To scrutinise Government, undertake wide-ranging investigations, initiate legislation, - this was the vision for the Parliamentary Committees as seen by the Consultative Steering Group and many others in Scotland in the run up to the creation of the Scottish Parliament.

George Reid Deputy Presiding Officer and Convener of Conveners' Liaison Group. Over a year on in the life of the Parliament these aspirations are starting to be met. We have a flexible yet strong Committee structure, fundamental to bringing about openness, accountability, equality and the sharing of power to Scotland's new democracy. All 16 Committees have set about meeting the challenges set by the Parliament with vigour and energy. They have come a long way in a short time, combining the Westminster 'select' and 'standing' role to good effect, proving to be competent inquirers and scrutineers. Individual members have had to amass specialised knowledge of their subject areas very quickly and this they have done in a serious and professional manner. MSPs are coming to grips with their roles in the Committees and this is evident in the quality of outputs set out in the Committee reports. It is a credit to Committee members and the clerking teams that they have achieved so much in the face of such heavy workloads and tight timetables. Indeed, more than half the Committees have now been involved in the scrutiny of draft legislation. Many Bills have now been passed by the Parliament and subsequently enacted. I commend the Committee Reports which clearly demonstrate a robust start for the Parliamentary Committees, and I have no doubt the Committees will continue to build upon a very promising start.   Audit Committee The Audit Committee has spent its first year establishing the foundations for the new system of public audit and accountability in Scotland. The Audit Committee has spent its first year establishing the foundations for the new system of public audit and accountability in Scotland. Much of the preliminary work on what systems should be set in place had been performed by the Financial Issues Advisory Group (FIAG) - a subset of the Consultative Steering Group (CSG). The recommendations of FIAG were largely implemented in the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000, for which the Audit Committee was the lead committee. This was the first piece of legislation passed by the Parliament using pre-legislative scrutiny. Several changes were made at this formative stage of the Bill and the fruits of this innovation were that the subsequent stages, following introduction, were typified by cross-party consensus on the vast majority of sections. This Act established a new audit body, Audit Scotland, as well as the position of the Auditor General for Scotland (AGS). Several members of the Committee were involved in the selection process of the AGS. Robert Black, previously Head of the Accounts Commission, took up the position of AGS on 1 April 2000. He is responsible for scrutinising the expenditure of public bodies within his remit to assess whether they have achieved value for money and adhered to the highest standards of financial management. The Committee's principal goal is to hold to account officials of bodies and agencies which are charged with spending public money with a view to ensuring that Scottish taxpayers obtain maximum value for their money. The Committee is not concerned with policy matters - that is a matter for subject committees. Instead the Committee has focused on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of the way these policies have been implemented. Convener: Andrew Welsh In its first year, the Committee met 16 times, of which 8 included items that were taken in private. Three meetings were held entirely in private. The Committee has examined and reported on the funding of Scottish Further Education Colleges preparedness in Scotland for the Millennium Bug threat; Private Finance Initiative funding of the M74 motorway; the Scottish Ambulance Service; Skillseekers Training funding from Scottish Enterprise. The Committee is keen to ensure that its reports are not left to gather dust and the Committee has already set down markers for reviewing the progress that departments and agencies have made following the Committee's report. This will be an important part of its programme. The Committee has already established its own way of working. Specifically, unlike the Public Account's Committee at Westminster, the Committee can and has made site visits to Glasgow, Dundee and the Borders as part of the examination of the Scottish Ambulance Service. Members had a chance to see at first hand the experiences of staff in the field, which complemented the report of the auditors. It is hoped that this innovation will become a feature of the way the Audit Committee works in the future.

Education, Culture and Sport Committee

The Education, Culture and Sport Committee has a wide remit and its work programme has covered each main area: school education, children, culture and sport. Two substantial reports have been published on:

• the national arts companies including Scottish Opera and Scottish Ballet. The Committee made a number of recommendations to improve the stewardship of public investment in these companies and recommended the establishment of a Scottish national theatre company.
  
  

• the Standards in Scotland's Schools etc. Bill where as lead committee the Committee sought views from many organisations and individuals as well as from three other Parliamentary Committees. The recommendations for improving the Bill were reflected in the 36 Executive and 13 non-Executive amendments subsequently accepted by the Parliament.

The Committee also published 3 reports on subordinate legislation and contributed to the Local Government Committee's report on the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Bill where evidence was heard from the key schools-related organisations concerned with the repeal of Section 2A (Section 28).

Inquiries were begun into special educational needs, the state of school buildings and infrastructure, Hampden national football stadium and the case for appointing a Children's Commissioner. Members were appointed as Reporters to the Committee on issues facing rural schools, sport in schools and the Scottish film industry. These may lead to future inquiries. The Committee also reviewed the cultural contribution of broadcasting in Scotland, hearing evidence from BBC Scotland and Scottish Media Group.

Seven public petitions were considered and on one, concerning the Roman remains at Cramond, Edinburgh, a member was appointed to report in depth. A reporter was also appointed to advise the Committee on appropriate ways of consulting children and young people on Parliamentary business. As a result, research will be commissioned leading to guidance for all Committees on how to involve children and young people in their work. The Committee led in this area by consulting children directly on the Schools Bill, through visits to schools and by hearing from young people in a Committee meeting. A report on our behalf by Childline was also commissioned to reflect young people's views on the Ethical Standards Bill.

