Hansard

I do not propose to take too much time to comment on the details of the Interests of Members of the Scottish Parliament (Amendment) Bill.

It will probably come as no surprise to hear that the Government continues to give the bill its full support. I congratulate the members of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee and, indeed, its clerks. The committee has made excellent and rapid use of the relevant powers that have been made available to the Parliament under the Scotland Act 2012.

The preparatory work to underpin the policy reforms in the bill was carefully considered and has led to a robust framework. That was added to by the amendments that the convener of the committee mentioned. Obviously, it is worth noting that the bill is a committee bill. We do not have such bills too often, so it is useful to highlight that fact. Committee bills are a useful tool in our parliamentary processes, and it was appropriate that a committee bill was introduced.

During the stage 1 debate, members across the chamber stood together behind the proposals, and I have no reason to consider that that position will change today. It is not often that a bill receives such unified support, and that deserves special mention.

At stage 1, I summarised my broad assessment of what the bill delivers. There are three main things from the Government’s perspective.

First, the bill seeks to establish measures to enhance members’ accountability to the public and to reflect the latest views on what constitutes appropriate probity standards. Secondly, in looking to standardise arrangements for reporting interests, it streamlines the activity that is required of members and offers the public a single point of reference. It ends the dual reporting that the convener talked about. Thirdly, it offers the Parliament flexibility in the event that circumstances ever arise that necessitate enforcement activity.

The bill aimed high in seeking to produce a comprehensive review of existing practices. Any one of those three major areas would have been significant in the first place, so we really cannot overestimate the amount of work that went into producing the bill and pulling together the three different strands.

I consider that every member of the Parliament will benefit as a result of the changes, be that in demonstrating their accountability to their electorate or from the streamlined reporting processes.

The proposal to end dual reporting is a significant step forward. I commend the committee for its commitment to that move and the benefits that it should deliver for members of the Scottish Parliament and members of the public.

The measures in the bill are not just symbolic reforms; they can be characterised as practical improvements that can be realised from the start of the next parliamentary session.

The Government welcomes the commitment that the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee has shown, and I look forward to the bill being passed at decision time.