ENTERPRISE, TRADE AND INVESTMENT COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
MONDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2001 at 11.00AM
IN ROOM 144 PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS
Present: Mr P Doherty (Chairperson)
Mr S Neeson (Deputy Chairperson)
Mr A Attwood
Mr W Clyde
Mrs A Courtney
Mr D McClarty
Dr A McDonnell
Dr D O'Hagan
In attendance: Mrs C White
Mr J Nesbitt
Mr D Donaldson
The meeting opened, in private, at 11.00am
1. Chairperson's business
1.1 The Chairperson welcomed Mrs Courtney to her first meeting of the Committee.
1.2 The Chairperson reported that he had received a letter from Dr Birnie, the Chairperson of the Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment Committee, requesting a meeting in relation to areas of common interest between the two Committees.
Agreed - that the Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson should meet Dr Birnie.
1.3 The Chairperson reported that he had received a response from Mark Durkan, the Minister of Finance and Personnel, regarding the Committee's concerns about the proposed Aggregates Tax. The Minister's letter was circulated to members.
1.4 The Chairperson reported that he had received a "thank you" letter from the Committee for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning.
1.5 The Chairperson advised that he had received a letter from the Belfast Telegraph Chapel of the National Union of Journalists.
Agreed - that Mr Neeson would seek more information on the issues raised.
1.6 The Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson reported verbally on the recent Committee visits to Scotland and Wales. The Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson reported that the meetings had been extremely useful - in Scotland with Scottish Enterprise and the Committee for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning; and in Wales with the Welsh Development Agency and the Economic Development Committee. A number of areas of common interest were identified at the meetings with the Committees. A copy of the written reports of both visits was circulated to members.
Agreed - that the Committee Chairperson of the Economic Development Committee in Wales should be contacted to see if she could meet the Committee on her forthcoming visit to NI.
Agreed - that a formal report should be sent, from the Committee, to the Speaker's Office pointing out some difficulties encountered on the Scottish visit.
2. Minutes of the last meeting
2.1 The minutes of the meeting of 29 January were agreed.
3. Any other business
3.1 Agreed - to invite Susan Morrice to meet the Committee on 14 February with regard to the Committee's inquiry on Energy.
3.2 Agreed - that NIEC should be contacted in relation to the Committee's inquiry on Energy.
3.3 Agreed - that the Committee should write to the Minister in relation to the recent article in the press about a leaked government document on establishing conventions with Committees.
4. Proposed Statutory Rule - Companies (1986 Order) (Audit Exemption) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001
4.1 Agreed - to invite officials from the Department to give the Committee a formal briefing on the proposed Statutory Rule.
5. Public Service Agreement
5.1 It was agreed that discussion of the Department's Public Service Agreement should be deferred until the next meeting of the Committee to give members more time to read the relevant papers.
6. Strategy 2010
6.1 The Committee continued its deliberations on Strategy 2010.
The meeting closed at 2.00pm
Mr P Doherty
(Chairperson)