Report of the Consultative Steering Group on the Scottish Parliament

ANNEX A

EXPERT PANELS AND WORKING GROUPS

Expert Panel on Procedures and Standing Orders in the Scottish Parliament

Membership

The members of the Group are:

Mr Robert Gordon, The Scottish Office, Head of Constitution Group (Chair)

Ms Morag Alexander, Director, Equal Opportunities Commission

Professor St John Bates, Visiting Professor of Law, University of Strathclyde and Clerk to the Isle of Man Tynwald

Mr Francis Jacobs, Secretariat, European Parliament

Ms Lynne MacMillan, formerly Head of Legal Policy, Scottish Consumer Council

Professor David McCrone, Unit for the Study of Government in Scotland, University of Edinburgh

Mr Bill McKay CB, Clerk to the House of Commons

Mr David Millar OBE, Co-author of the Crick-Millar draft Standing Orders for a Scottish Parliament

Professor Alan Miller, Director, Scottish Human Rights Centre

Ms Esther Roberton, Consultative Steering Group on the Scottish Parliament

Mr Martin Sime, Director, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

Mr Douglas Sinclair, Chief Executive, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities

Remit

The remit for the Panel is:

to assist The Scottish Office with the development and assessment of policy options relating to the proceedings, working methods and operation of the Scottish Parliament, for consideration by CSG; to assist in the development of detailed proposals for the rules of procedure and Standing Orders which the Parliament might be asked to adopt, against the background of the deliberations of CSG and the key principles endorsed by CSG; in both of the above, to take into account the evidence gathered by CSG; to assist in the preparation of a draft report to the Secretary of State by the end of 1998, to inform the preparation of draft Standing Orders.

Financial Issues Advisory Group

Membership

The members of the Financial Issues Advisory Group are:

Mr John Graham, The Scottish Office, Principal Finance Officer (Chair) (until end May 1997)

Dr Peter Collings, The Scottish Office, Principal Finance Officer (Chair) (from 1 June 1997)

Mr Robert Black, Controller of Audit, Accounts Commission

Mr Andrew Edwards CB, Financial Consultant and former Deputy Secretary at the Treasury

Mrs Margaret Ford, head of the Eglinton Management School and Chairman of Lothian Health Board

Professor David Heald, Aberdeen University

Miss Eileen Mackay CB, member of Commission on Local Government and the Scottish Parliament and former PFO, The Scottish Office

Ms Shelagh Mackay, Director of Finance, Shepherd and Wedderburn

Mr Miller McLean, Group Secretary, Royal Bank of Scotland

Mr Martin Pfleger, Assistant Auditor General, National Audit Office

Professor John Sizer, Chief Executive, Scottish Higher Education Funding Council

Mr Ian Smith, Chief Executive, Dumfries and Galloway Council

Dr Joan Stringer, Principal, Queen Margaret College and member of the Consultative Steering Group

Mr Alf Young, Deputy Editor of the Herald

Remit

The remit of FIAG is:

To assist The Scottish Office in developing for consideration by the Consultative Steering Group (CSG), proposals for the rules, procedures, standing orders and legislation which the Scottish Parliament might be invited to adopt for handling financial issues, taking account of the deliberations of the CSG and contributing to the draft report which the CSG is to submit to the Secretary of State by the end of 1998 to inform the preparation of draft Standing Orders.

Expert Panel on Information and Communication Technologies

Membership

The membership of the Expert Panel on Information and Communications Technologies is:

Mr Alistair Brown, The Scottish Office, Director of Administrative Services (Chair)

Mr Alistair Baker, Microsoft Corporation

Mr Robert Beattie MBE, Chair of Edinburgh Telematics Partnership and Community Investment Manager, IBM Scotland

Mrs Lesley Beddie, Professor of Computing, Napier University

Mr Peter Black, Network Service Adviser, Scottish Telecom

Mr Peter Dixon, Oracle Corporation

Mr Nic Hopkins, Technical Director, Central Computers and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA)

Ms Derdre Hutton, Consultative Steering Group on the Scottish Parliament

Mr Paul Grice, The Scottish Office, Constitution Group

Mr Dik McFarlane, General Manager, Office of the Director, BT Scotland

Dr Ann Mathieson OBE, Keeper, National Library for Scotland

Mr Alan Nairn, Secretary, Society of IT Managers (Scotland) and Director of Information Systems, Perth & Kinross Council

