Committee
COVID-19 Committee 19 May 2020
19 May 2020 · S5 · COVID-19 Committee
Item of business
Coronavirus (Scotland) (No 2) Bill: Stage 2
Neil Findlay has asked me to give his apologies; he wanted to speak to his amendments himself, but he has had to go to the chamber for other business. I fully support the minister when she says that Government should be open and transparent and that that is in essence about trying to get good governance. For that reason, I will speak to Neil Findlay’s amendments on his behalf. Amendment 48 proposes that, if a Scottish public authority has failed to comply with a relevant period, the Scottish Information Commissioner must take into account the public interest test. I will explain briefly. A designated body needs to be held accountable for operational and staffing decisions that have resulted in poor management of information during the period of the emergency, and have made it difficult for staff to respond promptly, within the normal 20-day response time. That could include, for example, deploying staff to other roles, or actively advising them that the duty could, in effect, be suspended. In the making of such decisions, the public interest—in requiring public bodies to diligently deliver FOI rights—should have featured large in its decision-making process. The Scottish Information Commissioner, when hearing appeals about delays in the answering of requests, needs to consider the public interest test in relation to the designated body’s compliance with the time limits. That is what Neil Findlay would have said in support of his amendment. Amendment 45 would put a duty on the Scottish ministers to lay reports in Parliament, during the emergency period, about how many requests they have not complied with, how many requests have been received, and what the backlog is, notwithstanding what the minister has said. The rationale behind amendment 45 is that, as the public face of the Covid-19 emergency response, it is appropriate for the Scottish Government to be seen to deliver on its daily commitment to transparency and accountability. In addition, being willing to report on progress and compliance with FOISA duties sets a very good example to the rest of the public sector about how the Scottish Government is performing. The Scottish Government is still subject to formal intervention by the Scottish Information Commissioner, due to poor practice, so we are looking for MSPs to have additional reassurance about FOI performance. In addition, a robust reporting regime is important for MSPs because of outstanding business from 21 June 2017, resulting from Scottish Parliament motion S5M-06126, with which I am sure the Minister will be familiar: “That the Parliament condemns the Scottish Government’s poor performance in responding to freedom of information requests; calls for an independent inquiry into the way that it deals with these, and agrees to undertake post-legislative scrutiny of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, and welcomes commitments by the Scottish Government to adopt a policy of pro-actively publishing all material released under FOI to ensure that it is as widely available as possible.”—Official Report, 21 June 2017; c 100. Since the minister has said that she wants to respect the will of Parliament, I hope that she will take that reminder in the spirit in which it is intended. In recent days, the public have been quite alarmed, for example about the Nike outbreak at a hotel in Edinburgh, which they were not informed of—we have had to rely on journalists to provide that information. While the committee has been sitting today, I think that there have been further questions about that to the First Minister at her daily press briefing. In order to try to restore public confidence and trust, it is important that we have full transparency. In the main, MSPs have tried to avoid unnecessarily burdening our public authorities during the pandemic. We have tried to use the channels available to us, including urgent written parliamentary questions and oral questions in the chamber. In response to written questions, particularly with regard to health data, we are being given a holding response or are routinely being told that the Scottish Government does not hold the information. That is why we do not support amendment 7. We want the 20-working-day deadline to be restored, because of the importance to the public interest and good governance that we have as much access to information as possible. 14:30
References in this contribution
Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.
In the same item of business
The Convener (Murdo Fraser)
Con
Good morning, and welcome to the fifth meeting of the COVID-19 Committee. The only item on our agenda today is stage 2 consideration of the Coronavirus (Scot...
Annabelle Ewing (Cowdenbeath) (SNP)
SNP
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests. Therein, members will note that I am a member of the Law Society of Scotland and hold a cu...
Neil Findlay (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
I am a member of Unite the union.
The Convener
Con
We come to the stage 2 proceedings. Members will have in front of them the marshalled list, which shows the order in which amendments will be considered. Se...
The Convener
Con
The first group of amendments is on housing and tenancies. Amendment 15, in the name of Graham Simpson, is grouped with amendments 16, 22, 17 to 20, 42, 46 a...
Graham Simpson (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
Good morning, everyone. Good luck today—I know that you have a lot to get through. I have the convener’s words that we should keep things brief ringing in my...
The Convener
Con
I remind members that if they want to contribute to the discussion on the amendments, they must type “R” in the message box, please.
Andy Wightman (Lothian) (Green)
Green
As members are aware, the first coronavirus bill—the Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill—provided welcome protection for tenants by ensuring that notice periods for ...
The Convener
Con
Pauline McNeill will speak to amendment 22 and other amendments in the group.
Pauline McNeill (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
As Andy Wightman said, many tenants will face severe economic hardship due to Covid-19. Government should seriously consider the importance of trying to avoi...
The Convener
Con
As no other members wish to speak at this point, we will hear from the minister.
The Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning (Kevin Stewart)
SNP
There are several amendments in the group, and I will address each in turn. I will start with amendment 15, in the name of Graham Simpson. I thank Mr Simpso...
The Convener
Con
Thank you, minister. As you have said, that was a comprehensive assessment of the group.
Graham Simpson
Con
I thank members who have taken part in the discussion on the group, and I thank the minister for what was, as has been said, a comprehensive look at all the ...
The Convener
Con
Amendment 16 is in the name of Andy Wightman. Because the technology that we are using does not allow interventions, it is reasonable to allow members who ha...
Andy Wightman
Green
Thank you, convener. I will move amendment 16. The minister said that no landlord should evict a tenant because of coronavirus, but the reality is that tena...
The Convener
Con
The question is, that amendment 16 be agreed to. Are we agreed? Members: No.
The Convener
Con
There will be a division. For Greer, Ross (West Scotland) (Green) Lennon, Monica (Central Scotland) (Lab) Wishart, Beatrice (Shetland Islands) (LD) Agai...
The Convener
Con
The result of the division is: For 3, Against 6, Abstentions 0. Amendment 16 disagreed to.
The Convener
Con
Amendment 22, in the name of Pauline McNeill, has already been debated with amendment 15. I invite Pauline McNeill to respond briefly to the debate, if she w...
Pauline McNeill
Lab
I will move amendment 22. I agree with Andy Wightman that tenants will potentially be evicted from their homes if we do not take a more radical approach to ...
The Convener
Con
The question is, that amendment 22 be agreed to. Are we agreed? Members: No.
The Convener
Con
There will be a division. For Greer, Ross (West Scotland) (Green) Lennon, Monica (Central Scotland) (Lab) Wishart, Beatrice (Shetland Islands) (LD) Agai...
The Convener
Con
The result of the division is: For 3, Against 6, Abstentions 0. Amendment 22 disagreed to. Amendment 17 moved—Andy Wightman.
The Convener
Con
The question is, that amendment 17 be agreed to. Are we agreed? Members: No.
The Convener
Con
There will be a division. For Greer, Ross (West Scotland) (Green) Lennon, Monica (Central Scotland) (Lab) Against Coffey, Willie (Kilmarnock and Irvine ...
The Convener
Con
The result of the division is: For 2, Against 7, Abstentions 0. Amendment 17 disagreed to. Amendment 18 moved—Andy Wightman.
The Convener
Con
The question is, that amendment 18 be agreed to. Are we agreed? Members: No.
The Convener
Con
There will be a division. For Greer, Ross (West Scotland) (Green) Lennon, Monica (Central Scotland) (Lab) Against Coffey, Willie (Kilmarnock and Irvine ...
The Convener
Con
The result of the division is: For 2, Against 7, Abstentions 0. Amendment 18 disagreed to. Amendment 19 moved—Andy Wightman.