Commissioner would ‘raise standards’

Scotland’ s former to pc ivil servant has said an in dependent standards commissioner could help to improve accountability for ministers.

Sir Peter Ho us den, who served as permanent sec retary in Scotland between 2010 and 2015, floated the idea in a letter to the inquiry looking into the Scottish Gove rn ment ’s handling of harassment complaints against former first minister Alex Salmond.

The inquiry was launched after Mr Salmond was awarded more than £500,000 after the Scottish Government conceded that its investigation into the complaints made against him were unlawful.

In a letter that addressed the relationship between minister sand civil servants, Sir Peter said there was a“structural imbalance of power and asymmetry in accountability” between the two.

He said: “Stronger externa lac count ability form inis ters could be considered through an independent Parliamentary Standards Commissioner.

“Enabling complaints to be made out with the political environment may help inspire a greater degree of confidence and instil robustness where this has been lacking.”

He added: “A number of preventative measures could be considered.

“Enhanced ministerial induction and on-the-job training could provide a foundation.”