Committees

Unless something goes hideously wrong this afternoon, we finally know what Committees will exist, and which Party gets which Convenerships. We also have a few names. We don't know the exact composition yet, but we should have that fairly soon. So here goes:

Audit is one of those Committees that they're expected to have, and there'll be 8 people on the Committee. Labour will take the Convenership and it's believed that they'll put Charlie Gordon for it. The Deputy Convener will be a Tory.

The Equal Opps Committee's Convenership will be in the tender mercies of the Tory Party, and given her resignation from a front bench that would otherwise have contained everyone, I suspect Margaret Mitchell's getting it. If not her, then returnee Mary Scanlon. Labour get the Deputy Convenership. This is another mandatory Committee, but it's viewed as the Siberia of Holyrood. It'll be interesting to see who its eight members will be.

The European and External Relations Committee will keep eight pairs of eyes on Linda Fabiani. The Convener will be Labour's Jackie Baillie (the final one of McConnell's purgees to be rehabilitated) and the SNP will supply her Deputy.

Finance will have eight members, and the Convener will come from the SNP's ranks. No name has been mentioned but if bets were being taken I'd stick a fiver on Alex Neil. Whoever gets it, the Number 2 will come from Labour.

Public Petitions will have nine members and the Convener will be ex-Culture Minister Frank McAveety. The LibDems will provide his Deputy.

Technically, the Procedures Committee and Standards & Public Appointments Committee are separate, but it's being reported that they'll be de facto one body as they'll have the same seven members, the same SNP Convener (Brian Adam?) and the same Labour Deputy.

Subordinate Legislation will be in the hands of a LibDem Convener. A name hasn't been mentioned, but Iain Smith might be a good bet. As might Margaret Smith. I'd suggest Jamie Stone for a laugh, but the LibDem top brass surely isn't that stupid. Is it? In any case, there'll be seven members and the Deputy will be from the SNP.

There'll just be one single Justice Committee now, with eight members. Bill Aitken of the Tories is apparently going to be the Convener. Labour will supply a Deputy.

There's an 8-member Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee, which will look over John Swinney and Jim Mather's shoulders. Tavish Scott will be its Convener, it seems, and the SNP will supply the Deputy.

Eight men and/or women will make up the Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Chage Committee, whose first job should be to work out a zippier name for itself. In any case, trhe Greens cash in their deal with the SNP for the Convenership of this one (and it's going to Patrick Harvie, apparently) and Labour will provide his Number 2.

Health and Sport will be the next committee, with - yep, you guessed it! - eight members. The Convener will be SNP (it wouldn't surprise me to see either Roseanna Cunningham or Christine Grahame get it) and the Deputy will be a LibDem.

The Convenership of the Local Government & Communities Committee goes to Labour's Duncan McNeil, and the SNP will provide the Number 2.

The Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Committee finds itself with Labour's Karen Whitefield as Convener (no, really) and an SNP Deputy.

The last Committee is the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee, and it'll have an SNP Convener (probably whichever one out of Grahame and Cunningham that doesn't get Health). The Tories will provide the Number 2.