Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 23 March 2021
I am proud to have been a member of the Scottish Parliament since its inception, just like the Presiding Officer and the First Minister—a member of the class of ‘99. However, never in my 22 years here have I seen or imagined anything quite like this. The fallout between the former First Minister and the current First Minister has laid bare the deep divisions in the SNP and the blurring of lines between the party and the Government, and it has exposed the need for the Scottish Parliament—in my view—to have more powers to hold the Government to account.
I will focus my comments on the committee’s report, but I will first say that the result of the vote of no confidence is a foregone conclusion. I must question the motivation of the Tories to schedule a vote of no confidence before James Hamilton had even reported and before they had seen the outcome of the committee’s inquiry. That was deeply irresponsible.
The committee report that was published this morning details the catastrophic failings of the Scottish Government on a matter of the utmost seriousness and sensitivity. Despite the obstruction of the Scottish Government—and that obstruction was significant—the committee has managed to get beyond the veil of Government secrecy.
We must never forget the two female civil servants who complained about harassment and who have been comprehensively failed by the Scottish Government. I welcome the First Minister’s acknowledgement of that and her apology for it but, three years on, no one has taken responsibility for it. There have been no resignations and no sackings, yet we all acknowledge that the failure was catastrophic.
The harassment policy was rushed through without any specialist advice or input. The handling of complaints was fundamentally flawed, with the appointment of an investigating officer that was not independent from the process. The person who had oversight of all of that, and who was involved in every aspect of the procedure, was the permanent secretary, and she must bear much of the responsibility.
The Scottish Government still does not have a functioning harassment policy, so it is essential that the recommendations of the Laura Dunlop report are carried through urgently, and it is essential that the recommendations of the committee, the majority of which were unanimous, are carried forward, too.
The committee felt that the Scottish Government’s determination to plough on, defending its position in the Court of Session when the prospects of success were minimal, was irresponsible, and it cost the taxpayer in excess of £500,000.
A majority on the committee believed that the First Minister misled the committee about whether she offered to intervene during her meeting with Alex Salmond on 2 April 2018. I know that that has been painted as a partisan decision, but let me say this: one independent member, one Labour member, two Tories and one Lib Dem agreed after hearing the evidence—that is not partisan. However, the four SNP members who voted together were never, despite what they may have heard, going to vote to criticise the First Minister.
There remain many serious questions that need to be answered about the First Minister’s judgment and the Scottish Government’s handling of harassment complaints. Above all, we need to ensure that women who come forward to complain about harassment are not let down by the Scottish Government ever again.
15:51