Minutes of Proceedings

The Committee met at 2.03 pm in private session.

1.Declaration of Interests

The Chairman reminded members of their obligation to declare any relevant pecuniary or other interests before and during each Committee meeting.

Mr R Beggs Jnr joined the meeting at 2.04pm.

2.Minutes of Meeting of 6 June 2000

The minutes of the meeting were agreed with the addition of a sentence regarding the sensitive nature of the issues referred to the Committee and the need for confidentiality.

3.Matters Arising

1. The Chairman informed members that the Register of Members' Interests continued to be updated by the Clerk on the basis of notification from members that their existing entries needed to be amended. He advised that no members had notified the Clerk of changes to their entries in the Register since the last meeting of the Committee.
2. The Clerk had referred the Sixth Report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life to the Clerk of the Committee of the Centre, Dr Andrew Peoples.

4.Committee Enquiry into the possible appointment of an Assembly Commissioner for Standards

The Chairman informed members that since the last meeting of the Committee, the Clerk had met with the Clerk to the Standards and Privileges Committee in the House of Commons, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards at Westminster and the Acting Clerk to the Committee on Standards in the Scottish Parliament. The Clerk will provide a written report of these meetings for the next meeting of the Committee.

It was agreed that the Clerk would draft terms of reference for a Committee enquiry into the appointment of an Assembly Commissioner for Standards and an associated press release for consideration by the Committee in advance of the summer recess.

5.Meeting with the Speaker

The Chairman advised members that he had spoken informally to the Speaker about the powers of the Committee. He up-dated members on the Speaker's views and following a short discussion the Committee agreed that the remit of the enquiry should include a review of this Committee's powers to recommend sanctions.

Dr O'Hagan left the meeting at 2.34 pm.

Dr Adamson joined the meeting at 2.36 pm.

6.Other Issues

(i)A detailed discussion took place on five other issues referred to the Committee for consideration. Appropriate action to be taken on each was agreed by the Committee.

(ii)The Chairman indicated that he had received a letter concerning a further issue and he intended to place it on the agenda for the next meeting.

7.Date of Next Meeting

The Committee will meet on Tuesday, 20 June in Room 135, Parliament Buildings. The meeting will be closed. The meeting will take place immediately after the House rises in the afternoon or at 2.00 pm if the plenary session finishes by lunch time.

8.Any Other Business

The Chairman raised the issue of replies to Committee correspondence by third parties. He informed members that, as a matter of courtesy to the Committee, he believed members themselves should be required to reply to Committee letters and other correspondence. Only in the case of a member being legally represented should the Committee accept a reply from a third party. Following a lengthy discussion the Committee resolved that:

(i)The Committee would expect a written acknowledgement from the member concerned.

(ii)The member may indicate if they wish to be represented by a third party.

The meeting concluded at 3.43 pm.

DONOVAN McCLELLAND
Committee Chairman