Hansard

I am pleased to contribute to the debate. Scotland’s first citizens assembly—in its first report—is rich in ideas and full of ambition and energy, and this short debate should be the start of our engagement. I thank the members of the assembly and the secretariat, as well as the experts and advisers who informed their deliberations. It has been a challenging year for them to undertake that work, but they have persevered and produced an excellent report.

I was delighted to meet some of the members of the citizens assembly on Monday, at an event—to which John Mason referred—that was hosted by the Presiding Officer. They talked about how much they had enjoyed the experience and how, for some of them, it was the first time that they had engaged in policy discussions and decision making or had spoken in public forums. The report, in addition to setting the policy proposals, effectively reflects the richness of the experience for each member.

I pressed the members of the assembly on whether there had been disagreement on any issues. Although only very small numbers of members disagreed on the majority of proposals, we can identify areas where there was a bit more dissent, and I was curious as to why that was. Were there concerns over costs or policy, or was there a recognition that there can be tensions between different policies and proposals?

Assembly members emphasised that they worked collaboratively and sought and achieved consensus. Many of them said that they changed their minds and were persuaded by others’ ideas and proposals. It was that openness and willingness to listen to others that allowed for such a degree of consensus to be reached in the report.

The assembly has produced a strong agenda for the future of Scotland, covering key areas of social policy, agreeing that change is needed and offering a package of ideas. The challenge given to its members was to think about Scotland in the 21st century and about how public discourse and knowledge could be improved to support more informed decision making.

The report talks about putting aside the issues that divide us and seeking common ground. There was a conscious decision to seek agreement and work together, trying to find areas where members could come up with proposals that would improve Scotland.

Assembly members spoke about the lack of trust in politicians and politics. The report says:

“Recent years have seen us lose confidence and trust in politics and we wanted to hear the facts, the honest reality, the truth of how Scotland is governed and the difficult choices that we face”.

That is an important message for the Parliament. There is a need to improve scrutiny, accountability and transparency. The report represents a call for us to stop tinkering around the edges and to start tackling the big change that people are asking for. The assembly proposes radical change for the economy, with support for a four-day week, a legal living wage and a ban on zero-hours contracts. Regardless of whether members across the chamber agree with those policies, it is clear that the assembly has identified areas of our society where change is needed.

One quote used in the report is that

“we need systemic changes, in healthcare, social policy, employment, and protection of the vulnerable.”

Participative democracy is increasingly used as a way for citizens to be involved in decision making. It can support better outcomes, help Governments and Parliaments to take hard decisions and build trust between citizens and Government. As other members have said, the Irish citizens assembly, which addressed the country’s eighth amendment, provides a good example. On a significantly divisive issue in Ireland, its citizens assembly made an important contribution to the debate on abortion, providing space for an open and honest debate to happen, which resulted in a huge societal change for Ireland.

Scotland’s citizens assembly was given a broad, fairly open task. On that, the report says:

“An important and unusual feature of this Assembly has been the very broad nature of the remit ... and it has not been possible to cover issues in the depth that would have come with a more narrowly drawn agenda.”

As for how to progress the assembly’s work, it would be beneficial for the Parliament were a future assembly to commission further work on some of the report’s recommendations. At the meeting on Monday, there was a suggestion from assembly members to have working groups or sub-groups. A different approach would have been to focus on a limited number of issues and to look at them in greater depth. It is worth considering how the recommendations can be afforded that level of scrutiny.

I am looking forward to the publication of the research findings and the social research report that is expected in September. That could help to inform us on how a model could be progressed.

The citizens assembly is reminiscent of the founding principles of this Parliament, with its proportionate voting system, a less confrontational chamber and an expectation that politicians would have to reach a consensus on policies and that our membership would be diverse.

We have come some way from those ideals and increasingly divisive issues dominate our national debate. The citizens assembly members themselves describe the assembly as

“a roadmap for doing politics differently in the future.”

Scotland’s Climate Assembly is on-going. It was established under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 and the Scottish Government is required to “publish a statement” responding to the climate assembly’s report within six months. A different status was given to that assembly when it was established.

It is important that an expectation is placed on the Government’s response and the Parliament’s response. We need to demonstrate how citizens’ engagement can drive effective change.

The report that we are discussing today must not be left to gather dust. Although the motion says that it will be for the Parliament or the next Government to take forward the work in the next session, we should agree a formal response.

I support the Labour amendment. I am pleased that we are reaching consensus this afternoon and that all the amendments are expected to be passed. For those who are listening to the messages that are coming from the citizens assembly, it is important that we all work together to deliver the best possible future for Scotland.