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The Committee received representations in writing from Jackson Carlaw MSP (see Annexe B) as well as hearing from him in person at a meeting of the Committee on 15 December 2022.
Proposed change
In order to implement the recommendation of the Joint Working Group that no time limit should be applied to complaints of sexual harassment, as well as the recommendation that Members should be held to account for “their behaviour towards their own staff in the same way as their behaviour towards anyone else”, the Committee believes that complaints about sexual harassment by MSPs (and former MSPs) in relation to their own staff should be brought within the Commissioner's investigatory remit.
The report covers the previous membership of the Committee during the reporting year:
Michelle Ballantyne MSP (29 June 2017 to 17 June 2018)
Rona Mackay MSP (16 June 2016 to 6 September 2018)
The Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland investigated the complaint and found that Rachael Hamilton had not breached the Code of Conduct for MSPs.
CPGs form an important part of how people outside the Parliament can engage with their MSPs. Indeed, the groups often allow people to engage with the Government and to give their lived experience, expertise and views when decisions are made.
If SNP MSPs cannot be bothered to do their job and lodge questions, is there any way that the Presiding Officer can allocate the opportunity to ask questions to Opposition MSPs instead, so that we can hold this rotten SNP Government to account?
At the point of the pause, I deliberately ensured that all relevant partners, including the constituency MSP and regional MSPs, were informed of progress, and I will continue to do so.
One important element of the transparency of this place is that it is accessible to groups that might otherwise feel that they cannot get to their MSP or get to the Parliament through their MSP.