No more MSPS as Holyrood is warned to ‘cut the waffle’
●Review calls for major changes to way Scottish Parliament works
Sweeping reforms to the Scottish Parliament have been proposed, including plans to crack down on MSPS’ “waffle” and improve scrutiny of legislation.
The recommendations have been made in an independent report commissioned following concerns the institution has been failing to hold the Scottish Government to account.
The Commission on Parliamentary Reform recommended an overhaul of the committee system in an attempt to encourage MSPS to think independently, rather than simply follow the party line.
However, the report, established by Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh, stopped short of calling for a second chamber or recommending increasing the number of MSPS from the current level of 129.
Mr Macintosh asked commission chairman John Mccormick to draw up recommendations for reform after questions were raised about how effective Parliament committees are at scrutinising Scottish
Government legislation. Over the past few years critics of the Holyrood parliament have complained that it has lacked teeth.
Having been set up to facilitate coalition or minority government, the astonishing election result of 2011 saw the SNP become the first party at Holyrood to win an outright majority.
The proliferation of SNP MSPS led to complaints that the government was escaping effective scrutiny because the party dominated the chamber and committees.
The call for change also comes at a time when MSPS are taking on new powers over income tax and welfare from Westminster.
Among the 75 recommendations is a call for smaller and stronger committees with conveners not nominated by party whips but elected by Parliament. The report said such an approach would “emphasise the independence of committees and give conveners a mandate for pursuing their scrutiny agenda”.
A committee engagement unit should be created to support committees in innovation and risk-taking, and committee membership should reflect Parliament’s gender balance.
Holyrood should replace the current three-stage legislative process with a five-stage process, including pre-legislative and post-legislative scrutiny, allow committees and chamber to meet at the same time, scrap the “pointless” scripted diary questions party leaders open First Minister’s Questions with, and no longer require advance publication of chosen questions.
Other recommendations include the parliament working with political parties and others to agree benchmarks for diversity in Holyrood election candidates.
Another is to create a working group to examine the case for increasing resources, such as pay and staffing, for MSPS who take on extra roles and for party leaders.
The commission, which heard from more than 1,200 people including former first ministers, also recommends establishing a legislative standards body.
It also said the Presiding Officer should have more power to rule on the conduct of MSPS after feedback suggesting First Minister’s Questions was seen as “rowdy and bad tempered”, which added to the perception that MSPS were “poorly behaved”.
Therefore it concluded the Presiding Officer should have a stronger role in “balancing the need for political debate with that of effective scrutiny”. This would include “reducing waffle in questions and answers”.
Amid some calls for the number of MSPS to be increased, the report did not rule out any options but concluded “all the options to maximise the capacity of the existing Parliament must be tried before more radical proposals are considered”.
Mr Macintosh accepted the report’s recommendations and said: “The long-term gain is that it will promote trust in the Scottish Parliament and in parliamentarians generally in the eyes of the Scottish people so that they can have confidence in the Scottish Parliament.
“They can believe in this institution as somewhere to be trusted, that’s carrying out its work effectively on behalf of all the people of Scotland.”
The report does not contain costs but Mr Macintosh said it is “not an expensive wishlist”.
Mr Mccormick said the extra cost would not be “significant”.
He said: “Taken as a package, these 75 recommendations will bring significant change to the parliament and, we believe, deliver a more strong parliament and certainly a more effective parliament.”
He added: “The Scottish Parliament is now firmly established in Scottish life. The political landscape of today is very different from when the Parliament was established 18 years ago.
“What we have delivered with our report is a package of reforms which will enable the Parliament to meet these challenges head-on.”
Labour’s Johann Lamont, who served on the commission, said the reforms would strengthen the Parliament’s ability to scrutinise the government.
She said: “This report is an important step forward in ensuring the Scottish Parliament continues to serve the people of Scotland effectively.
“Bluntly, parliamentary business has not always accurately reflected the concerns, interests and priorities of the Scottish people.
“As new powers come to Holyrood, the Parliament must have the tools and the flexibility to hold the Scottish Government of the day to account.”
SNP group convener Bruce Crawford said: “We look forward to discussing and debating these recommendations further and deciding, as a parliament, how best to take
“The long-term gain is that it will promote trust in the Scottish Parliament and in parliamentarians in the eyes of the people”
JOHN MCCORMICK
Commission Chairman
The vast majority of the proposed reforms to the way the Scottish Parliament works are eminently sensible.
If implemented, they will not only make Holyrood a far more efficient centre of power, it will allay many public misgivings about its role.
What is most welcome in John Mccormick’s comprehensive review is his call for an overhaul of the committee system, with smaller and stronger groups led by conveners elected by the Parliament. The change, Mr Mccormick believes, will equip committees to set the political agenda, rather than “simply respond” to the Government.
It is a move which has been a long time coming. There is a consensus across the political spectrum that Holyrood’s committees have achieved little of any worth, primarily because they are dominated by party appointees. The former presiding officer, Tricia Marwick, proposed a system of elected conveners years ago, but the idea was rejected the standards committee, then dominated by the SNP.
One of the long-standing ironies of Holyrood’s inception is it was designed to safeguard against repeating the mistakes of Westminster. Yet Westminster’s committees elect their own chairs, providing a robust bulwark against government. It would be in no-one’s interests if Holyrood fails to make amends this time.
The same common sense streak runs throughout the 108-page Commission on Parliamentary Reform report. Among its 75 recommendations is a recalibration of First Minister’s Questions, granting the Presiding Officer greater power to rule out questions “which do other than seek to genuinely scrutinise the minister”.
Regular observers of FMQS will well know the sort of patsy questions Mr Mccormick has in mind. The proposal to ensure the weekly session is a time for scrutiny is to be warmly welcomed. At present, there is a lot of heat, yet very little light; Holyrood’s flagship political fixture can, and must, do better.
With MSPS taking on significant new powers, there will no doubt be some who have misgivings about their ability to meet Mr Mccormick’s demands. But the overriding theme of his report is a call for the parliament to work more productively.
It is a challenge our elected representatives should savour, not fear. A review of the way our Parliament works is healthy. Let us hope that it becomes a regular occurrence.