Meeting of the Parliament 07 January 2016
I am conscious that I should make some progress, but that is absolutely the case, and the bill as drafted makes that distinction, which is very important.
The response to the Government’s consultation demonstrated strong support for the registration of oral face-to-face communication, which is seen in the eyes of some people as striking an appropriate balance in the context of there being no evidence of wrongdoing. In the eyes of others, there is no case for a register at all.
Although it would be possible in principle to extend registration to all forms of communication, the question that we must answer is whether that would be a proportionate response and whether we could be sure that it would not deter people from engaging with Parliament. Any negative effect of that sort would be precisely what we are seeking to avoid. The Government believes that there is a risk that extension would have such an effect, which would be to the detriment of organisations engaging both with Parliament and elected representatives. That will have to be considered carefully, and I would be interested to hear members’ views on it. As I said, our ears are not closed to the arguments. [Interruption.]
I will try to make some progress. The committee’s stage 1 report referred to special advisers and civil servants, and it records my response to the proposal for extension. My point was that MSPs and ministers are decision makers and legislators, whereas advisers are just that. Again, it would be perfectly possible to extend the bill in that way, but we need to consider the evidence and any potential implications of such an extension. Again, our minds are not closed on that point, but equally we need to test any extension against the principle of proportionality. I invite colleagues’ views on whether senior civil servants and senior advisers to ministers and MSPs should be covered by the bill.
The committee’s report also included recommendations on certain practical aspects of the registration framework, such as collective pay bargaining and the appropriateness of the current exception for meetings that are initiated by elected members. I will deal with those issues in due course in the Government’s response.
I thank you for your indulgence, Presiding Officer; there were important points that we had to make. The bill seeks to balance the interests of a wide range of stakeholders and to avoid unwelcome imbalances that could work against Parliament’s interests. There is in the bill considerable flexibility available for Parliament in the light of experience to alter the operational aspects of the registration scheme. I hope members will agree that the bill represents a firm foundation for the establishment of an initial scheme to underpin a register of lobbying activity. I look forward to hearing the views that will be expressed during the debate.
I move,
That the Parliament agrees to the general principles of the Lobbying (Scotland) Bill.
15:33