Part of Ethical Standards in Public Life etc (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3 – in the Scottish Parliament at 3:30 pm on 21 June 2000.
I want to follow up on the issue that I raised with the minister in my intervention. I understand the points that he makes and the legitimate difficulties to which he refers. However, Gil Paterson made the important point that, if we are creating a regime that is to apply across as many public authorities and bodies as possible, that regime should apply across the full range of organisations. There are practical difficulties that must be wrestled with, and it is necessary to ensure that some of the organisations and bodies that provide public services do so in the right
I welcome what the minister said in his response to my intervention, but I hope that he will work in the spirit of the comments that he has made today to Parliament and ensure that as many organisations as possible are captured by the regime that is set out in the bill.
I am concerned that, if bodies can be added to schedule 3 by order, they can also be removed from it by order—if it is easy for them to go in, it must also be easy for them to come out. It is important that the minister responds in the spirit of this legislation and ensures that the Parliament receives a guarantee that the Government is moving to create an open, transparent and accountable climate in our public authorities. We must not allow any organisations to escape the rigour that many of us believe is long overdue.