Plenary, 22 Apr 2009
Meeting date: Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Official Report
328KB pdf
“Review of equal opportunities in the work of committees”
The next item of business is a debate on motion S3M-3926, in the name of Gil Paterson, on behalf of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee, on its review of equal opportunities in the work of committees. Again, I optimistically ask whether any member wishes to contribute to the debate; if they do, they should press their request-to-speak buttons. Again, I call on the convener of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee, Gil Paterson, to speak to and move the motion—take your time, Mr Paterson.
I thank you for that, Presiding Officer. The final motion that I wish to move this afternoon is on a rule change in relation to the work of committees and equal opportunities. The promotion of equal opportunities is a key principle of the Scottish Parliament. To support it, the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee's fourth report in 2009 recommends a rule change to require committees to report in their annual reports on how equal opportunities have been taken into account in their work.
Consideration was given to alternatives to a rule change. For example, the Equal Opportunities Committee has the discretion to ask other committees to carry out equalities reviews and to report the results of those reviews to that committee so that it can publish the compiled results in the form of a report. However, on balance, we felt that having a rule, even though it is not the only way of achieving the desired result, would emphasise the importance that is attached to equal opportunities issues in the work of the committees.
Our fourth report notes that, if committees report annually on equal opportunities, there will be scope for the Equal Opportunities Committee, under its existing remit, to produce a compiled report that covers the work of all committees. We have left it to the discretion of the Equal Opportunities Committee when and how to undertake such work.
Our committee also felt that it would be helpful for the rule change to be supported by guidance. At the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee's request, such guidance has now been drafted and approved by the Equal Opportunities Committee. The guidance, which is contained in annex B to our fourth report, includes examples of how committees might consider equal opportunities in their work on bills, inquiries and budget scrutiny.
From the outset of its inquiry, the committee wanted to increase awareness of the need to mainstream and monitor equalities issues in the work of committees. Therefore, in order to achieve the maximum benefit from the rule change, the committee has recommended:
"• a rule change which would require committees to include in their annual reports details of how equal opportunities had been mainstreamed in their work over the past parliamentary year (detailed in Annexe A);
• a compilation report (either on an annual or a sessional basis) which would be produced by the Equal Opportunities Committee to provide a single source of reference for all committee work on equal opportunities; and
• further guidance for committees on how they could incorporate equal opportunities in their work, which would help secure greater committee involvement in reporting equalities issues."
Finally, our report notes:
"the importance of committees considering how to take account of equal opportunities at an early stage when agreeing their work programmes."
I move,
That the Parliament notes the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee's 4th Report 2009 (Session 3), Review of equal opportunities in the work of committees (SP Paper 244), and agrees that the changes to Standing Orders set out in Annexe A to the report be made with effect from 24 April 2009.
Tricia Marwick has indicated that she would like to speak. I can offer her up to five minutes.
Mr President, five minutes will not be necessary.
The proposed rule change is very sensible indeed. In the previous two sessions, I argued—as a member of the Equal Opportunities Committee and as a member of other committees—that equal opportunities seemed to be getting lost within the Parliament. Part of the reason for that was that committees seemed reluctant to take responsibility for such issues as long as we had an Equal Opportunities Committee in place. It is very sensible that the proposed rule change will require all committees to take equal opportunities into account in their work and to refer to that in their annual report. The Parliament has a very good reputation on equal opportunities, but the proposed rule change is an improvement because it will ensure that every committee—not just the Equal Opportunities Committee—addresses equal opportunities in its work.
Our recent visit has obviously rubbed off on Ms Marwick. In the National Assembly of Québec, the speaker is called "Mr President". I offer no further comment.