The man charged with overseeing the delivery of more powers to the Scottish Parliament held talks with business leaders and councillors in Aberdeen yesterday.
Lord Smith of Kelvin met representatives from Oil and Gas UK and attended an event organised by Aberdeen and Grampian Chambers of Commerce to hear people’s views on what kind of economic levers Holyrood should have.
Elected members of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire councils and local business leaders also attended.
Lord Smith, who was appointed to lead what is known as the Smith Commission by Prime Minister David Cameron, is determined to ensure the views of the public are reflected in the final recommendations for new powers.
Representatives from the SNP, Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Green Party are all members of the body which is committed to delivering “durable” and “meaningful” new levers for Scotland as part of the UK.
The process will “not be conditional” on the conclusion of other political negotiations elsewhere in the UK, such as home rule for England.
A single package agreement has to be reached by November 30, with draft legislation produced by the end of January.
Last night, Lord Smith said: “I had an excellent series of meetings in Aberdeen and heard an interesting and wide-ranging set of views.
“I believe it is vital I get around the country as much as I can, hearing from as many people as I can so the political agreement we expect to reach by November 30 reflects the thoughts of Scots from all parts of the country.”
The commission met for the first time in Edinburgh on Wednesday.