Chamber and committees

Do disabled people not have the same right?

Okay. Mr Whitfield, you have suggested that a commissioner should report to a committee, which might simplify the system. Another suggestion that has come to us is that the commissioner should work more hand in glove with the relevant committee and that they should see themselves as doing the same work. It was even suggested that the committee should assign work to the commissioner. Do you have any thoughts on that?

Okay. I will leave it at that.

That involved the third sector and the committee working closely together. It is a good example. I do not know how much your committee is involved with the Scottish Human Rights Commission. It has suggested that, if it was given a bit more power to initiate inquiries, it could co-ordinate the whole field of human rights a bit more. A lot of what we are talking about is related to human rights. Is that model worth looking at?

That is helpful—thank you.

One of our predecessor committees—the Finance Committee in 2006, I think—suggested that there should be a limit on how many more commissioners we had. It suggested that we should look at alternate models. In this case did your committee look at alternate models? For example, did you consider whether an existing commissioner could have taken on the role? Some witnesses have said to us that we should expand the role of the Scottish Human Rights Commission, which could have a department or a rapporteur who would, for example, look after patient safety, children’s affairs or older people. Did your committee consider that kind of model?

Okay. I remain unconvinced.

Following on from that, another model that has been suggested to us—this would probably not affect some of your areas, Mr Whitfield—is the Scottish Human Rights Commission being given a bit more power so that it could cover human rights overall in areas such as disabilities and children, which would all fall within that, although there could be separate rapporteurs for those groups. Do you have any views on what the effect of that might be? You have mentioned the issue of complexity.

Okay. Let me play devil’s advocate. The argument for a commissioner for disabled people is that, as not all disabled people are children, they still need a commissioner, even though there would be an overlap with the children’s commissioner.

Okay, thanks—that was maybe an unfair question.

I will ask Audrey Nicoll about alternate models. Within your committee’s remit, there are quite a lot of alternate models. You mentioned the inspector of constabulary and the prisons inspector, both of which are funded by the Government, not by Parliament, but yet they are, I think, quite independent. Is that another model that works?

One argument is that, despite the good work that the third sector does in a lot of areas, it does not have the power to make binding recommendations—that phrase has been used a number of times. It would be quite strong if bodies could dictate. You suggested that one body—I am sorry, I cannot remember which one it was—makes recommendations that almost always are accepted.