Official Report 978KB pdf
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. This afternoon, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs has written to me, confirming that she is requesting a change to the Official Report of this Parliament for the meeting of 16 September. This came under questioning today at the Education, Children and Young People Committee, and that request has come after weeks and months of MSPs in the chamber asking for the record to be corrected. That was refused by Angela Constance, and it was refused by John Swinney. Now, Angela Constance has agreed to do so.
However, the advice on correcting information during proceedings is different from that for after proceedings. If a mistake is not notified during proceedings, there are different aspects that a member has to go through. The advice to members states that a
“member may ask to make a statement during the next available plenary session”
to explain the change in the Official Report.
First, can I ask you, Presiding Officer, whether you have received any requests from the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs to make a statement? Given that we have only one sitting day until the festive recess, how will Parliament have the opportunity to review the change that the cabinet secretary wishes to make to the Official Report if it is not made in tonight’s Official Report? We will not get tomorrow’s Official Report until Parliament has risen.
Has a request to make a statement been made? That is supposed to happen in the next plenary session after the mistake was identified. We know that Professor Alexis Jay wrote to Angela Constance on 26 September, identifying the correction and clarification that she wished to have made. It is now being made on 17 December. In our standing orders, what remit is there for you, Presiding Officer, to deal with a member who takes so long to correct the official record?
There were several points, which I will seek to address. I will begin by saying that anything that is said in proceedings of the Parliament or in committee is recorded in the Official Report, so any statement of the Parliament can be used to correct the record.
As members are aware, and as Mr Ross referred to, a mechanism exists whereby a member can seek to correct any inaccuracy on their part within 20 days of publication of the relevant proceedings. That time limit exists because Official Reports are then finalised and they cannot be changed again.
Other ways of ensuring that a correction is made widely known include writing to me and copying the correspondence to all business managers and any members who are not represented in the Parliamentary Bureau, and placing a copy of the correction in the Scottish Parliament information centre. Of course, a member of the Scottish Government can seek to make a statement to the Parliament, and I confirm that, at this moment, that request has not been made.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. For information and for the benefit of the chamber, I note that I have received confirmation from the official report that it has received my request and that it is
“not able to make”
my
“proposed change under the Official Report’s remit”
but that it is forwarding my
“request for a correction to the Business Team for consideration under the members’ corrections procedure. The Business Team will inform”
me
“of the decision about”
the
“correction request.”
Thank you. We will continue with our business.
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