which I am a sleeping partner. I am also a director and company secretary of the Tayside Foundation for the Conservation of Resources, which trades as Tayside Recyclers.
Thank you. Christine May will also declare an interest.
For the purposes of the meeting, I inform the committee that I am about to register an interest as a member of the management steering group of the sector skills council for the financial services industry.
I should mention that Richard Baker has said that he will be about 20 minutes late.