Lib Dems call for law to stop SNP secret meetings
MINISTERS should be forced by law to record and publish minutes and notes from all meetings in order to end SNP secrecy, the Scottish Liberal Democrats have said.
Leader Willie Rennie yesterday set out a series of reforms to the Scottish parliament which he believes should be introduced to enhance the powers of those in Holyrood.
He warned dramatic changes are needed to restore faith and trust in Scotland’s institutions, with his party also demanding new recall powers allowing MSPs to be sacked.
In his latest pre-election announcement, Mr Rennie also called for a new ‘licence to criticise’ for organisations in receipt of Government money.
Other pledges include an extension of Freedom of Information laws and a new process for confirmation hearings of senior officials, such as the permanent secretary.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has also demanded wideranging changes at Holyrood – including new recall powers.
However, Mr Rennie appears to have gone further in some areas, and a drastic overhaul of official government processes will feature prominently in the Lib Dem manifesto. He also believes Scottish parliament elections should use the single transferable vote, similar to how council elections are held.
Among the changes being sought, the North East Fife candidate has called for a new ‘duty to record’ in the Scottish Government ministerial code.
The move would ensure that all ministerial meetings and decisionmaking processes are recorded by officials and published by the Government – allowing members of the public to access information on key meetings without having to submit information requests.
Mr Rennie’s demand comes after it emerged that key meetings
‘Proper triggers in place’
between First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans, in relation to complaints against Alex Salmond and his legal battle with the Government, were not recorded.
Last year, the Scottish Government was also criticised for failing to record minutes of meetings between Education Secretary John Swinney and the Scottish Qualifications Authority over how pupils were awarded their final grades.
Speaking to the Scottish Parliamentary Journalists’ Association, Mr Rennie said: ‘Minutes of those key meetings would have to be published, much more than is now and we’d need to work out exactly where the line is drawn but it needs to expand.’
He added: ‘There would be a duty, you could tie it in with the ministerial code. There would be an obligation through there to offer all these to be minuted.’
Mr Rennie said the public now has an ‘appetite’ for change following a series of high-profile issues at Holyrood, including the Salmond matter which highlighted problems faced by committees.
Another issue involved former finance secretary Derek Mackay who, despite being sacked from the SNP, remained an MSP as there was no way to remove him.
Like Mr Sarwar, Mr Rennie believes recall powers must be given to Holyrood – and has even signalled his party could bring forward a Member’s Bill to force the issue in the next parliament. The Tories have also called for a similar move.
Mr Rennie said: ‘I think there is a new momentum behind recall.
‘I think we have had too many individual MSPs who we have been unable to get rid of... so therefore we do need the power now with proper triggers in place.’
Mr Rennie has also called for a ‘licence to criticise’ for public bodies and those who are in receipt of Scottish Government funding.
He said that some groups, such as those in the third sector – neither public nor private, such as volunteer bodies – are scared to speak up or against the Government on issues over fears they could have their funding slashed.
A spokesman for the SNP said the party was ‘committed to improving the way the Scottish parliament and Government operates, to strengthening the culture of respect, learning lessons from the pandemic to create a flexible and family-friendly workplace, hearing people’s lived experiences to support our recovery from the health crisis, and ensuring that government is transparent’.