Brian Adam: I am pleased to say that the universities and colleges in Scotland are going to step up to the plate with regard to skills. That is particularly true of those in Aberdeen and the north-east. I am also aware of recent mergers and acquisitions. Such moves can sometimes be controversial, but they show a measure of confidence in the industry. There is also international momentum. The minister...
Brian Adam: I would like to start by talking about evidence. Certainly, decisions should be evidence based, but as politicians we often need to cope with opinions that are given as evidence. There is a world of difference between tangible evidence and opinion. I am delighted that successive Governments have taken advice from the scientific, medical and engineering communities, although at the end of the...
Brian Adam: The—
Brian Adam: The member’s colleague Willie Rennie used to work with the Royal Society of Chemistry and will be very familiar with it. His predecessor and successor in that role, Bristow Muldoon, is the same. There is no doubt that there is a good and healthy relationship between politicians and scientists.
Brian Adam: Does the minister agree that the important question that scientific advice can answer, or at least go some way towards answering, is: is it a coincidence or is there a causal link? It is quite often very hard to give a definitive answer to that.
Brian Adam: I should say that Aberdeen airport is in my constituency. We have heard some interesting speeches in the debate so far. I am a believer in more direct flights from Scotland. I do not know whether other members have tried to do something about that, but I certainly have done. I have encouraged the Japanese Government and Japan’s national carrier to fly direct from Scotland—I do not mind...
Brian Adam: I should declare an interest in that, in a previous life, I not only monitored people who were addicted to a variety of drugs but dealt with the forensic work that is associated with drugs deaths. Putting that to one side, I note the advice that we all received that we should ignore the controversies, and that there is no need for them to continue. Of course, the controversies are to do with...
Brian Adam: We have had comparisons drawn between the continent and here. Of course, it is not just winter that causes problems. Thankfully, we do not have too many problems with earthquakes, but in Italy people who forecast such things have been banged up as a result of their forecasts. I hope that we do not get to the point at which we bang up some of our forecasters. I am pleased that we are having...
Brian Adam: I very much welcome the decision of the courts in recent weeks. Can the minister confirm that the Haudagain redevelopment and the third Don crossing works will be included in the AWPR contract? Can he give us some idea of when the individual elements of what is a package are likely to happen?
Brian Adam: I accept that there are all sorts of consequences in the plans for the AWPR, the Haudagain roundabout and the third Don crossing. However, for the benefit of my constituents, the minister might want to consider whether the Government and the council can act a little more quickly to end the uncertainty for the residents whose homes are likely to be purchased by compulsory purchase orders when...
Brian Adam: It is a privilege to be here and to speak in the debate. I notice that five former councillors who represented Aberdeen and one who represented Aberdeenshire are in the chamber. I was on the City of Aberdeen District Council and then Aberdeen City Council with Nanette Milne. My colleagues Kevin Stewart and Mark McDonald served on the city council until recently and my colleague Maureen Watt...
Brian Adam: That continues the sour grapes that we have heard again and again from the Labour Party when the people have rejected its ideas. An unusual coalition administration runs Aberdeen City Council; I do not know how long it will last. I certainly hope that it can develop a vision for the city, but there is little evidence that it has done so. The administration’s alternative plans, which have...
Brian Adam: Presiding Officer, as outlined by Dave Thompson, the convener of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee, you have played a significant role in parliamentary reform, in that you invited the committee to look at the area. I acknowledge also the role played by my colleague, the Cabinet Secretary for Parliamentary Business and Government Strategy, who, almost a year ago to...
Brian Adam: That is not my responsibility as a minister any more than it is the responsibility of anybody else in the chamber. As Mr Thompson indicated, the matter will be under review as the reforms are implemented, and I am certain that he noted Margo MacDonald’s point. Material is available for broadcast because all committee meetings are recorded, as I am sure the member is aware. However, it is...
Brian Adam: How ministers answer questions is of course a matter for them. We are all judged on how we deal with questions. I think that it would be beyond the wit of even someone of Mr Henry’s calibre to specify when a question has been properly answered, because quite often that is judged on the basis of whether someone got the answer that they wanted as opposed to whether they got an answer.
Brian Adam: Okay. None of the changes that I have just described will make the life of the Government or of ministers easier. There will be real challenges for the Government in balancing ministerial duties outwith the chamber with the Parliament’s ability to hold ministers to account at committee and in plenary on three days of the week. However, the Government agrees that these are important and...
Brian Adam: We have had a wide-ranging debate. In response to some of the serious issues that have been raised about parliamentary committees, I point out to colleagues that, in phase 2 of its inquiry, the committee will look at precisely that issue. The committees, with their scrutiny activity, are indeed a very important part of the Parliament and its work. As Duncan McNeil suggested, there is no doubt...
Brian Adam: There is nothing in the motion or the proposed changes to standing orders that will change the current practice. I am more than happy to continue to engage with representatives of the Opposition parties on how we deal with the issue in future.
Brian Adam: I ask the member to give me a minute or two. Members in different parts of the country face different challenges in balancing their constituency roles with being members of the national Parliament, and we need to be sensitive to that. I was pleased to note the constructive tone that was taken in many of today’s speeches, and I express again my gratitude to the Standards, Procedures and...
Brian Adam: If we agree to the motion and the proposed changes to standing orders are made, Thursday morning will not be an option because it will be committee time. What has to be fitted into plenary sessions are the items of business that are covered in standing orders, which include Opposition time, committee time and members’ business debates, as well as, quite properly, Government business,...
