Seòmar agus comataidhean

With fingers crossed, I am going to come to Edward Mountain.

Good morning, and welcome to the second meeting of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee.

Our first agenda item is a decision on whether to take the final agenda item—item 4—in private. Under that item, we will consider the evidence that we are about to take from the acting Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland. Do members agree to take item 4 in private?

Members indicated agreement.

I understand that the sound is back up and running. If I go back to Bob Doris, it might give those who are watching a more holistic picture of what we talking about. With trepidation, I hand over to Bob Doris.

Can you hear us, Bob? We cannot hear you. He can hear us, but we cannot hear him. We are clearly having technical difficulties.

Without stepping on Bob Doris’s toes, I will ask a question. Today, we are discussing the revised code of practice and our response to it. One of the purposes of the code of practice is to hold ministers to account. How will the revised code do that without stifling innovation through overprescription? There has been a lot of discussion about overprescription in the code and the accompanying notes. Will you explain that to us? More importantly, will you explain your view of how the recommendation on the code, which seems to be opposed by some people, was reached?

I am going to swap hats slightly now. We also want to take evidence from you on your strategic plan for 2021 through to 2024. We have had the benefit of looking at that and, again, the members have questions. I will take the privilege of convener and kick off and ask for an explanation. The words “case” and “complaint” are used a lot. Could you explain the difference between those terms, or could you give the definition of what a complaint is for the purpose of the numerology that we see in these reports and explain how it becomes a case?

It is really just a generic question about whether the revised code of practice can successfully hold ministers to account, bearing in mind the counterbalancing factor of the complaint that, if the code was overprescriptive, it would not work.

Hello, Bob. Excellent. We are up to question 2. I am not sure how much you have managed to hear.

That leads us on to Paul McLennan’s area of interest.

I now hand over to Bob Doris.

I am very grateful for that. I would say that it was a kind offer but, from listening to your evidence, I think that it is the sort of offer that we expect and can expect.

On behalf of the committee, I thank you for your time, acting commissioner, for coming in on a slightly dreich day and for your evidence.

It would. To clarify in my own mind, in essence, a complaint is when someone corresponds with you about an event that they wish to complain about.