Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee
Meeting date: Thursday, December 6, 2012
Official Report
271KB pdf
Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Special Reports
We move on to item 5, which concerns special reports by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.
The convener of the Local Government and Regeneration Committee has asked us to examine the parliamentary procedure for considering special reports that are laid by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. Members have a paper on that in front of them. Do you have any comments? How should we respond to the Local Government and Regeneration Committee?
We have options. The paper states that the Parliamentary Bureau can already refer special reports to the relevant committee. That does not require a rule change. However, new rules could be created to make it absolutely clear in the standing orders how such reports should be handled.
What do members want to do about that? Given that it is pretty clear that the Parliamentary Bureau can already deal with special reports, should we consider writing to the SPSO or the Local Government and Regeneration Committee initially to ask for further information on why they feel that we should introduce new rules?
Yes—I support that. The paper says that the ombudsman has argued that a formal mechanism is desirable in order to provide clarity. It would be good for us to understand what his views are on that. We need to tease out what he feels has not worked properly in the past and what difference a formal mechanism would make.
I have always been of the view that the annual reports that we have from public service agencies should be subjected to much more intensive probing than has been the case in the past. However, the SPSO’s reports are always fairly high profile.
I remember occasions on which Alex Neil and other current ministers really took up the cudgels against the SPSO when they were in opposition. We need to keep a good political eye on that because the SPSO is the last port of call for many members of the public in getting what they believe to be justice.
It would be good to find out a bit more about the SPSO’s thinking.
Is the committee happy with that approach?
Members indicated agreement.
We will ask the SPSO and the Local Government and Regeneration Committee to come back to us and expand a bit on what they are asking.
09:47
Meeting continued in private until 10:25.