Hansard

Thank you very much, Sandra and David. This is also my final meeting of a parliamentary committee, so I would also like to thank my fellow committee members, past and present, for working together to deliver our shared strategy and vision over the past five years. I mention in particular my deputy convener, Emma Harper, and the committee’s previous convener, Neil Findlay. It is also the final meeting for the clerk to the Health and Sport Committee, David Cullum. He has been a senior official of the Scottish Parliament for more than 20 years, having set up and led the non-Executive bills unit, since when he has also been editor of the Official Report and, in the previous session, clerk to both the Education and Culture Committee and the Local Government and Regeneration Committee. My personal thanks go to David for his support and for bringing his experience and strategic perspective to the service of the Health and Sport Committee this session. I know that everyone will join me in wishing him a long, active and enjoyable retirement starting very soon indeed. My thanks also go to the rest of the clerking team. The children who have been either brought into the world or nurtured through lockdown by members of that team would fill a workplace creche on their own. However, despite those distractions and challenges we have had tremendous support over the past five years. I could not possibly name all the excellent clerks who have worked with us, but I mention in particular Lara Donaldson, who has done a great job in keeping the rest of us on the right track. We have also had tremendous support from the SPICe researchers; the press office; and the external engagement team, who have been as innovative as we wanted them to be, and more; and all the other departments without which the Parliament could not do its job. To date, every session of the Parliament has seen new challenges and questions for its committees. I am sure that the next session will be no different. As both David Stewart and Sandra White have said, this committee has worked hard, focused on the bigger picture to influence change and engaged with the wider public. I hope that our work will be of value to our successor committees in the next session. 10:38 Meeting continued in private until 10:47.