Chamber and committees

Item 2 is to choose a convener. The Parliament has agreed that only members of the Scottish Labour Party are eligible for nomination as convener of this committee, and it is my understanding that Martin Whitfield is the party’s nominee.

Martin Whitfield was chosen as convener.

I echo many of your comments about the legacy paper. The committee is vital in ensuring that we are seen by those in the Parliament and by the general public in Scotland to be performing our roles and responsibilities. I had the opportunity to be a member of the previous committee, and I very much concur with the approach that is suggested in the legacy paper. It mentions specific areas that might require to be revisited for further development.

For example, it is vital that we get the scrutiny and governance right for members’ work outside Parliament. Tackling sexual harassment has been very high on the agenda both inside and outside the Parliament, and that will have to be looked at. Lobbying will also have to be looked at. We need to take a firm stance on those three areas. As we progress as a committee, we will need to make developments in those areas to ensure that we have the confidence of the Parliament, communities and Scotland as a whole. I look forward to going through the legacy paper with members, finalising our priorities for the committee’s first year and then progressing those.