Plenary, 13 Dec 2001
Meeting date: Thursday, December 13, 2001
Official Report
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Point of Order
Presiding Officer, I wish to raise a point of order, of which I have given you advance notice. My point concerns the Executive's excessive delay in replying to parliamentary questions and related correspondence.
Rule 13.5.2 of standing orders states:
"The answer to a written question shall be lodged with the Clerk. An answer shall be lodged normally within 14 days of the question being lodged."
I lodged written question S1W-19259 on 22 October and written question S1W-19808 on 8 November. I am still waiting for replies.
Yesterday, my office received an e-mail from the chamber desk. The e-mail reads:
"the Executive have informed me that there are no answers imminent…due to the ministerial external reshuffle."
The chamber desk could not give me any idea when the questions might be answered. I do not blame the people at the chamber desk—I give them full marks for trying. The lack of an Executive response is completely unacceptable.
One of my questions related to a letter that I sent to the former First Minister on 11 July. The letter enclosed suggestions from Rangers and Celtic football clubs on measures to combat sectarianism in football. Five months later, I still await a reply to that letter. [Interruption.] This is important.
Yes, I am giving you time.
My other question concerned the request of the Scottish Bus Group Pensioners' Action Committee to participate in discussions with the Scottish Executive about the winding up of the pension schemes. As the Scottish Executive has now agreed that such participation will take place at a meeting next Monday, there is no reason why the Executive cannot reply to my parliamentary question. I ask you to use your good offices to try to get a response from the Executive, which is clearly in breach of standing orders and is verging on contempt of Parliament.
Mr Canavan, I let you go on at some length because you raise a matter of importance. You rightly quoted rule 13.5.2, which states that answers should be lodged
"normally within 14 days of the question being lodged."
Of course, "normally" may presuppose a holding answer.
Policing of such matters is not for the chair; you must raise the matter with the Executive directly. That I have given you so much time on the issue at least means that the Executive will note what you have said.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer, your response demands a response from me. The letter about the proposals from Rangers and Celtic football clubs, to which Mr Canavan referred, has been drawn to my attention. Mr Canavan will receive a reply to that letter within the next few days. I will ensure that he receives a full response on the matter, which I care about deeply. I will take up the other issues that Mr Canavan has raised.
I stress to the Parliament that I am committed to ensuring that letters and parliamentary questions are responded to as promptly as possible by the ministerial team. As we have done before, we will publish the response rates, so that the Parliament can see how well we are doing.
I thank the First Minister for that helpful answer.