Official Report 156KB pdf
We will start. Jamie Stone is stuck in traffic, but we hope that he will arrive while we discuss questions for the Deputy Minister for Social Justice. Does the committee agree to take items 2, 8, 9 and 10 in private?
We must watch how many items we take in private. Of today's business, 40 per cent will be in private. I see no way round that, but concerns are being expressed about the number of committee meetings that are held in private.
The committee comes out rather well from the overall statistics on items that are discussed in private. As for the items that will be in private today—
I said that no other option exists today.
There is no other option. We could have discussed the arrangements for a civic participation event in private, but I asked the clerks to put that item in the public part of the meeting. When I examine the agenda, I try to ensure that as much as possible of the meeting is held in public. However, I take on board Kay Ullrich's point.
Meeting continued in private.
Meeting continued in public.