Procedures Committee, 27 Nov 2001

Meeting date: Tuesday, November 27, 2001

Official Report 339KB pdf

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Parliament and the Executive (Protocols)

Item 4 is on the report on protocols between the Parliament and the Executive, which says basically that there is nothing to report. The point that protocols tend to be handed down to us was raised earlier in our discussions. As part of the analysis of the evidence that we have heard this morning, it might be useful for us to take an overview of every protocol that the Executive has produced. We could consider the level of consultation and participation and whether we want to recommend, as part of what we come up with, that the way in which all the documents are provided be examined again.

In the list of the three protocols that we are considering, I underlined the parts that stated that guidance on contacts with members was written by the Executive and that guidance on contacts with the Scottish Parliament information centre was produced by the Executive. I assume that those are much the same, except that there is mention of consultation in one. It is not clear where the protocol between the committee clerks and the Scottish Executive came from. That might have been more of a joint exercise.

Those are the sort of matters that we should consider.

Absolutely.

Frank McAveety assures me that in the stairheads in Shettleston there is nothing like a good protocol to set the blood coursing.

It is the single demand of the revolution.

Are any other protocols under consideration at the moment?

We believe not.

There are also codes of guidance and informal understandings. There are documents within the Executive that cover how its people relate to various aspects of the non-Executive.

We could perhaps invite the Executive to confess the lot and go over how all those practices are derived. As part of our consideration of the whole process of governance, all those questions are within our purview. We cannot necessarily change those practices, but we can consider them and express an opinion.

Do members agree to proceed on that basis?

Members indicated agreement.