Parliamentary News Release

032/2003

Thursday 22 May 2003

PRESIDING OFFICER GEORGE REID OUTLINES FRAMEWORK FOR CHANGE

The Scottish Parliament’s Presiding Officer George Reid has today set out plans for a new framework to promote backbench and smaller party participation in the Parliament’s main Chamber.

In a letter to the First Minister, the Presiding Officer states that his early priorities are:

• to see First Minister’s Question Time extended to 30 minutes to allow ‘fair shares’ for backbenchers and smaller parties, with Parliament implementing the new format shortly after the summer recess;

• to allow more opportunities for Members to make longer backbench speeches during debates: the first example of this is likely to be seen during Thursday’s four and a half hour debate on the Executive’s Programme for Government.

Elsewhere, the Presiding Officer will ask the Procedures Committee to consider further possible changes to business which could include the introduction of Departmental Question Times. Overall, the Presiding Officer believes that his proposals represent a framework for change in areas where he has found consensus among party leaders and independent Members.

The text of the Presiding Officer’s letter is as follows:

“ When I was elected to the position of Presiding Officer, I remarked that we all have a responsibility to build public confidence in the Parliament as a place where issues of devolved Scottish life are identified, thoroughly debated, and, after proper scrutiny, decided.

That is why I particularly welcomed your reflections on how the Parliament could develop. There is no doubt that we have a very different Chamber post 1 May, and I wish to ensure as fair a balance as possible in how we conduct our business and how we apportion our time.

I have now spoken to all of the party leaders and independent Members in the Parliament and I am pleased to confirm that there is a significant degree of consensus to introduce a number of reforms as soon as possible.

Every Member should expect fair shares when it comes to delineating the issues of Scots life and I know you also wish to see the composition of the new Parliament recognised as early as possible in the Second Session. I hope to start that process by ensuring that backbench Members have more opportunities to make longer speeches in debate. This will not only allow for greater depth but more scope for development of argument as Members will have reasonable time for interventions. It would be my intention to initiate this in time for the first major debate this session on the Executive’s Programme for Government.

I also intend to write to the Procedures Committee as soon as it is established to request that they consider changes be made to First Minister’s Questions. An extension of time from 20 minutes to 30 minutes would increase the number of backbench contributions and protect the smaller parties’ rights to a proportionate share of the questions selected.

My letter to the Procedures Committee will also take up the suggestion that FMQs need not immediately follow Question Time. Such slots are pivotal to the dynamic of the Chamber and separating them would allow a different approach to scheduling Questions. I would expect to see the Committee reporting to the Parliament very quickly so that we could implement this first tranche of change in the second week after the summer recess at the latest.

I also have in mind that you suggested other changes and reforms that will require a greater degree of development and scrutiny before they can be implemented. There is firstly the suggestion that Question Time is developed using Departmental questions with the aim of increasing Ministerial accountability through deeper and wider scrutiny. This is to be welcomed and I would expect that the Procedures Committee would be able to report further to the Parliament on this matter by the end of October.

Many of the proposed reforms that I discussed with party leaders and have outlined so far have a resonance with recommendations made in the last Procedures Committee report on the CSG principles. That report was of course very wide ranging but I detect that there is broad agreement to the suggestions made as to how to improve the way the Parliament manages its business.

I believe that we should move as quickly as possible to consider what we can do to improve the scrutiny of legislation, including looking at extending timetables and deadlines. Recommendations relating to how motions for Members’ Business are selected, and how the Parliamentary week is organised, are also worthy of early consideration. I have therefore asked Murray Tosh to take forward those longer-term issues with a view to consulting parties before engaging the new Procedures Committee with agreed proposals.

During this process Murray will, of course, liaise closely with Patricia Ferguson as Minister for Parliament and with Trish Godman as Convener of the Conveners Group.

I would like to thank you again for your support. I feel sure that, with the involvement of all Members, we can build confidence in the Parliament as the place where the issues of devolved Scottish life are decided, after proper debate and scrutiny.”

For further information the media contact is:

Eric MacLeod: 0131 348 5604
email: eric.macleod@scottish.parliament.uk

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