the better it would be.
Oral Evidence
3.
Since the Committee are aiming to get their Report finalised and published by the end of July, they would like to start taking formal oral evidence before Easter, possibly as early as 8 March. The Clerk said that the Committee had not yet discussed who should be invited to give evidence, but the Committee would probably wish to take evidence from Ministers both at the beginning and end of the Enquiry, with officials giving evidence in between. It would be helpful to know at an early stage how the Secretary of State sees his own involvement in the Enquiry: would he like to give evidence himself and, if so, would he prefer to do so at the beginning or the end or indeed on both occasions? Giving evidence at the beginning
would help to set the tone of the Enquiry. On the other hand, giving evidence towards the end of the enquiry would make for a better informed discussion and could mean that the Secretary of State would make more of an impact on the Committee's conclusions.
Informal Briefing
4. The Clerk mentioned that in addition to the formal evidence given by Ministers and officials, the Committee might also welcome the opportunity to have an informal briefing in the Office before starting the Enquiry, as had been done in the case of some previous Enquiries. These briefings were sometimes chaired by officials and sometimes by Ministers. If such a briefing were to be arranged, it would need to take place after the Committee had seen our initial written memorandum and before they started to take formal evidence. Subject to his travel plans, this might be something which Lord
Glenarthur would wish to take on.
The Visit to Hong Kong (and Peking)
5. The Clerk said that the Committee would wish to meet a wide range of people in Hong Kong but had not yet decided whether to take formal evidence in Hong Kong and, if so, whether this would be done in public or in private. Mr McLaren pointed out that if the
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.