Procedures Committee, 21 Mar 2006

Meeting date: Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Official Report 191KB pdf

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Accountability and Governance Inquiry

Agenda item 4 is the Finance Committee's inquiry into accountability and governance. The Procedures Committee has no relationship with an ombudsman or commissioner, unlike many other committees, so I do not think that what the Finance Committee is pursuing is relevant to us. We have examined the points and produced a report on commissioners, which covers reappointment and independence, so if we merely draw the committee's attention to our report, will that suffice? Do members wish to go further?

If we tried to take the matter further, we would end up having all the same arguments again, so we may as well just refer the Finance Committee to our report.

There is a direct correlation with our work, because the committee's report recommended that Parliament should not be given the power to direct commissioners in the preparation or presentation of their annual reports. That is a significant departure from some of the legislation that was passed in 2002, which conferred that power on the Parliament, and from the proposals in the Scottish Commissioner for Human Rights Bill. Several aspects of our report are relevant to the Finance Committee's inquiry.

I am sorry to raise this issue, but paragraph 2 of paper PR/S2/06/6/3 asks

"whether there is a need for powers to be written into legislation which will afford the SPCB budgetary control."

That is the same body to which we will, if the Parliament agrees, pass virtually all the reappointments procedure. The Procedures Committee should respond to the Finance Committee on certain issues, although whether we do that by letter or by pointing to our report is a matter for the committee to decide. If we simply point to our report, I suspect that we may get questions back.

Let us send the convener to the seminar.

You have a great interest in the matter.

I demit my interest to you, convener.

You were in charge of a committee that introduced a bill to establish a commissioner.

I was, but I have since demitted that responsibility to two Liberal Democrat colleagues.

This is pass the parcel in committee: the fastest game known to man.

I am afraid that I cannot go to the seminar on 24 April.

Okay. I will go if members wish. Do members agree to draw the Finance Committee's attention to our report? If it wishes to come back to us on further issues, it can do so.

Members indicated agreement.