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Chamber and committees

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Scotland's Commissioner Landscape: A Strategic Approach

The commissioner landscape in Scotland has evolved since the start of devolution, with seven independent Commissioners now in operation and one more recently agreed by Parliament.

A further six commissioners have been proposed or are being considered that could bring the total to 14 by the end of this five-year session of Parliament.

The Scottish Government says there is little research in Scotland, or the UK, on commissioners which evaluates their powers or ways of working.

For this inquiry, ‘commissioner’ means any officeholder (Commission, Ombudsman or Commissioner) whose terms and conditions of appointment and annual budget are set by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB).

The inquiry will consider whether a more coherent and strategic approach is needed for the creation of such commissioners in Scotland.

Current position

There are currently seven ‘officeholders’ or commissioners directly responsible to the Scottish Parliament.

These are:

  • Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland
  • Scottish Biometrics Commissioner
  • Scottish Commissioner for Children and Young People
  • Scottish Human Rights Commission
  • Scottish Information Commissioner
  • Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, and
  • Standards Commission for Scotland.

Current cost of commissioners

The total budget for commissioners directly responsible to Parliament in 2023/24 was £16.6m million:

  • smallest = £0.3m
  • largest = £6.7m. 

Inquiry remit

The remit is:

  • to foster greater understanding of how the Commissioner landscape in Scotland has evolved since devolution
  • to enhance clarity around the role, and different types, of Commissioners and their relationships with government and parliament
  • to establish the extent to which a more coherent and strategic approach to the creation and development of Commissioners in Scotland is needed and how this might be achieved
  • to provide greater transparency to how the governance, accountability, budget-setting, and scrutiny arrangements work in practice, and whether any improvements are required, and
  • to identify where any lessons might be learned from international Commissioner models.

Note: The inquiry will focus on SPCB-supported commissioners and officeholders only.

The inquiry will not:

  • consider the overall public body landscape
  • examine the role of those commissioners who report directly to the Scottish Government, or
  • make recommendations on the merits or otherwise of individual Commissioners.

Additional commissioners

In September 2023, Parliament passed a Bill to create the:

  • Patient Safety Commissioner.

A Bill is also going through Parliament that would establish a:

  • Victims and Witnesses Commissioner.

Draft proposals for Members Bills could see a further three Commissioners created:

  • Disability Commissioner
  • Older People’s Commissioner
  • Wellbeing and Sustainable Development Commissioner.

The Scottish Government is also considering creating:

  • Future Generations Commissioner
  • Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodiversity Commissioner / Commission.

SPICe Briefings

The Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) has produced a briefing paper on Scotland's Commissioner Landscape.

SPICe Briefing on Scotland's Commissioner Landscape: A Strategic Approach 

SPICe has produced a briefing paper on the New Zealand and Wales Commissioner models:

SPICe Briefing on the New Zealand and Wales Commissioner Models (240KB, pdf) posted 28 May 2024

Call for views (closed)

The Committee's call for views closed on 11 March 2024.

The Committee received 23 submissions to its call for views. 

Read the submissions received on Citizen Space

The Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) produced a summary of the written submissions received:

SPICe Summary of Written Submissions received (199KB, pdf) posted 17 April 2024

Informal discussions

Note of discussion with former Commissioners

The Committee held an informal discussion with three former Commissioners/Ombudsmen on 23 April 2024. A summary note of the issues discussed at the session has been produced and is available at the following link:

Summary note of informal discussion with former Commissioners (112KB, pdf) posted 08 May 2024


Note of discussion with MSPs and former MSPs

The Committee held an informal discussion with three MSPs and former MSPs on 14 May 2024 on their experiences of proposing Members' Bills that include the creation of new Commissioners. A summary note of the issues discussed at the session has been produced and is available at the following link:

Summary note of informal discussion with MSPs and former MSPs (127KB, pdf) posted 23 May 2024

Committee Report

The Committee published its report on 16 September 2024. Read the report at the following link:

Report on Scotland's Commissioner Landscape: A Strategic Approach

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body responded to the report on 10 October 2024 and the Scottish Government responded to the report on 24 October 2024. You can read the responses in the Correspondence section below.

Correspondence

The Committee has sent and received the following correspondence during the inquiry:

Scotland's Commissioner Landscape report - response from Scottish Government of 24 October 2024

Letter from the Minister for Public Finance to the Convener of 24 October 2024

Scotland's Commissioner Landscape report - response from Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body of 10 October 2024

Letter from the Presiding Officer to the Convener of 10 October 2024

Scotland's Commissioner Landscape - follow -up from meeting on 4 June 2024

Letter from the Minister for Public Finance to the Convener of 25 June 2024

Scotland's Commissioner Landscape - follow up from meeting on 14 May 2024

Letter from the Convener of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee to the Convener of 15 May 2024

Scotland's Commissioner Landscape - follow up from meeting on 30 April 2024

Letter from the Scottish Human Rights Commission to the Convener of 10 May 2024

Scotland's Commissioner Landscape: A Strategic Approach - Letter of 7 March 2024

Letter from the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance to the Convener of 7 March 2024