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As members will recall, we received a response to that report from the Scottish Executive in June 2006, and we wrote to the unions and to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities before the summer recess inviting them to send responses to the report.
Members will be aware that, from time to time, Alex Neil and other members have raised concerns about back-bench speaking times in the chamber.The committee will recall that we discussed the issue before the summer recess and agreed that we would survey members to get their attitudes to potential changes.
There may be time constraints, as the Ethical Standards in Public Bill etc (Scotland) Bill must be completed before the summer recess. If it proves impossible to hear from those organisations at stage 1, perhaps we will take up Johann Lamont's suggestion of seeking written evidence.
I know that there are constraints on time, but we have a recess in which the Procedures Committee, members and you might reflect on how we can encourage more interventions in debates, rather than fewer.
Despite what the Accounts Commission's letter says, the document suggests that councils should consider schools"with less than 60% of places occupied".The guidance is out of date and must be revisited and revised in the light of the new local authorities' situations and the rationalisation programmes that they have undergone in the past 12 years.
There could be technical elements, and progress might be much quicker if we have one person talking to a Commission department, as opposed to our waiting for Commission officials to find a date in their diaries when they can come to Scotland.