On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Standing orders clearly state that the purpose of the Public Audit Committee is:
“to consider and report on ... any ... document laid before the Parliament, or referred to it by the Parliamentary Bureau or by the Auditor General for Scotland, concerning financial control, accounting and auditing in relation to public expenditure.”
Furthermore, the guidance on committees states:
“It is quite common for committee reports to achieve a high level of consensus between members and for findings and recommendations to be agreed without the need for divisions. This has the advantage of adding weight to the conclusions, and the likelihood of their being accepted more widely.”
This Parliament has, for more than a decade, proudly pointed to the work of its committees as an example of how we do things differently here in the Scottish Parliament. For all that time, they have been a place for rigorous debate, but never until the current session have they been a place for sheer Government obsequiousness—
Rubbish!
Order! Mr Gibson.
You have named the wrong member.
We have a point of order. Keep quiet.
You named the wrong member.
Mr Gibson.
I never spoke.
Mr Gibson, I am not arguing with you over the chamber. I will see you in my office after First Minister’s question time.
Mr Macintosh, please continue.
All members are expected to show loyalty to their political parties, but each of us has a parliamentary duty and a responsibility to the public to hold the Government to account. In deliberately trying to downplay, obscure or simply whitewash evidence to any of our parliamentary committees, members are in danger of putting the interests of the Government and their own party first. That does no one any favours.
The expectation is that all parliamentary committees—but perhaps most of all the Public Audit Committee—will be robust but fair and objective in their deliberations. Presiding Officer, I would appreciate your guidance on how we can ensure that the trust that has been hard won over several successive parliamentary sessions is not lost. Will you advise us whether the matter should be investigated by the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee?
I thank the member for the advance notice of his point of order. Conduct in committees and how each committee approaches any given issue are a matter for those committees and their conveners. When any member considers that there is a failing in parliamentary procedures, it is open to them to write to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee to request an investigation. Members may also write to the Conveners Group to ask it to consider the issue.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I wish to clarify the position on a remark that was just made, so that there is no misunderstanding or mistaken identity. It was not Mr Gibson who called out during the previous point of order; it was me. I would be happy to go and see you to discuss the matter, Presiding Officer. I do not want Mr Gibson to be blamed for something that I was responsible for.
Mr Maxwell, I thank you as always for your honesty and integrity. I will see you afterwards.