Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee, 15 Apr 2008

Meeting date: Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Official Report 268KB pdf

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Mainstreaming Equal Opportunities

For the final item on today's agenda, we are being asked to consider a letter from the convener of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee on whether committees should be obliged to report periodically on how we include equalities considerations in our work. Specifically, we are being asked whether we support the principle of reporting on those issues near the end of each session or in annual reports, and whether we think that a change in standing orders is necessary to ensure that that happens.

I invite comments.

I welcome this and think that it is very important. I do not favour a tick-box approach to saying that we are taking equalities on board. It is important that committees report on how they are working with issues around mainstreaming, so it should be included in annual reports. Regular reporting is very important.

Likewise, committees might also want to consider people's understanding of what mainstreaming actually means. There has been some very good training on asking questions for committee members and there should be appropriate training for committee members on mainstreaming.

I support a change to standing orders to ensure that mainstreaming actually happens. Equalities has underpinned the work of the Parliament since it started and we all have a responsibility to ensure that that continues.

I share that view. Such mechanistic approaches could be useful ways of reminding ourselves to take a proactive approach to the issue. It would be a shame if we thought that the reporting mechanisms were enough on their own, but we need a reminder to ourselves to take the issue seriously on a day-to-day basis.

I am not convinced that a change in standing orders is necessary, but I am prepared to go along with it if it is appropriate. It is the right way to go to ensure that the issue is dealt with as part of the committee's annual report, so it is important for me to reiterate my belief that committee annual reports are important and should be continued. In certain circles it is believed that they are neither necessary nor important. The reason that it is important to deal with equalities as part of the annual report, rather than at the end of a four-year session, is that if we are mainstreaming we have to think about it all the time, not just at the end of a four-year session.

As there are no further comments, are we agreed that I will respond to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee in light of members' comments, and that I will circulate the response to members?

Members indicated agreement.

Meeting closed at 16:30.