Schedule 3 — Devolved Public Bodies

Part of Ethical Standards in Public Life etc (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3 – in the Scottish Parliament at 3:30 pm on 21 June 2000.

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Photo of Gil Paterson Gil Paterson Scottish National Party 3:30, 21 June 2000

I take on board what the minister has said. He has moved some distance, but I have some further comments on the whole group. It is fair to say that the Local Government Committee was fairly unanimous in its intention to include every devolved body, wherever possible. We wanted a system that would be well understood. We believe that we need a catch-all, rather than catch-some, approach if we are to improve the system. The standards should be uniform and should apply to all.

If we agree to the amendments, we will end up with a mixed bag of measures. If we want to encourage transparency, we should look to the old saying, "Make it simple, stupid." The Local Government Committee is of the opinion that no one should escape the net. Unfortunately, if the Parliament agrees to the amendments, there will be a number of different measures and many bodies will escape the net.