SPPA Committee sets out Holyrood committee reform proposals

The Scottish Government should be required to publish a post-legislative report on each Act of Parliament, three to five years after implementation.

And Holyrood committees should normally have a maximum of seven members to ensure focused and effective scrutiny of Government.

Key recommendations on Holyrood Committee Reform, by the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments (SPPA) Committee. In its report published today, the Committee said it was not, however, persuaded by arguments for the introduction of elected conveners.

SPPA Committee Convener, Stewart Stevenson MSP said:

“The aim of any change must be to make committees more effective at scrutinising legislation and government policy, and holding the government of the day to account.

“We believe there are already many examples of committees working with great effectiveness - challenging the Government, questioning Ministers, airing public concerns.

“Our recommendations, and a greater emphasis on post-legislative scrutiny, will see committees working at this level of effectiveness, more of the time.”