HOLYROOD could have elected committee conveners for the first time after next May’s Scottish elections – with a report insisting the “time is right” for this to be considered.
It also suggested Scottish Parliament committees should be made smaller after next year’s election.
But it dismissed a call for the conveners of committees to be paid more, saying that “at a time of financial constraint” this would “not be appropriate”.
The report, from MSPs on the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee, however, said the Parliament as whole should now consider if committee conveners should be directly elected.
In the report, MSPs said: “We consider that the time is right to allow an opportunity for the whole Parliament to consider whether there should be elected conveners in the next parliamentary session.”
The committee said it would set out a proposal for this which would “broadly mirror” procedures already in place in the Welsh Senedd, with the report saying these “appear to have worked satisfactorily in a small legislature”.
The committee had looked at how Holyrood’s committees operate in the wake of a “perception” that “committees are not fulfilling their potential and could perform better” in terms of scrutinising legislation and holding the Government to account.
The report also noted that “concerns have been voiced about issues such as the workload of committees impacting on their ability to operate effectively”.
MSPs proposed a number of changes, saying: “A new approach is needed to setting the size of committees.”
They backed “concerns” that current working arrangements, with larger committees, were “exacerbating the issue of members serving on more than one committee”.
The report added that to address these issues “smaller committees should be established at the start of the next session.”
The MSPs recommended Holyrood’s standing orders should be changed to reduce the maximum size of a committee from 15 MSPs to 10 – adding that it suggested that “committees should normally have a maximum of seven members”.
The MSPs also said they were “keen to ensure that progress is made towards delivery of greater gender balance on committees”, recommending that standing orders are changed so that there are no single sex committees in the next session of the Scottish Parliament.
Their report added if proposals for elected committee conveners are agreed by the Parliament as a whole, this should be brought in from the start of the next session after May’s election – and that a review of the change should also be carried out before the parliamentary term ends.
But the MSPs were clear the case for paying committee conveners more had not been made.
“We do not consider it is necessary for conveners to receive an additional payment in order to enhance the status of the role,” they said.
“Furthermore, at a time of financial constraint it would not be appropriate, or send out the right message, for public money to be directed towards additional payments for a parliamentary role.”
Speaking as the report was published, convener Martin Whitfield said: “It is right that the public should have high expectations of how committees in the Scottish Parliament operate, and we have heard that when committees work at their best, they can make a real impact not only on Government policy but on people’s lives.
“But this is not always the case, and our work looked at the practical changes that can make a real difference to how committees operate.
“Better training for committee members, smaller committee sizes and more time for committee work will all make a real difference.”
He continued: “We also heard about the vital role that conveners have in setting the tone, and culture of a committee.
“Given the importance of this role, the time is right for the Parliament to decide if a system of elected conveners should be introduced.
“These changes will ensure that the committees in our young legislature can be as effective as possible in meeting the scrutiny challenges of the future.”