Mr Matthew O'Connor, Director of Business Services, Telewest Communications

Mrs Jane Wainwright, Director of Information Systems, House of Commons Library

Ms Ann Weatherstone, Assistant Director of Strategic Planning at Clydesdale Bank, Glasgow

Remit

The panel will provide advice to The Scottish Office on how the Parliament might use technology to:

promote internal efficiency and innovative ways of working; provide information about its proceedings and its work to the widest possible audience in the most accessible way; make it as easy as possible for the Parliament and individual MSPs to exchange information with external organisations and the public; encourage democratic participation and involvement.

As part of its work, the panel will consider the proposals and recommendations made by the Advisory Committee on Telematics for the Scottish Parliament, as set out in their report of June 1997.

The panel is expected to produce practical proposals together with resource estimates and a summary of the benefits which are expected to flow from them. The proposals should be prioritised, should take into account the fact that the Parliament will meet in temporary accommodation for around 2 years from 1999, and should be suitable for implementation in phases.

The panel should also provide advice to The Scottish Office on information and communications technology in the context of wider consideration of the Parliament's ways of working. The panel should be able to consult on its proposals before bringing these forward to the Consultative Steering Group, including consultation with potential users of Parliamentary information.

The panel is expected to work closely with other expert panels set up to advise The Scottish Office. It is expected to provide draft proposals for discussion with the Consultative Steering Group to a timetable to be agreed with the Group, but it should aim to complete the bulk of its work in 1998.

Code of Conduct Working Group

Membership

The membership of the Group is:

Mr John Ewing, The Scottish Office, Constitutional Policy Division (Chair)

Rev Maxwell Craig, nominated by Action of Churches Together in Scotland

Mr John F de W Duvoisin, nominated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland

Mr Martyn Evans, Chief Executive Officer, Scottish Consumer Council

Dr Brian D Keighley, nominated by the British Medical Association

Professor Sheila McLean, Dept. of Law and Ethics in Medicine, Glasgow University

Professor Alan Miller, EXPSO ( and Scottish Human Rights Centre)

Mr John Murray, nominated by the Scottish Daily Newspaper Society

Miss Jane Ryder, nominated by the Law Society of Scotland

Mr Douglas Sinclair, nominated by COSLA ( also a member of EXPSO)

Canon Kenyon Wright, Consultative Steering Group

Remit

The remit of the group is:

to assist The Scottish Office in developing for consideration by the Consultative Steering Group on the Scottish Parliament (CSG) proposals for a Code of Conduct for MSPs which the Scottish Parliament might be invited to adopt; to consider and provide advice to officials on what form of regulation if any might be recommended to the Scottish Parliament in respect of lobbying activities; in carrying out 1 and 2 to consider the views of CSG as well as existing UK Ministerial and Civil Service Codes, the current proposals for local government and the practice in other relevant organisations.

Media Issues Expert Panel

Membership

Mr Robert Gordon, The Scottish Office, Head of Constitution Group (Chair)

Ms Val Atkinson, Deputy Head of News and Current Affairs, BBC Scotland

Ms Fiona Ballantyne, Director, Network Scotland

Mrs Lesley Beddie, Professor of Computing, Napier University

Mr Martyn Evans, Chief Executive Officer, Scottish Consumer Council

Mr Kenny Farquharson, Spokesperson, Scottish Parliamentary Press Association

Ms Frances Horsburgh, Political Correspondent, The Herald

Ms Harriet Jones, Head of News, Scot FM

Mr John Penman, Assistant Editor, Daily Record

Mr George Reid, Consultative Steering Group

Mr John Scott, Editor, Evening Times

Mr Mark Smith, Senior Producer, Scottish Television

Mr Ramsay Smith, Editor, Scottish Daily Mail

Mr Brian Taylor, Political Editor, BBC Scotland

Remit

The remit of the Expert Panel is:

To advise on how the Parliament and the media should relate to each other, how the Parliament will present itself through the media, how the media will conduct itself while covering the Parliament and on the terms on which MSPs, including members and staff of the administration, have contact with and speak to the media.