Hansard

I, too, welcome the proposal for a committee bill to move responsibility for setting the terms for funding non-Government political parties represented in the Scottish Parliament from the Scottish ministers to the SPCB.

A framework for giving financial assistance to Opposition parties is a fundamental part of our democracy. Government parties enjoy the advantage and resources of the civil service, which assists them in formulating policies. Short money ensures that other parties can have the means to scrutinise the Government’s actions and legislation.

As we heard from Bill Kidd, Short money is named after the Rt Hon Edward Short MP, lately of the House of Commons, who, in 1975, established a payment to Opposition parties in the House of Commons to help them pay for certain services necessary in carrying out their parliamentary duties. Today, Short money goes towards paying research staff and helping party leaders, chief whips and front benchers to do their jobs.

Fortunately, the name “Short money” does not indicate the amount of money that is to be given to the parties—although some might disagree. In other words, Short money helps to level the playing field between the main party of Government, which calls on its army of professional researchers and administrators from the civil service to assist it, and the Opposition parties, which must employ their own staff to assist them in holding the Government to account.

The bill that the committee proposes is simply about the transfer of responsibility for setting the terms of financial assistance from the Scottish ministers to the SPCB. As proposed, it will not seek to make changes to the existing scheme and the formula of disbursement of funds; neither will it affect the amount of money that is paid to parties. However, it will give Parliament the power to make any necessary or desirable changes that it decides to make.

Giving total control of the regime to the corporate body is timely and appropriate. As David Stewart mentioned, the bill brings the situation into line with the powers that the SPCB already has in relation to members’ salaries and expenses. That the SPCB should provide the money from its budget but the order-making power should be left solely with the Scottish ministers does not make sense. By replacing section 97 of the Scotland Act 1998, we would put not only the administration of Short money, but the power to change Short money, into the hands the Parliament, should the Parliament desire to make changes.

As the SPPA Committee stated,

“the Scottish Government ... is not ideally placed to determine the funding of the other political parties ... in the Parliament”—

no matter which party is in power.

There is often confusion regarding the separation of power and responsibility between the Parliament and the Scottish Government. The bill might help to make matters clearer in that regard—it could certainly add clarity.

Having consulted the Scottish Parliament’s Parliamentary Bureau, the Scottish Government and the Electoral Commission, which all responded favourably to the changes, I am satisfied that we can be confident that the bill will be in the interests of better democracy and, possibly, of an even fairer settlement for the non-Government parties that sit in the Scottish Parliament. On behalf of the Scottish Labour Party, I am happy to support this committee bill.