His announcement is part of a package of social partnership proposals, including £300,000 of funding from Finance Minister Jack McConnell for the Scottish Civic Forum.

Mr Reid, a former member of the Consultative Steering Group, said:

"We have made a great virtue of the Parliament being open and accessible to the people of Scotland. Already some 600 organisations have registered interest in the Forum, and will be invited to adopt a constitution tomorrow in Glasgow.

"We are building a new political culture. There are many ways to secure external participation in the development of policy and legislation. The Forum is a key gateway between the Executive, the Parliament and the People.

"The Parliament will contribute to this process by making funds available to Committees who wish to engage in new forms of participation."

Among mechanisms available to Committees are the appointment of expert panels and assistance to their reporters in acting as a focal point on specific issues; citizens juries and panels to provide representative feedback; deliberative polling and consensus conferences; and inputs to wider forums such as a Youth Parliament and an Older People’s Parliament.

BACKGROUND NOTES

Scottish Finance Minister Jack McConnell today announced funding of £300,000 for the Scottish Civic Forum over a three year period.

The CSG stated that the Civic Forum would make a contribution to one of their main proposals – that the Scottish Parliament be "accessible, open, responsive and develop procedures which make possible a participative approach to the development, consideration and scrutiny of policy and legislation."

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