Meeting of the Parliament 31 October 2024
Thank you, Presiding Officer.
The committee would certainly recognise that a wide range of different commissioners with different purposes is being proposed. As I mentioned, my colleague Liz Smith, in summing up, will speak more about the evidence that we received on the drivers for the increase in proposals to create that specific type of commissioner. However, I recognise the point that Sarah Boyack makes.
I turn to our key recommendations. Based on the overwhelming evidence that we received, the committee strongly believes that now is the time to pause and take stock before any new bodies are added to what is an already complex and disjointed landscape. We are therefore asking Parliament to agree to a root-and-branch review, to be carried out by a dedicated committee of the Scottish Parliament, which would be similar to the Review of SPCB Supported Bodies Committee that was set up in 2008.
The purpose of the review would be to design a clear strategic framework to underpin and to provide more coherence and structure to the landscape. The review would also ensure more effective accountability and scrutiny mechanisms and improve delivery of outcomes and value for money. Our inquiry and the committee’s report provide a good starting point for that work. The evidence that we have already gathered, along with the focused and short-term nature of the suggested ad hoc committee, would go some way to address any potential concerns that members might have about its impact on parliamentary resources and time.
We are also asking Parliament to agree that, while the review is under way, there should be a moratorium on creating any new SPCB-supported bodies or expanding the remits of existing bodies. We fully recognise that that would have an impact on those who would wish to propose, or have already proposed, new commissioners. Parliament should be assured that this is not the committee saying that there should never be new commissioners; rather, we are saying just not now. A more coherent structure would benefit the effective operation of all commissioners and support better outcomes.
We also set out recommendations on measures that can be put in place now to enhance the transparency, accountability and scrutiny of existing arrangements.
We thank the SPCB and the Scottish Government for their initial responses to our findings, and we look forward to working with committees in early course to better link financial and performance scrutiny. We are aware that other parties have submitted amendments to the committee’s motion. It is right that Parliament debates the merits of our report, its recommendations and options for a way forward. I look forward to hearing and considering those points today.
I move,
That the Parliament welcomes the Finance and Public Administration Committee’s 7th Report, 2024 (Session 6), Scotland’s Commissioner Landscape: A Strategic Approach (SP Paper 642); agrees with the recommendation that a dedicated committee should be established to carry out a “root and branch” review, with the purpose of creating a clear strategic framework to underpin and provide more coherence and structure to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) supported body landscape, and further agrees that, while this review is undertaken, there should be a moratorium on creating any new SPCB supported bodies, or expanding the remit of existing bodies.