Note of Decisions Taken at 4th Meeting 2008

17 April 2008

Convener:

Members Bill Aitken Keith Brown Roseanna Cunningham Christine Grahame Patrick Harvie Mr Frank McAveety Duncan McNeil Margaret Mitchell Tavish Scott Jamie Stone Andrew Welsh

1. Minutes of Meeting of 20 March 2008

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 March 2008 were agreed.

2. Matters arising

The Group noted that after conclusion of a successful pilot, press cuts would continue to be provided to Conveners.

The Group also noted the discussions held between MRO and media representatives on embargoes.

3. Implementation of the Crerar report recommendations – Parliamentary accountability of scrutiny bodies

The Group agreed to make no recommendations concerning the implementation of the Crerar recommendations at the present time.

4. Committee annual reports

Conveners agreed to recommend to their committees that Annual reports should follow the format of previous years subject to inclusion of a section on equalities and an increased maximum word limit of 1500. Publications would be co-ordinated to ensure that all reports were published in the same week.

5. Health and Sport Committee – request to approve committee meeting at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh

The Group approved the request by the Health and Sport Committee to hold a committee meeting at Murrayfield Stadium in order to take evidence on the Committee’s inquiry on pathways into sport.

6. Rural Affairs and Environment Committee - request to arrange visits regarding rural housing

The Group approved the Committee’s request to undertake fact finding visits to East Lothian, Highland Perthshire and Arran to inform its inquiry into rural housing.

April 2008