I have received notice from Andrew Wilson of a point of order.
On 19 December, in response to a point of order, the Presiding Officer deprecated the Executive's failure to share the publication of the discredited "Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland 1999-2000" document with the Parliament before the media. Since then, the Minister for Parliamentary Business has written to the Presiding Officer to apologise—the Parliament should welcome that. However, the issue of the prior leaking of the document by Helen Liddell, the Secretary of State for Scotland in London, is more important. Mrs Ferguson clearly deprecated that in her letter, but it is clear that Mrs Liddell has breached the memorandum of understanding between the Scottish Executive and London on sharing information. The memorandum states:
The questions on the memorandum of understanding are not really for me. The memorandum is between the Executive and the Westminster Government.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Is it appropriate that members of the Parliament learned of the substantial and open-ended delay to the two-year prison estates review via a Scottish Executive press briefing yesterday, rather than hearing of it directly?
I cannot comment on that; I do not know anything about it.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I am sorry that I was unable to give you notice of this point of order, which follows on from one that was made yesterday and concerns important policy announcements not being made first in the Parliament. I understand that the long-awaited national plan for alcohol is to be launched tomorrow and not, as it should be, announced to Parliament, where members can question the minister on the various crucial aspects of that plan—not least, the allocation of resources to implement it.
As I said yesterday, the question of which announcements are made in the Parliament and which announcements are made outside, is a matter for judgment by the Executive. I cannot comment on each and every individual case.