§ 31. Mr. Canavanasked the Lord President of the Council whether definite arrangements have now been made for the Scottish Grand Committee to meet in Scotland.
§ The Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. Francis Pym)Yes Sir. The House approved motions on 28 January providing that the Scottish Grand Committee should meet in Edinburgh on 15 February.
§ Mr. CanavanHow many seats have been allocated to members of the public so that they may witness this historic occasion? Will they be allocated on a first come, first served, basis?
Is it absolutely necessary to spend hundreds of pounds transporting House of Commons staff all the way from London to Edinburgh in this way, including a House of Commons Doorkeeper in full dress regalia, when there are 350,000 unemployed people in Scotland, any one of whom would grab at the chance to act as the chucker-out of some of the Tory Members who are so recalcitrant that they might misbehave in Edinburgh?
§ Mr. PymI have left the detailed arrangements in the capable hands of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, who has had discussions and made the arrangements with the right hon. Member for Glasgow, Craigton (Mr. Millan). I understand that they are both satisfied that, for the first experiment of this kind, the arrangements that have been made are appropriate arid adequate.