1 Introduction
1. This year's Annual Report from the Scottish Affairs
Committee covers not only two Sessions, as is usual, but two separate
Parliaments, due to the General Election held on 5 May 2005. The
Committee has undergone an almost total change of membership since
the Election, as only 2 members of the previous Committee were
reappointed to it. Of the 9 Members new to the Committee, 8 were
new to the House itself. It would be remiss of us not to place
on record our thanks to our colleagues on the former Committee;
in particular, we wish to note the work of the former Chairman,
Irene Adams, now raised to the Peerage as Baroness Adams of Craigielea,
and of Peter Duncan and John Lyons, neither of whom were returned
to the House after the Election.
2. The Committee's concentration during the 2001-05
Parliament on short, sharp inquiries of a wide and varied nature
continued to prove popular with both the public and the media.
At the start of this Parliament, we agreed that the previous Committee's
successful method of working should continue.
3. As we stated in last year's Annual Report[1],
devolution has resulted in many responsibilities of the former
Scottish Office being transferred to the Scottish Executive, and
therefore many of the objectives and tasks for departmental select
committees set by the Liaison Committee do not apply to this Committee.
Our Report is therefore not structured by reference to the 10
"core tasks",[2]
but we do seek to reflect the overarching objectives identified
by the Liaison Committee.
1 Scottish Affairs Committee, First Report, Session
2004-05, Work of the Committee in 2004, HC (2004-05)
277, para 2. Back
2
See Liason Committee, First Report, Session 2002-03, Annual
Report 2002-03, HC (2002-03) 558, Appendix 3. Back
|
