Committee
Procedures Committee, 20 Nov 2001
20 Nov 2001 · S1 · Procedures Committee
Item of business
Consultative Steering Group Principles Inquiry
Some work was done on that in the research that we commissioned from the University of Stirling, which tried to identify the issues before the Parliament and highlight a distinct identity for the Parliament. The confusion has arisen partly because the Parliament is a new institution and people are not familiar with the furniture outside this setting. Members of the Parliament are much more aware of the distinction between the Parliament and the Executive, the role of the committees, and so on, because we live it every day of the week. People outside the Parliament have a more sketchy understanding, which is gained largely through the press.The committee will know that the press is selective about which bits of the Parliament it covers and why. We feel that the Parliament must try to entice the press into providing more rounded and comprehensive coverage of the Parliament. That will not be an easy task, as the press like to concentrate on inter-party rows and other such matters. The press sit in the gallery at First Minister's question time, but very few members of the press come to the Transport and the Environment Committee unless a burning issue is being discussed.We need to be a bit more systematic in highlighting the issues that are being dealt with in the committees, focusing on the issues that are being raised in the debates and facilitating opportunities for the outside groups that come to the Parliament to get their message across. That will not be easy to achieve, because of the nature of the press focus on the Parliament, but we have identified it as an issue on which we want to make progress, through getting expert advice and support. It will take time.
In the same item of business
The Convener (Mr Murray Tosh):
Con
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I have received an apology for lateness from Frank McAveety, whom we expect to arrive shortly.This morning we will hear f...
Mr Andrew Welsh MSP (Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body):
No. Des McNulty will lead.
The Convener:
Con
I thought that you were more important, Andrew, because you are sitting in the middle—I should have known better.I invite Des McNulty to introduce his team. ...
Des McNulty MSP (Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body):
I thank the committee for the opportunity to give evidence.My colleagues are Andrew Welsh, who is a fellow member of the corporate body, Paul Grice, who is t...
Mr Welsh:
SNP
It might be useful if I start by saying what we do not want: we do not want a Parliament that is remote, incomprehensible, uncommunicative, introverted and u...
Des McNulty:
Lab
The theme of the committee's inquiry is the CSG principles. Another example of a way in which we have tried to enhance accessibility is the education service...
The Convener:
Con
I can probably guarantee that questions will be on anything else. I introduce Professor David McCrone, who is the committee's adviser for the inquiry. He wil...
Des McNulty:
Lab
The best way of dealing with that point might be if I were to ask Paul Grice to speak about the management planning process that has been instituted. We coul...
Paul Grice (Clerk and Chief Executive, Scottish Parliament):
As the convener said, we have been very focused on nuts and bolts. He was also right to pick up on the fact that our major challenge over the next two years ...
Des McNulty:
Lab
Paul Grice produces a monthly chief executive's report for the corporate body's meetings. That report identifies three categories of issue, the first of whic...
Mr Welsh:
SNP
Two aspects have rightly been pointed to. First, the setting up of Parliament and secondly—once it has been set up—asking where it is going and what we are d...
The Convener:
Con
We appreciate all the work that has been done. The biggest tribute that we have paid is that we take it all for granted, because we all get on with our roles...
Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD):
LD
I want to explore the support that is given to members of the Parliament, because people currently help us do a very good job with very limited resources. Th...
Des McNulty:
Lab
The corporate body must be careful not to encroach on the affairs of the 129 self-publicists who are the elected members of the Parliament. A balance must be...
Mr Welsh:
SNP
Our job is to provide the resources that allow MSPs to do their work. How do we help MSPs in their constituencies? The corporate body has tried various ways,...
Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
I want to add to Donald Gorrie's first point, about the confusion that surrounds the distinction between the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Executive. ...
Des McNulty:
Lab
Some work was done on that in the research that we commissioned from the University of Stirling, which tried to identify the issues before the Parliament and...
Mr Paterson:
SNP
Guinness once said that it takes 20 years and buckets of money to establish a corporate identity. I wonder whether we have approached this the hard way. Why ...
Des McNulty:
Lab
That is not really an issue for the corporate body.
Mr Paterson:
SNP
I just wondered what your views are.
Des McNulty:
Lab
I am here to represent the corporate body. We are here, in essence, to deal with the issues on which we have to concentrate in that role.
Mr Paterson:
SNP
You mentioned that—
The Convener:
Con
Come on, Gil. We have only 25 minutes left and a huge area to cover.
Mr Paterson:
SNP
The corporate body says that it does not have a view on the issue. I am asking for a view.
The Convener:
Con
If it does not have a view, that is because it has not considered the matter. We might be able to probe that later, but other members are anxious to ask ques...
Mr Welsh:
SNP
Let me respond, convener. We do not have buckets of money, but we have centuries in the future to ensure that the Parliament stamps its authority. The corpor...
Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab):
Lab
Of the four principles on which we have heard evidence, sharing the power is one of the most difficult to judge, in terms of how successfully we are followin...
Mr Welsh:
SNP
Time is the scarcest commodity in any parliament. In every parliament, the Executive tends to dominate parliamentary time.We must ensure that we do not repea...
Des McNulty:
Lab
I shall deal with Ken Macintosh's question in a different way. We are not in charge of the allocation of time for parliamentary business—that is a function n...
Mr Macintosh:
Lab
I welcome those comments for various reasons. It is difficult to find a body in the Parliament that speaks on behalf of back benchers. I am not sure whether ...