Executive Announcements
This item keeps running. There have been renewed points of order and issues arising in the Parliament since the Christmas recess about how media announcements are made and about how news is issued by the Executive.
I spoke to Mr McCabe on Friday morning about another matter, but these questions came up in the course of our discussion. In addition to items which have come before the committee, I have asked myself one or two questions about how parliamentary questions are used. There is also an on-going committee study on the parliamentary questions system.
I previously asked Mr McCabe to consider whether the Executive's practice might be provided as a sort of protocol so that we could understand the circumstances under which some announcements were made in Parliament, some were made elsewhere, others were simply media announcements and yet others were answers to parliamentary questions. We merely initiated that discussion.
Mr McCabe asked me about his difficulty in justifying certain statements as emergency statements, although he feels that he ought to be able to programme in non-emergency ministerial statements. There is a whole area of concerns and issues.
We have an issues paper on these matters, and I think that we are simply looking for agreement that I continue to discuss the matter with Mr McCabe and that we attempt to come up with an agreed practice. The issues paper also proposes some other points, suggestions and areas of research, which members may wish to comment on now.
I think that the best thing to do is to keep trying to come to some sort of agreement. I feel that one of the main sources of complaint is that statements are made on, say, a Monday. I do not understand how people can feel that statements may be made only on a Wednesday or Thursday so that they can then be debated in Parliament.
There would be a heck of a lot more criticism about holding things back, not getting things done and not getting on with the job if announcements were kept to Wednesdays and Thursdays. It is not feasible. Without going over the old arguments, I think that it is best if you keep plugging away, convener, and try to come up with a protocol that everyone can agree with. I hope that the matter will not then keep coming up.
I think that there is a need for a mixed bag. What is sadly lacking in many cases is a bit of common courtesy. In some areas relating to local government, things have been announced that could, quite frankly, have waited a couple of days, until the morning of the day when the committee that was working on the relevant issues met, or until its meeting. It really rankled with the committee.
Announcements in some, but not all, cases are perhaps being made in search of a soundbite, and not on the basis of good practice. After all, we have a Government, and it should govern, and there can be a need for emergency action, which needs emergency statements. The procedure should be tightened up in line with what you are suggesting, convener. That gets my support.
Are we all agreed on that?
Listening to that discussion, I think that the committee is aware of the difficulties that the Executive has in trying to ensure that information gets out to the public and to the Parliament as quickly as possible while striking the balance between the need to be open and accountable and the need to ensure that the Parliament is properly informed.
Steps are being taken to improve that, including new procedures for advising all members when what is known as an inspired question is tabled, and a Government announcement comes out. There is now a procedure on the intranet, so that all members are aware of those questions and their answers as soon as they are published, which I think is an improvement.
I am sure that the officials would be happy to meet the clerks to discuss a possible protocol on ministerial or Executive statements, in addition to your direct discussions with the Minister for Parliament, convener.
Note for the record the felicitous phrase, "inspired question". I have heard them called other things.
Better than "planted".
Yes, better than "planted". We will treasure that little nugget.
My favourite example was the announcement on roads management at 5.30 on Christmas eve. It had to be made then because the decision had been made the previous day and it needed to be communicated as quickly as possible.
We understand that there are areas in which there has to be news management and presentation. If we could all agree on the rules, that would be a happier way for us all to proceed. If we can unlock that in discussions, I hope that we can produce a more definitive paper; it is an area which the Minister for Parliament may agree to discuss with this committee. We need, however, to get closer to a point of agreement and understanding before that would be a particularly fruitful exchange.