Finance and Public Administration Committee

Meeting date: Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Official Report 691KB pdf

Interests

Good morning, and welcome to the 21st meeting in 2023 of the Finance and Public Administration Committee. I hope that everyone has had a good summer recess.

We have received apologies from Michelle Thomson.

Before we start, I thank those who participated so actively in our pre-budget scrutiny event last week in Largs and on the following day in West Kilbride. I know that members had lively and interesting discussions with local people, organisations and businesses about their priorities for the Scottish budget, which will help us with our pre-budget scrutiny. We will publish a summary of the discussions on our website in due course.

I record our thanks to Douglas Lumsden for all his hard work in supporting the committee’s scrutiny. I am pleased to welcome Jamie Halcro Johnston as a new member of the committee. We are also joined by Gordon MacDonald, who attends the meeting as a substitute member in Michelle Thomson’s absence.

I invite first Jamie, and then Gordon, to declare any relevant interests.

The only interests that might be of relevance are that I am a partner in a farming business and that I have a number of shares in Tetragen (Knapton) Ltd and in Standard Life.

I have no relevant interests to declare.