Finance Committee to meet in Elgin

CFIN003/2005 | 31 October 2005

The Scottish Parliament’s Finance Committee is to be the first Committee to meet in the Morayshire town of Elgin.

The committee is meeting to scrutinise the Scottish Executive’s expenditure plans for 2005-6, and will take evidence during the visit to the north east on Monday 7 November from the Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform, Tom McCabe.

Committee Convener Des McNulty MSP said:

“The Committee has an ongoing commitment to meet outside Edinburgh to gather the views of people across Scotland, and this visit to Elgin marks another first for the committee after our visits to other areas of Scotland.

“Essentially, the Committee is concerned with public expenditure in Scotland. That is, the money allocated to education, enterprise, hospitals, transport - things that are part of our every day lives.

“Events like this one are extremely useful in gauging the opinions of Scotland’s communities outwith the central belt on these issues – especially in an area like Elgin where an issue such as sustainable transport links is integral to the local economy.”

The meeting, in Elgin’s Moray College, will be in two parts, both of which will be open for the public to observe:

In the morning, from 9.30 – 10.45, invited local organisations and members of the Committee will participate in three closed workshops discussing the Scottish Executive’s spending proposals for the forthcoming year, and how it will affect them.

The workshops will focus on:

• Transport;
• Economic regeneration; and
• Understanding the budget process.

Representatives have been invited from a wide range of groups, and will include:

• Highlands and Islands Airport;
• The North East Rail Freight Group;
• Whisky distillers Gordon and MacPhail; and
• Moray Chambers of Commerce.

The workshops will allow local representatives to have their say on how they feel Scottish Executive spending on areas such as local transport infrastructure will affect their business or organisation’s activities, prosperity and future.

From 11.00 – 12.30, members of the committee will formally report back on the emerging themes from each of the morning workshops.

In the afternoon session, from 13.30 – 15.00, members of the Committee will question the Minister, in order to assess the implications of the Scottish Executive’s spending plans for the forthcoming year.

The meeting in Elgin follows similar Finance Committee meetings in recent years that have taken place in Motherwell, Cupar, Skye and Orkney.

Access Arrangements

Members of the media, including press photographers and TV cameras, are welcome to attend the Committee meeting on Monday 7 November.

The contact for members of the media is:

Richard Holligan, Tel: 0131 348 5605
E-mail: richard.holligan@scottish.parliament.uk

Finance Committee contact information

For public information enquiries, contact: 0131 348 5000 or 0845 278 1999 (local call rate)
Text phone: 0131 348 3415 RNID Typetalk calls welcome
email: sp.info@scottish.parliament.uk

Visit our website at: www.scottish.parliament.uk