Hansard

I thank Karen Gillon for lodging the motion. As I was with her on the cross-party delegation to Malawi, I know how strong her commitment is.

I will speak about the work of the CPA Scotland branch, of which I am an executive member. The theme of respecting difference and promoting understanding, which is this year's Commonwealth day theme, is apt. It lies at the heart of the CPA's work, promoting knowledge and understanding of parliamentary democracy and working towards better governance everywhere in the Commonwealth.

I had the privilege of leading the cross-party CPA delegation in February 2006, with Karen Gillon, Murdo Fraser and Mark Ruskell, all of whom are here today. It is fair to say that every MSP found it a life-changing visit because, in spite of the great problems the people of Malawi face—poverty, AIDS, lack of basic amenities such as water and lack of essential services—their warmth shone through powerfully.

In July 2006, Margaret Neal and I revisited Malawi to undertake a scoping exercise in which we asked MPs and support staff how CPA Scotland might support them in their training and development programme. Because of that visit, even stronger links have been made. We were delighted to secure £75,000 from the CPA's executive body and, more recently, to get support from the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body to endorse a technical assistance programme based on our report.

The report contained three key themes: strengthening the capacity of the parliamentary secretariat, including the revision of its standing orders; supporting the speaker of the assembly in the creation of a parliamentary corporate body, including subsequent support to that body; and training and building the capacity of the national assembly members and parliamentary staff.

The report recommended that the Parliamentary Services Commission undertake a study visit to the Scottish Parliament. That happened last month. The overall purpose of the study visit was for the five commissioners to examine the Scottish Parliament's system of institutional management. The visit's objectives included looking at the Parliamentary Bureau and how parliamentary business is organised; learning as much as possible about the working of the corporate body; gaining an in-depth understanding of the management structures that are in place to support the clerk and chief executive; and meeting members and officials of the Audit Committee, the Finance Committee, the Procedures Committee and the Standards and Public Appointments Committee, to enable the commissioners to understand the roles of those committees and to gain a deeper understanding of parliamentary oversight, ethical governance and how the committee system operates in the Scottish Parliament.

More than 40 meetings were arranged and a number of them involved representatives of several organisations. I hope that I have given members some idea of the breadth of opportunity the delegation was afforded to acquire information about and knowledge of the Scottish system. I was pleased when I met the delegates to hear at first hand that they thought the visit was very useful and that they would take back parts of what they had learned to the National Assembly of Malawi. While the delegation was here, the parliamentary service commissioner expressed interest in developing further the pairing and twinning of members after the election. Through the cross-party group on Malawi, Karen Gillon has played an important part in laying the foundations for MSPs and MPs to be twinned and to work together.

Since the CPA became involved in the Scottish Executive programme, links established through existing ties have grown stronger in churches, schools and many other organisations. Long may that continue, because the MPs and people of Malawi need all the support we can give them.