Hansard

As deputy convener of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee, I am pleased to contribute to this afternoon’s debate. I echo the convener’s endorsement of the committee’s proposals. The recommendations will ensure both that there is a simplified system and that the transparency and accountability to which Peter Peacock alluded is maintained, which is important.

As we have heard, there will now be five categories of registrable interests instead of eight. Hopefully, that will eliminate overlap; it will certainly reduce it. The changes will make the system more user friendly for members and will make clearer what they have to register and where. That is all the more crucial, as new members will enter the Parliament following the election in May.

The point of the register is to register significant financial interests that are likely to influence, or are likely be perceived as influencing, a member in carrying out their role as an MSP. The changes ensure that the register of interests is clearly focused on interests that need to meet that test, not on a host of minor interests that are not realistically likely to be seen as influencing a member’s behaviour.

The committee kept the principles that underpin the registration process in mind throughout the inquiry. It spent a lot of time deliberating on where, for example, exemptions from registration were and were not appropriate, and on considering what the appropriate financial thresholds for registration in different categories should be.

As Peter Peacock, the convener and others have mentioned, having two different regimes for registering election expenses is confusing and unclear to members and everyone else. The requirements for registering political donations and election expenses have been set by the UK Parliament, taking account of the public interest. The Electoral Commission and returning officers have responsibility for managing the system, so it makes sense that they should also be responsible for publishing that information.

We do not expect the changes to lead to a reduction in the number of interests that are registered. However, the new categories will clarify and simplify matters so that a particular interest can be registered in only one category, regardless of the individual circumstances. Like the convener, I thank the Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner for his valuable advice and input to the committee’s work. I also thank the committee clerks, who have provided invaluable support not just in this area but throughout my time as deputy convener; our legal team; the convener, for the work that he has done; and my committee colleagues.

The Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee may not appear to be the most interesting of committees, but it is to us. The committee plays a crucial role in ensuring that the standards of the Parliament are maintained and that procedures are kept up to date and reflect changes. I thank all those who have helped us.

I support the motions in the convener’s name.