Seòmar agus comataidhean

Good morning. I welcome everyone to the 11th meeting in 2022 of the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee.

Our first agenda item is an evidence session with the Scottish Government on its response to “Report of the Institutionalising Participatory and Deliberative Democracy Working Group”. Members will recall that the working group’s report sets out a range of recommendations on

“how the Scottish Government’s ambition for transformative change can be delivered to make Scotland's democracy more participative and inclusive”.

We last considered the issue at our meeting on 20 April, when we took evidence from the working group itself, which was very interesting.

I am delighted to welcome to the committee George Adam, the Minister for Parliamentary Business. He is accompanied from the Scottish Government by Doreen Grove, who is the head of open government, and Gerald Byrne, who is team leader in constitutional policy. Good morning to you.

I understand that the minister would like to say a few words by way of opening, before we pursue our questioning and see where we get to.

I close this morning’s meeting. We will meet again on 29 June, which is the last Wednesday of the parliamentary session.

I am not keen on being second best.

Since members have no final thoughts or additional questions, I thank the minister and officials. We very much appreciate your contribution to the key committee that is considering these issues this morning.

With regard to the general themes that arose from members’ discussion, referring the petitions to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee is the best way forward from our point of view at this stage, but I take note of that.

Mr Sweeney, I will wind back slightly, because I think that you have a supplementary question to Mr Stewart’s first point.

It is worth noting that the whole process began with the previous Presiding Officer’s parliamentary commission, which I sat on and which looked at the whole question of public participation and deliberative democracy. I know that a lot of work has been done here in Parliament and by the Government in the time since.

We have a series of questions. Just last week, we had at a focus group at a deliberative democracy event in order that we could understand the issue. One of the issues that everyone will be wrestling with is the expectation that is created in the minds of people who participate that something will follow, which will be a challenge in relation to the reputation and sustainability of the concept, over time. We will touch on that later. I will start off with some technical questions, before colleagues come in.

We met the group and had a very productive and worthwhile evidence session. How did the Government decide on the composition of the group? I know that Scottish Government officials were involved; were they active and equal members of the group or were they there in a supporting and advisory role? What was the structure and how was it put together?

Mr Ewing, did you want to come back on that?

I conclude from what you have said that we are not looking at anything happening imminently; there will be a reasonable period of time before we see a properly considered response.

Before the minister comes in, I will bring in Mr Sweeney, who is interested in this theme, although I do not know whether that interest will match Mr Ewing’s passion.