Hansard

The Convener: LD

Agenda item 3 is the start of our inquiry relating to the commissioner for public appointments. We are examining the process that the Parliament must put in ...

Karen Carlton (Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland):

I am here today to inform the committee's work on developing procedures for parliamentary consideration of consultation documents and reports. I would like t...

The Convener: LD

Thank you for that extremely helpful opening statement.

Richard Baker: Lab

I have questions about the role of the Standards Committee and about the extent to which you have been able to liaise with that committee about any role that...

Karen Carlton:

I shall answer the second question first. No one would appeal directly to the committee, whichever lead committee were chosen. The process is quite clear. We...

Richard Baker: Lab

If anybody went directly to the committee, they would obviously be referred straight back to you.

Karen Carlton:

Absolutely. The answer to the first question that you asked is no, because I thought it inappropriate to investigate what the Standards Committee might do un...

Mark Ballard: Green

Thank you for providing a copy of your submission. In the final sentence of your paragraph on the interim code of practice, you say:"I am currently consultin...

Karen Carlton:

I do not think that there is any strong relationship. The adoption of an interim code is a measure that must be taken, but in the absence of any formal proce...

Mark Ballard: Green

My next comment is on your feeling that consulting via committee would enable consultation with the whole Parliament. Could you outline how you see that work...

Karen Carlton:

My understanding is that any member can contribute to a consultation by the committee and that all members would be informed through the Business Bulletin th...

Mark Ballard: Green

Do you envisage the committee producing a final report on that consultation?

Karen Carlton:

I would hope so. I would hope that the committee would produce recommendations.

Mark Ballard: Green

Would one option be for the Parliament to debate the report, with the report being proposed, as committee reports are, by the convener of the committee? Migh...

Karen Carlton:

My understanding is that that would be a decision for the Parliamentary Bureau. However, I would welcome the kind of debate that you have described, because ...

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): Lab

The suggestions that you make are eminently sensible and I share your view that the Parliament as a whole should endorse the code at some point on a motion f...

The Convener: LD

When do you anticipate publishing your draft code and laying it before the Parliament?

Karen Carlton:

We have a timetable in place. Given the parliamentary recesses, the most sensible time to produce it seems to be immediately after the Easter recess, so the ...

The Convener: LD

Do you have any concerns about the laying of non-compliance reports during parliamentary recesses, particularly the long summer recess? There are times when ...

Karen Carlton:

That could be an issue, although some of the appointments rounds can last between six and nine months—they are not effected quickly. However, if I was aware ...

The Convener: LD

I thank Karen Carlton for her evidence. If all witnesses were as helpful, we would have a much easier time.We must now consider the options for parliamentary...

Karen Gillon: Lab

We should stipulate wherever we can that the Parliament should debate the lead committee's report. That should be in our report. I am not sure what the stand...

The Convener: LD

Committees can meet during the recess. It is not normal, but it happens. It certainly happened that one committee of which I was a member had to have an extr...

Mark Ballard: Green

Paragraph 20 of the note by the senior assistant clerk mentions amending the standing orders. Would we need a new procedure for dealing with consultations? I...

The Convener: LD

We are talking about dealing with statutory consultations where acts of the Scottish Parliament require consultation with the Parliament on a document. We wo...

Mark Ballard: Green

How does that fit in with the timescale that was discussed? The proposal is to have the new Scottish code produced by the end of the Easter recess. Would we ...

The Convener: LD

Given that we are talking about relatively straightforward changes, I think that we would be able to persuade the Executive to give us a short debate at some...

Mr McGrigor: Con

Would that be the only standing orders change?

The Convener: LD

The other one would be to extend the remit of the Standards Committee to include public appointments, but, again, that is relatively straightforward.

Mark Ballard: Green

Would we need to check what the standing orders said about recalling committees?