The Scottish Parliaments health committee met for the first time this year last week and carried on in pre millennium vein by failing to make any decisions, other than to appoint Malcolm Chisholm as deputy convenor .

The agenda said the committee was due to discuss whether there were any amendments it wanted to make to the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Bill.

But MSPs talked for 35 minutes about whether it was appropriate for them to make any amendments. By the time they agreed it was, they had run out of time to study the details.

A debate ensued about whether the committee should discuss the flu out - break, but failed to reach a conclusion. Scottish National Party MSP Dorothy Grace-Elder suggested a discussion would mean policy was being created by the undertaker rather than the executive.

The committee may in future meet only once a fortnight as other parliamentary business is so pressing members do not have the time to meet once a week.