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I do not want to be pushed into a blanket view on that, because the matter must be decided on a case-by-case basis. On some occasions, a commissioner may be entirely appropriate, but at other times a subject committee may suggest a different way.
I could not put my hand up and say that those exemptions cover every single legitimate activity—even as described by the principal supporters of the bill. We may have forgotten an activity that may not have been highlighted.
If we start an appointments process before a bill has been passed, we are prejudging Parliament's view on the legislation and creating momentum for it that it may or may not merit. The Parliament may have agreed to the general principles of the bill at stage 1, but there might...
Remember that most MSPs employ staff directly through the allowances scheme, but that MSPs may use agency staff who are not covered for quite a long time if we remove reference to them altogether.