To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, further to the answer to question S6W-34464 what its position is on whether MSPs should be able to participate in the armed forces parliamentary scheme, in addition to the armed forces visits programme, should they wish to do so, in light of it being a structured 15-day course with one of the armed services, and it also offering the opportunity to enrol on a Royal College of Defence Studies postgraduate degree level course in strategic leadership and international strategic studies, and it therefore being different in nature. (S6O-04476)

I thank Paul Sweeney for his sustained interest in these matters. As a member, he is aware that the Scottish Parliament’s armed forces parliamentary visits programme was established relatively recently, in 2017. Since then, many members, including me, have participated in outward visits to defence bases across Scotland as well as reciprocal visits to the Parliament. I say that as an enthusiastic former member of the Combined Cadet Force.

The current programme is a good fit for the Scottish Parliament and its members, and, although there are no plans to review it at the current time, Mr Sweeney has highlighted some differences between the two schemes. Accordingly, the corporate body has asked parliamentary officials to contact the armed forces parliamentary scheme to inquire whether members of the Scottish Parliament may participate in those programmes. We will update Mr Sweeney and members on that in due course.

I welcome the response in relation to exploring the idea with the Armed Forces Parliamentary Trust. It would be welcome if members of the Scottish Parliament and other devolved legislatures were able to participate in the programme. Given that it is governed by an independent board of trustees and funded largely from industry, that would not necessarily come at any cost to the Scottish Parliament, and it would provide an opportunity for members to augment the existing excellent and well-attended visits programme, which I have also had the opportunity to attend, with a deeper engagement with our armed forces.

I do not disagree with that. However, in the first instance, I and the corporate body would encourage more members of the Parliament to participate in the scheme that we have, which is the armed forces parliamentary visits programme. Members will be aware that a communication has gone out in the past couple of days, which identifies opportunities that will be available later this year. Too few MSPs have participated in such opportunities, and I encourage others to do so. It really is a great experience.

There is a brief supplementary question from Rachael Hamilton.

I am sorry, Deputy Presiding Officer—I pressed my button because I have a lodged question and you were looking at me.

Thank you for the clarification, Ms Hamilton. I will try to avoid doing that too much in the future. [ Laughter .]