Scottish Churches Parliamentary Office, Edinburgh - Briefing Document Twenty

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Parliamentary Officer:Rev Graham Blount
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Briefing Document No 20 - Page 6 of 8

True to its Principles? - Continued.

1.4. Political parties are, on the one hand, an important way in which people express themselves politically and a positive dimension of sharing in power. However, declining memberships and increasingly centralised party structures undermine the real meaning of this. Crucially, the decision-making of and by party groups within the Parliament is not open to scrutiny and may be used to limit the power of individual MSPs as well as that of the wider public.

1.5. Another strength of the process is the Petitions system. The existence of a Committee charged with ensuring that a proper response is made to public petitions, and carrying out that task with vigour, is a vital way into the process for all kinds of people. Petitions have been successful in prompting Committee investigations and reports, and sparking debate on issues otherwise not being addressed; they do not so far appear to have had significant impact on ongoing debates, nor to have prompted legislation. 1.6. As social partners in the Civic Forum, the churches would see the Forum as having the potential to play a key role in enabling a much wider sharing in power. We welcome the steps being taken towards this, but wonder whether the current resourcing and profile of the Civic Forum are sufficient for this task. The structure, sourcing and amount of Civic Forum funding should be geared to enabling a genuine partnership with the Parliament. 1.7. Whether arranged through the Civic Forum or otherwise, regular meetings between civic bodies and Parliamentary Committees, for agenda-setting as well as evidence-gathering, should be encouraged; while there have already been some good examples of this, Committees should be more proactive in seeking out grass-roots groups beyond the "usual suspects". Accountability
2. Here, we would see the aim as having structures which ensure accountability in ways that are not primarily about pinning blame nor result in politicians and civil servants being more concerned with self-defence than with positive commitments. 2.1. There have been good examples of Committees effectively pursuing inquiries which hold the Executive to account in constructive ways, such as in the SQA Inquiries. However, this scrutiny has sometimes been hampered by restrictions on the availability of information. Issues of scrutiny around the budget have also proved difficult, although we welcome steps being taken to ensure better scrutiny and real participation in this process. 2.2. There is very little public awareness of a distinction between Parliament and the Executive, partly by inference from Westminster, and partly because of the rarity of Parliament exercising effective power other than through the Executive. We welcome the ways in which the Presiding Officer has sought to assert the importance of Parliament's role as the primary area of Executive accountability. 2.3. The rigorous Code of Conduct and Register of Members Interests are welcome illustrations of a commitment to high standards and public accountability of MSPs. We were disappointed that these were not put in a more positive context laying out the role of MSPs, which might have said more about their relationships with constituents. We still believe that a "job description" for MSPs would be helpful for politicians and public. 2.4. In particular, guidance to MSPs and the wider public on the respective accountability of constituency and list MSPs would be welcome. While recognising that there have been some tensions here, we would be deeply concerned that the present voting pattern (including regional lists) should not be changed without much wider consultation with the kind of broad civic society from which the current system emerged. 2.5. Although perhaps beyond the scope of this inquiry, we recognise the importance for accountability of changes in the public role of civil servants, welcoming in particular their willingness to play a part in the consultation process by participating in meetings arranged by civic groups etc. We also recognise that there is still some way to go on this, particularly with regard to the role of Ministers' Special Advisers.