Audit Committee, 16 Apr 2002
Meeting date: Tuesday, April 16, 2002
Official Report
104KB pdf
Items in Private
Good afternoon. I welcome everyone to the sixth meeting in 2002 of the Audit Committee and request that all mobile phones and pagers be turned off. I have received apologies from Margaret Jamieson, who says that she might be late. I hope that she will be able to attend the meeting.
The first item of business is to decide whether to take agenda items 4 and 5 in private. The purpose of item 4 is to allow the committee to prepare for its public consideration of reports on accounts at its next meeting, whereas item 5 is the committee's consideration of its draft report on its inquiry into the Auditor General for Scotland's report "Overview of the National Health Service in Scotland in 2000/01". The committee hopes to publish the report next week. Do members agree to hold those two items in private?
Members indicated agreement.
I want very quickly to mention that I received a letter today from Malcolm Chisholm, the Minister for Health and Community Care, regarding the Audit Committee's third report in 2000, "The Scottish Ambulance Service: A Service for Life". Malcolm Chisholm states:
"The Ambulance Service submitted its Full Business Cases for operations (control) room changes and priority based dispatch to the Department at the end of January. Tomorrow, Tuesday 16 April, I shall be making a joint announcement with Owen Clarke, Chairman and Adrian Lucas, Chief Executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service, covering the approval of both Business Cases."
Those steps were recommended by the committee. I point out that the Government has accepted our recommendation in full and I wish the system success.