– FIRST STOP INVERNESS

Announcing the remit of the inquiry and details of the first ever committee meeting outside of Edinburgh, Convener John Swinney said:

"For some time there has been concern over the potential duplication of delivery of economic development services by organisations such as local enterprise companies, local authorities, enterprise trusts and chambers of commerce.

"This is a concern shared by the committee and the primary objective of our inquiry will be to investigate whether there is scope for better co-ordination or even rationalisation of these bodies.

"As part of this process, we are particularly keen to hear from consumers of these services, whether they be small businesses, would-be entrepreneurs, or simply interested individuals. We want to hear about their experience of economic development support in Scotland.

"I am especially pleased to be able to announce that our next meeting of the committee will be held in Inverness, where we plan to hear from Highlands and Islands Enterprise, three local enterprise companies and Highland Council.

"By taking the inquiry outside of Edinburgh we should be able to get closer to the people and the organisations that matter most in this process.

"We shall also be calling on anyone with a direct interest in this area to submit written evidence to us. We may wish, at a later date, to invite some of those respondents to speak to the committee directly.

"This is a major inquiry for the Scottish Parliament and it is important that we listen to what people from all over Scotland have to say."

The committee will also be briefed by Commun na Gaidhlig, the Gaelic development organisation and by Sabhal mor Ostaig, the Gaelic College. These bodies will have the distinction of being the first to give evidence in Gaelic to a Scottish parliamentary committee.

The committee meeting, which will be open to the public, will be held on 20 October, in The Town House, Inverness.

BACKGROUND NOTE

Further information and the full remit of the inquiry can be found on the committee’s page of the Scottish Parliament’s web site.

Written evidence can be submitted directly to the committee via email to enterprise.inquiry@scottish.parliament.uk

The deadline for the submission of evidence is 18 November.

The committee is keen to publicise the meeting as widely as possible and to encourage members of the public to attend.

All members of the public who wish to attend must book tickets in advance through the Parliament’s Visitor Centre by calling 0131 348 5000 or the national local rate number below. All tickets must be booked by 5pm on Monday 18 October. No tickets will be allocated after this time and no members of the public without tickets will be admitted on the day.

The committee’s membership is as follows:

Convener: John Swinney (SNP). Fergus Ewing (SNP), Annabel Goldie (Con), Nick Johnston (Con), Marilyn Livingstone (Lab), George Lyon (LD), Margo MacDonald (SNP), Duncan McNeil (Lab), Elaine Murray (Lab), Elaine Thomson (Lab), Allan Wilson (Lab).

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