In 27 meetings between May 1999 and 11 May 2000, the Committee heard oral evidence from 44 organisations or individuals as well as considering many written submissions. The Committee has met partly in private at eleven meetings, to consider items such as the approach to questioning witnesses, draft Committee reports or the appointment of committee advisers. No meeting has been held wholly in private.

Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee

The first parliamentary year has been an active and innovative one for the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee.

Most of the Committee's activity has been focused upon a major inquiry into Local Economic Development Services in Scotland.

The Inquiry was launched in September 1999, and during its first phase the Committee took oral evidence from 41 witnesses, and received written submissions from over 100 organisations. Amongst these sessions was one undertaken in Inverness in October, the first time that a Parliamentary committee had met outwith Edinburgh, and the first time that evidence had been taken in Gaelic.

The Committee published an Interim Report in December 1999, which concluded that there was overlap and duplication in the current arrangements, and radical change was necessary. The Committee's work had an immediate impact. A review of the enterprise network was announced by the Scottish Executive, as was the creation of an Economic Framework for Scotland, another key recommendation by the Committee.

During early 2000 the Committee undertook the latter phases of its Inquiry, and utilised some innovative methods including four case study visits by MSPs to examine best practice on the ground. In a particularly novel approach, the Committee organised a Business in the Chamber event, where 129 business men and women were invited into the Parliamentary chamber to debate the Inquiry's Interim Conclusions. The event was a great success, giving of the key external communities an input into the Parliamentary process, and assisting the Committee in testing its views with the customers of economic development services.

Evidence from these activities, and the results of research commissioned by the Committee was brought together in a Final Report, published just after the end of the first parliamentary year.

The Committee has sought to work in a constructive way with the Executive, as evidenced by its contribution to the new strategy for tourism. In January 2000, by arrangement with the Minister, the Committee considered the Executive's draft strategy in private and made a number of recommendations for its reinforcement. The majority of these were taken on board by the Executive and incorporated into a revised strategy, which was published in February and well received by the industry and commentators.

Another focus of Committee activity has been an inquiry into rural fuel pricing. The Committee held an evidence session in January 2000 with local groups from Arran and the Highlands and Islands, as well as the major oil companies. This was followed by private meetings with a number of oil companies.

During the first Parliamentary year the Committee has met formally 18 times, of which 13 were in public, 2 were in private, and 3 included private elements.

Equal Opportunities Committee

The establishment of the Equal Opportunities Committee gives effect to a founding principle of the Parliament: the need to promote equal opportunities for all.

The Committee held 19 meetings during the year, of which 12 were wholly in public, and 7 were partly in private. A total of 74 individuals, representing 39 organisations (Including ministers and the Scottish Executive) gave evidence to the Committee on a variety of subjects.

The Committee appointed reporters on disability (Michael Matheson MSP, then Irene McGuigan MSP), gender (Johann Lamont MSP), race (including religion) (Michael McMahon MSP), and sexual orientation (Nora Radcliffe MSP). The reporters met with other members of the committee and representatives of interested organisations to discuss these issues. The reporters gave progress reports to the full Committee at each meeting.

Key functions of the Committee include monitoring and working with the Parliament's 'subject' committees, and looking at how both the Parliament and the Scottish Executive can mainstream equal opportunities into their work.

Early in the year under review the Committee took evidence from the Minister for Justice on the Executive's action plan on the Macpherson Report on the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry. The Committee welcomed the main themes of the action plan, specifically the commitment to participation and consultation. Nevertheless, the Committee identified a number of areas in which it felt that the action plan needed to be strengthened.

The Committee issued a statement drawing attention to the negative impact of the Act of Settlement of 1700 on the equality of Scotland's people.

The Committee took evidence prior to consideration of the Standards in Scotland's Schools etc. Bill, and members successfully introduced an amendment which, for the first time, will put a duty on education authorities to set out each year how they will encourage equal opportunities in providing school education.

Another significant amendment to legislation came when, as a result of pressure by the Committee, the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Bill was amended. This will ensure that same-sex couples will have the same rights to be treated as 'nearest relatives', as do different-sex couples, for the purpose of being consulted by anyone making an intervention in the affairs of an adult with incapacity.

The 2001 Census will provide basic statistical data for service providers and planners for the following decade. If steps towards the achievement of genuine equality are to be taken, then knowledge of such factors as gender, ethnic origin, etc are essential. As a result of pressure from the Committee, the Parliament made changes to the Census legislation to ensure that the Census 2001 will include a question on religion, and a revised question on ethnic origin.

The Committee took much of the public evidence on the abolition of the controversial 'Section 28'. This evidence came from a wide spectrum of interested organisations, and the Committee reported in favour of abolition.

Evidence was taken from a number of organisations on the issue of violence against women in Scotland.

In the forthcoming year, the Committee looks forward to developing its work, and undertaking a number of formal inquiries into equalities issues.