Good morning and welcome to the 24th meeting in 2014 of the Local Government and Regeneration Committee. I ask everyone to switch off mobile phones and other electronic equipment as they affect the broadcasting system. Some committee members may consult tablets during the meeting; that is because we provide the relevant papers in a digital format.
We have apologies from Stuart McMillan; Stewart Stevenson is attending as a substitute member and I welcome him to the committee.
Agenda item 1 is our second oral evidence session on the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill. We have two panels giving evidence this morning. I welcome our first panel: Danny Logue, director of operations, Skills Development Scotland; Stephen Kerr, interim head of North Lanarkshire community health partnership, NHS Lanarkshire; Linda McDowall, executive director, Scottish Enterprise; and Superintendent Alick Irvine, licensing and violence reduction division, Police Scotland.
It appears that no one wants to make any opening remarks, so we will crack on with the first question. The written submission from Community Planning Aberdeen states:
“The Bill provides an opportunity to ensure genuine community engagement, consultation and active participation by citizens in identifying local needs and involvement in setting priority outcomes and how they should be addressed.”
Do you agree with that statement and what do you think of the proposals in the bill for community engagement?