This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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People and Parliament report
26/08/2004
A report looking at civic participation in the
democratic process in Scotland was published today by the
People and Parliament Trust.
Public Services Minister Andy Kerr welcomed the report
and said that the Executive was genuinely committed to
working closely with the people of Scotland to encourage
them to get involved in the Parliamentary process and to
air their views on the issues that matter to them.
He said:
"The Executive is already an open and accountable
organisation but we are always looking for new and
innovative ways to hear what the people of Scotland have to
say.
"It is because of this that we are committed to working
more closely with the people of Scotland and all our
external partners across our full range policies."
The report, 'Room for More Views - Sharing Power,
Shaping Progress' calls for deeper and broader
consultation.
The Executive attaches great importance to involving key
groups and individuals in policy making.
Internal guidance and support promotes better
consultation rather than more consultation, and
consultation that is appropriate to the policy and to the
needs of the target audience."
The Minister added:
"Consultation is one way to gather views but people need
to be involved in the work we do in many different ways and
at different times.
"Officials and politicians are already getting out and
about, meeting people informally, in their own communities,
on their own terms - and hearing what they have to say.
This will continue and become more frequent in the
future."
The report also calls for progress towards better
participation to be measured and monitored.
In response, Mr Kerr said:
"We are determined to promote civic participation and do
this in many different ways, including sponsorship of the
Scottish Civic Forum - one of the partner organisations
involved in this report.
"I welcome the independent scrutiny organisations like
People and Parliament and the Civic Forum can provide. It
helps the Executive, Parliament and other public bodies to
raise our game."
"We have already made the report available to our staff
and we will be considering it further to see what other
lessons can be learnt."
The People and Parliament report is based on findings
from a major participative conference held last year.
The conference brought citizens, officials and
politicians together to share their experience of policy
making processes. Participants reported increased access
and participation since devolution. They also voiced many
ideas about areas for further improvement in the future.
The report can be found at:
www.shstrust.org.uk/
The People & Parliament conference followed up a
report from the Trust in 1999 which presented people's high
expectations for a new political culture at the advent of
the Scottish Parliament. It was based on views gathered
from thousands of Scots coming together in small groups to
consider Scotland's future, backed up by public opinion
research.