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Holyrood committees facing reform

17:25, Aug 31 2012

 

Holyrood committees could be reformed in the wake of changes made to the Scottish Parliament's working week.

Amendments to the Parliament schedule are being brought in from next week, with the aim of making it more responsive and topical.

Holyrood's main chamber will now sit on three days a week instead of two, with questions to ministers and debates on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.

Committees of MSPs will now meet in the mornings those days, but reforms to their culture and working practices could be made.

In a letter to all MSPs, Holyrood's Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick said the Parliament's new timetable would allow MSPs to question ministers on topical issues on Tuesday afternoons.

She explained: "I hope this will enable our Parliament to be more responsive and agile in responding to the major issues of the day and holding the Government to account."

With regard to committees, Mrs Marwick said: "Further initiatives to reform our processes clearly remain, however.

"More than 12 years into devolution, it is crucial that the culture and working practices of the Parliament evolve and keep pace with new developments as we strive to be the responsive, relevant body that the public expects."

The Presiding Officer wants all MSPs to consider how the work of committees at the Parliament could be improved.

She is also working with committee conveners on "ways to enable committees to be more reactive and topical".

 

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