Plenary, 27 Sep 2007

Meeting date: Thursday, September 27, 2007

Official Report 768KB pdf

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Points of Order

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. This is becoming a habit—a habit that, I have to say, has been caused by the actions of this Government.

I raise this point of order with reference to your good practice guidance note, which very clearly sets out the process to be followed for making announcements to the chamber. In that context, I refer specifically to the ministerial statement on the Edinburgh airport rail link that is due to be heard.

I am very disappointed to find that substantial parts of the statement are in the public domain before this Parliament has heard one word from the minister. Members who tuned into this morning's "Good Morning Scotland" will have heard exactly what the minister is due to say and, indeed, The Scotsman on Tuesday was able to tell us, first, that the direct line to Edinburgh airport will be scrapped; secondly, that it will be replaced by a tram line from nearby stations; thirdly, that there will be a new station at Gogar; fourthly, that trains from the west and north will stop at a new station on the Edinburgh to Fife line; fifthly, that trains from Dunblane and Glasgow will be diverted by using a link line between Winchburgh and Dalmeny near South Queensferry; and, sixthly, that rail passengers will switch to the airport to Newhaven tram line at an already planned interchange at Edinburgh Park station to the south. It goes on, Presiding Officer, but I am sure that you will have had the chance to read the statement and those exact phrases in it.

That level of detail clearly illustrates that the statement was briefed to the press in advance of its announcement in this chamber and shows the Scottish National Party Government's wilful disregard of members. Presiding Officer, I really hope that you will strongly discourage such gross discourtesy in future.

I thank the member for notification of this point of order.

Members will be aware that allegations of information being leaked to the press before announcements are made in Parliament are serious matters that are taken very seriously. Any such leaks represent a gross discourtesy to Parliament and will not be tolerated by me or by my deputies.

In that spirit, I have closely examined the coverage of rail links to Edinburgh airport over the past few days. Although the coverage is unattributed, there is little doubt that information has passed into the public domain before this afternoon's proceedings. However, on this occasion, I am prepared to allow the statement to be made, as sufficient matters in it have not been trailed in the press and in order to allow members to examine the minister.

I take this opportunity to inform members that the good practice guidance on Government announcements is to be reviewed in consultation with the Parliamentary Bureau. I very much hope that the review will contribute to ensuring that such regrettable events do not occur in future.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. When the guidance has been reviewed, will there be any sanctions? If so, will there be a prescribed list of sanctions or will any sanction be yours to determine?

I cannot tell you at this stage, because I do not want to pre-empt the findings of any review.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Notwithstanding the fact that the Conservatives appear to have received a copy of the statement yesterday—after all, they have already agreed to its contents—I wonder, given how much of the statement has already appeared in the newspapers and given your comment that we should have the opportunity to quiz the minister, whether it would not be better for the minister to turn his statement into his opening speech in the debate, to allow members to make proper interventions and to examine it properly.

We are sticking to the parliamentary business that was agreed yesterday in Parliament.