Office Bearers

Cross-Party Groups must elect officer bearers every 12 months  The Code of Conduct requires that at least 2 of the officer bearers are MSPs and that one of these MSPs is the Convener of the Group.  There are no set rules in the Code to make further provision about office bearers and the number and positions of office bearers are a matter for each Group.  However, Groups would be advised to give consideration to maintaining the Parliamentary nature of the the Group when considering the issue of office bearers.

Regarding the procedures to be followed for the election of office bearers, the Code requires that elections, whether held electronically or at a CPG meeting:

• must be notified in the CPG Bulletin at least 10 calendar days in advance, and
• may take place at any time other than during a Parliamentary recess.

The procedures to be followed in relation to the conduct of electronic elections are not specified in the Code and it is for each Group to determine what procedure to follow.  If Groups are concerned that the procedures they have determined may not be suitable they should contact the clerks to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments (SPPA) Committee for advice.

Meetings

Conveners are reminded of the following core rules in relation to Group meetings:

• meetings must be announced in the CPG Bulletin at least 7 calendar days before the meeting takes place.  Announcements can be made in the CPG Bulletin by sending meeting details to the CPG Inbox,
• all CPG meetings must be held in public and any MSP may attend and speak at any CPG meeting although only registered members of the Group may vote,
• in order to maintain and guarantee the Parliamentary nature of CPGs, at least 2 MSPs who are members of the Group must be present at every meeting.

Registration and Membership

Any changes to the initial registration details submitted by a Group must be lodged with the clerks to the SPPA Committee no later than 30 calendar days after the change occurs.  Changes can be lodged by e-mailing the CPG Inbox.

Changes may be notified by any MSP who is also an elected officer of the Group.  As is the case with the registration of interests, notification should be in writing and either signed (if in hard copy) or e-mailed from the member's Parliamentary e-mail address.

Attention is also drawn to the different categories of non-MSP member.  While it is for the MSP members of each Group to determine membership issues, Groups may wish to note the following:

• where a Group has individual members, each of those members is entitled to one vote in relation to the Group decisions
• where a Group has organisational members, different representatives of the organisation may attend Group meetings but each organisation is entitled to a single vote rather than a vote for each representative.

In determining membership issues, Groups may wish to be aware of the potential influence on decisions of a number of individual members who are part of the same organisation.

Compliance

An MSP who is an elected officer of a CPG must sign a declaration to confirm that the CPG is constituted, and will operate, in compliance with the rules on Cross-Party Groups.

Although all MSP members of a CPG have a responsibility to ensure that the CPG is working in compliance with the rules, the primary responnsibility rests with the signatory of the declaration.

Failure to comply with the rules on CPGs could result in withdrawal of recognition or sanctions being imposed on an individual member.

CPG Titles

The Code of Conduct states that only Groups accorded recognition by the Committee are allowed to use the title Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament.  In order to help ensure that no confusion arises for stakeholders and the public about the nature and status of CPGs, only the form of wording "Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on XX" should be used.

The attention of CPG Conveners is also drawn to the guidance in sections 6.1 and 6.2 of volume 3 of the Code of Conduct which set out information about the status of CPGs, for example, that CPGs are discussion groups formed by MSPs for MSPs and that the views and decisions of CPGs are not binding on or endorsed by the Parliament.

Registrable Interests and Lobbying

CPG Conveners are also reminded, and are asked to remind all MSP members of their CPG, that other section of the Code of Conduct should also be considered while undertaking CPG activities, particularly regarding the registration of interests and section 5 of the Code in relation to lobbying.

Use of the Scottish Parliament logo

Groups are reminded that they may not make use of the Scottish Parliament logo, other than as may be allowed under the terms of the SPCB's policy of the terms and conditions for events.

Services provided to Cross-Party Groups

Rule 12 of the Code of Conduct provides that CPGs may not draw on the resources of Parliamentary Clerks to service meetings, other than to meet the requirements of the Code of Conduct or where expressly permitted by the rules on CPGs.  In relation to the clerks to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee, the services to be provided to MSPs are:

• guidance on general issues relating to the regulation of CPGs
• maintenance of the Register of Cross-Party Groups (in hard copy and on the website)
• updating individual CPG pages with meeting information, including agendas and minutes (but no other papers) and publishing links to external websites, if requested by CPG Convener.

Contacts

For guidance in relation to Cross-Party Groups please contact: