23 Queen Square
Glasgow
G41 2BG

02/11/15

Linda McKay
Convener
Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park 
Carrochan
Carrochan Road
Balloch
G83 8EG

Dear Ms McKay,
Change to Board Standing Orders at meeting of 26th October and governance of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park
As you will be aware I was at the meeting on 26th October and listened with interest to item 7 on the proposals to change Standing Orders.   I note that you personally did not raise any of the issues I had asked you to consider in my letter of 23rd October to which I am still awaiting a response.
Councillor George Freeman did however raise concerns about the reduction of the period for publishing Board papers and minutes to 3 days.   He asked for the source of the legal advice received by the National Park and was told it was from an external legal adviser rather than the Park’s own internal staff.  I thought it was strange that he asked for the source but not the content of the legal advice for the reasons I set out in my last letter, namely I could not understand what a lawyer would know about something that was presented as an administrative change.   I think therefore it would be in the public interest to know:
•	On what date the National Park sought external legal advice on the timescales for publishing BOTH committee papers and circulating draft Board Minutes to members of the Board
•	What did the National Park ask for advice on?  (i.e. did the National Park ask any explicit questions of the legal firm involved, what was the brief?)
•	What was the advice provided by the solicitors?   (I appreciate there may be issues of providing the exact advice furnished by the legal firm but a summary of what that advice was should I think be made available to the public).
I am afraid that I, and other members of the public, had great difficulty in understanding what exactly had been agreed at the end of the Board discussion on the “administrative” changes to Standing Orders.   It sounded to us as if some tweaking of the words in the proposal being put to the Board was being suggested, which basically suggested that Board papers should be provided 7 days in advance if at all possible, but Standing Orders would still be changed to set a minimum requirement of three days.  Whatever was agreed was done by nodding of heads rather than provision of any clear wording and, because minutes now only need to be provided to Board Members with other Board papers, it is likely no-one will recall what decision was actually made when the papers appear for the next Board Meeting.   I would therefore ask you to provide me now with a copy of the relevant part of the draft minute.   

Yours Sincerely,

Nick Kempe 

Cc James Fraser, Chair, Friends of Loch Lomond and Trossachs 
  Peter Jack, Chair, Loch Lomond Association
  Dr Aileen McLeod, Minister for the Environment
  Bill Thomson, Commissioner for Ethical Standards in public life
  Rosemary Agnew, Scottish Information Commissioner