The Social Justice, Housing and Local Government Committee will constructively question and challenge the development, agreement, implementation and delivery of policy and legislation within its remit, with a view to positively influencing decision-making across its remit – social security, social justice, housing, local government, and planning.
The Committee will be guided in its work by seven underpinning principles. The Committee aims to be:
To inform its agreed work, while the Committee intends to engage with some of the established experts and organisations who engage frequently with Government and Parliament, the Committee will make a concerted effort to engage with those who may not engage frequently with the Parliament, including those groups and individuals most affected by proposed and existing policies and legislation.
The Committee intends to apply its seven PECCET principles as follows:
Persuasive – the Committee will take a rigorous and expansive evidence-based approach and establish a reputation for work which is not only informative, but is influential and persuasive. A measure of this will be found in the outcomes of the work the Committee engages on, and the effect on Scottish Government policy and legislation.
Effective – the Committee will seek to add value, and monitor the output of its work – including its conclusions and recommendations – with a view to revisiting these throughout the session to assess progress. The Committee will seek to maximise the limited time and resource it has at its disposal by focussing on areas where it can have most impact. The Committee will not generally engage in individual matters (such as complaints), or specific matters that are being considered effectively by other appropriate bodies, including by other committees (where it does not feel it can add value). The Committee will consider creative ways of working to maximise its available time and resource.
Challenging – the Committee will continually provide a robust and consistent challenge function to the Scottish Government and other bodies whose operations fall within the Committee’s remit – playing devil’s advocate where it considers it necessary and appropriate.
Constructive – the Committee – while recognising its challenge function – will seek to approach its work constructively, both in terms of the relationship between committee members, and the relationship between the Committee and those it is scrutinising. The Committee will be guided, not by party politics, but by its overall role in holding the Scottish Government to account across the areas of its remit. Collegiate – the Committee, while recognising the political differences between the parties represented on the Committee, will seek to work together as much as possible, pursuing agreed, shared objectives and using the evidence it receives to inform its decision-making. The Committee intends to hear from a wide range of different groups and individuals with a wide range of views.
Empathetic – the Committee will demonstrate an awareness of the challenges and difficulties facing many people and organisations in all parts of its remit (including through taking a trauma informed approach to its work). The Committee will consider both service development and service delivery and will engage with organisations and people across Scotland, including those with lived experience, to understand views and reflect those meaningfully and sensitively in its work.
Thorough – the Committee will use its limited time and resources effectively, ensuring that it focuses on agreed pieces of work where it feels it can add true value, and pursue focussed, realistic outcomes – doing justice to the issue under consideration. It will avoid spreading itself too thinly or taking a scattershot approach to its work.
The Committee will monitor and scrutinise where appropriate the outcomes and impacts of its work, highlighting practical challenges, barriers and difficulties where they occur, in a bid to both inform the Scottish Government and any relevant agencies, and influence improvements and potential solutions.
The Committee will publish an annual report in each Parliamentary year of the session. As well as summarising its work and effectiveness, such reports will assess the extent to which the Committee is covering the whole of its remit and performing in line with this document.