Plenary,
Meeting date: Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Official Report
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Point of Order
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. It is four years since I have been in this chamber, and I am concerned that already it appears that ministers are trailing their statements in the press before they make them. When I was last here, the Presiding Officer made it clear that that should not occur. I would be grateful if you could indicate whether it was appropriate for the Executive's policy on bridge tolls to be clearly stated in the press this morning.
I welcome Dr Simpson back to the chamber and say that I hope that his name will be in the caption when he appears on television rather than mine, as used to happen all those years ago.
I thank Dr Simpson for prior notice of his point of order. I refer members to the good practice guidance on announcements by the Scottish Executive that the Presiding Officer issued in the first session. As has long been the case, under that guidance major policy announcements by the Executive should be made to the Parliament in the first instance and should not be made through the media. I take that principle seriously.
However, while I have no knowledge of what the First Minister is about to say, I have considered this morning's press coverage and I am satisfied that it appears to contain nothing that was not previously in the public domain in relation to this matter. I also understand that the Executive provided parties with the text of today's statement in advance. I am, therefore, satisfied that, on this occasion, no breach of the guidance has occurred.