Transparency and accountability

The hallmark of any open and accountable democracy is the way in which information is made accessible to ordinary members of the public. Without knowledge of what public bodies such as the Government, the parliament or local councils are doing on people’s behalf, it is extremely difficult to build the kind of civic engagement amongst ordinary members of the public that should be present in any democracy.

That is why when the institutions of devolution in Scotland were being set up there was a conscious effort made to ensure that they should be as open and transparent as possible. Debates in the parliament and committee sessions are all available to watch online at holyrood.tv and in comparison to Westminster it is very easy for members of the public to turn up to Holyrood and see most of the debates that take place.

Even more significant is the Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee which has enabled thousands of groups and individuals in Scotland to have issues that concern them considered by the Parliament and has attracted interest from legislatures around the world. It is a way in which the Scottish Parliament has been at the cutting edge of empowering people to bring their concerns to Parliament and the sheer range of topics it has considered since 1999 is truly extraordinary.

However, perhaps the most important way in which Scotland has become more open and transparent was with the Freedom of Information Act which enshrined the right to access information held by public bodies into law. With a few exceptions, when members of the public want to know a piece of information held by a public body in Scotland, they can simply write a letter and expect to receive the information.

The Scottish Government is committed to this principle of openness and is now consulting on extending the terms of the Freedom of Information Act further, to bring in some of the bodies that are not covered by it. This could include things like trusts established by local authorities to provide cultural or sporting activities, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, and contractors who provide public services under private contracts.

The principles of openness and accountability are important ones, and it is perhaps not only in the form of Freedom of Information that they should be extended. The Crown Estate is responsible for, amongst other things, managing the seabed up to 12 miles from the UK’s shore. Currently it is overseen from Westminster, despite the fact that the majority of issues that take place within that 12 mile limit from Scotland’s shores are devolved to Holyrood or are likely to become so in the near future.

With Scotland’s vast offshore energy potential and the increasing importance that such developments will have, it is surely right that the Crown Estate in Scotland becomes accountable to the Scottish Parliament so that future developments are fully compatible with other marine activities such as the fishing industry.

It is an anomaly that should be brought to an end and is something that the Scottish Government is currently pressing the Westminster coalition to change.

Coast Festival

I was delighted to hear that the popular Coast Festival in Banff and Macduff will be continuing next year despite its previous funding having finished. The dedication of everyone responsible for organising it over the last three years has been tremendous and I sincerely hope that everyone who has enjoyed attending it will take part in the planned fundraising throughout the year to ensure it has a long and successful future.