Chamber and committees

It would be difficult for the committee to look at each of the proposed groups individually and not think that there is huge merit in all of them and in everything that they are trying to achieve, but I want to place on record my concern about the number of cross-party groups in the Parliament and the amount of time that MSPs will have to commit in order to fulfil their duties on them. I know that Paul McLennan, who is a member of this committee, is on numerous groups. I applaud him for that, but there will have to come a stage at which the committee will need to consider what is reasonable and right. Convener, I am delighted that it is not for me—[Inaudible.]—committees are not right, because it is an impossible task. I am just concerned about the amount of time that is being committed by MSPs.

I have a point about election expenses. I am unclear whether sufficient consideration has been given to what they should be in the Covid-influenced environment in which we live. I would urge that, when the committee talks to the Scottish Government, we ask it to reconsider that and to consult more widely on whether they are appropriate. When it comes to local government officials, independent councillors might well have not been included in previous consideration by COSLA and such organisations.

I am happy with that. I just want to put it on the record.

Okay. I will move closer to the microphone. Can you hear me now?

I am slightly disappointed that you have not been to the coalface, as it were, to ask councillors whether the limits are sufficient. I understand that COSLA is a representative body, but there are a lot of councillors who do not feel that it represents their particular views. Had I been in your position, I would have set up a poll for councillors, which is easy to do through SurveyMonkey and various other means. It would have been nice to know that we had spoken to councillors, so I am disappointed by that answer.

Just to push things slightly further, I take from what you have said that you believe that there should be spending limits. I agree with you, but I wonder whether the Scottish Government will be thinking of such limits when it comes to Covid and the effects of the huge amounts of travelling around. When I stood in Caithness, for example, I did 14,000 miles trying to get round the constituency during the election campaign. That was a massive amount. Indeed, we do not want to do things like that, which might mean that we have to rely more on pushing out leaflets and information. Will you be considering spending limits on such matters, and will you be speaking not only to councillors but to MSPs and, indeed, MPs to find out whether they think that the limits are correct instead of your making the decision yourself?

The only comment that I would make before I hand back to the convener is that a lot can change in 12 years—not just views on COSLA—

—but views on election expenses. I am sure that the minister accepts that.

Thank you, minister. How did you come up with the £66 figure? The figure is bizarre—it is an 8.918 per cent increase. How did you work it out?

If the increase is based purely on inflation, I am not sure how, even in calculating a cumulative inflation figure for the period, we would arrive at that figure.

The next election will be very different to previous elections because of Covid. I still believe that a lot more will have to be done remotely. I have argued the point before that, when it comes to parliamentary elections, there has been a huge shift from hand deliveries to postal deliveries. Do you think that the £66 increase is sufficient, given that it has probably already been accepted that the increase in the expenses limits for parliamentary elections will need to be bigger than the amount that would be delivered through a formulaic increase that is based on inflation?

You have answered the question that I was going to ask about how to reach out and include everyone who is suffering from long Covid. How will you make people who are suffering aware of all that you are trying to do? The group’s aim is very laudable, and it will be breaking new ground. You have partly answered my question, but I would appreciate it if you could give me a bit more information.