Scottish government’s lobbying proposals ‘enhanced’

The Scottish government has said its plans to increase transparency around lobbying have been “enhanced” with the commitment to a two-year review of its widely ridiculed lobbying legislation.

The Scottish Parliament will today consider stage 2 of the Lobbying (Scotland) Bill, which was regarded by many in its original guise to be tantamount to pointless because it only covered face-to-face communications.

The bill fulfils a pledge by the government in the “Programme for Government” and follows a public consultation last year.

Of the 13 recommendations contained in the stage 1 report of Parliament’s Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments (SPPA) Committee, the government has made provision for eight, is accepting two more in full and partly accepting the remaining three.

In December the committee took the view that plans to include only face-to-face communication with ministers or MSPs in a lobbying register were an artificial distinction, and recommended that the government review the potential impact of including all forms of communication in the bill.

Parliamentary business minister Joe FitzPatrick said: “There are already strict rules around lobbying in the Scottish Parliament but it is important we do all we can to increase transparency.

“Following the SPPA Committee’s stage one recommendations, we are committing to creating a two-year review of any new legislation and to extending the proposals to register lobbying of ministers to include lobbying of special advisers.

“We are also proposing the revision of our bill by exempting all communication by a trade union or employer that forms part of, or relates directly to, terms and conditions of employment. We also propose extension of the definition of ‘lobbying’ to include video conferencing, as well as face-to-face communication.

“In Scotland we are rightly proud of our Parliament and our tradition of open government. These stage 2 amendments extend that principle further and ensure that lobbying is as open and transparent as possible.”