5 Relations with the Scottish Parliament
35. Our remit under S.O. No. 152 includes relations
with the Scottish Parliament, a responsibility we consider to
be of high importance. The previous Committee had held a useful
meeting with the Conveners' Liaison Group of the Scottish Parliament
in 2002, and this Committee agreed that it should do likewise
and meet with the current Conveners' Group to exchange views and
information and discuss matters of mutual concern.
36. However, the response from the Chair of the Convenors'
Group suggested instead that it might be more useful for us to
meet with individual Holyrood committees whose work programmes
might include topics of mutual interest.
37. The Scottish Parliament's Procedures Committee,
in its Report on The Sewel Covention, has suggested some
possible procedural changes at Westminster "in a spirit of
constructive inter-Parliamentary dialogue"[13].
It is in such a spirit that we will pursue our inquiry, mentioned
in paragraphs 29 & 30 above, into Sewel business in the House
of Commons.
38. However, our inquiry, and our work generally,
would be assisted if we could persuade the Scottish Parliament's
Convenors' Group to engage with us in a regular pattern of meetings,
similar to those adopted in the last Parliament whereby the Welsh
Affairs Committee held a meeting with the equivalent body, the
Panel of Chairs of the National Assembly for Wales, every six
months.
13 The Sewel Convention, Procedures Committee,
7th Report, 2005, Scottish Parliament Paper 428, October
2005, para. 203.
Back
|
