Tag: Citizens' Panel

Citizens’ Panel views on Public Participation to be heard by MSPs

TODAY (Wednesday 14th December), MSPs on the Citizens Participation and Public Petitions Committee (CPPPC) will hear recommendations on how the Scottish Parliament can better engage with the people of Scotland.

Earlier this year, the CPPPC launched an inquiry into public participation, looking at how people’s voices are heard in the work of the Parliament. A Citizens’ Panel, comprised of 19 people broadly reflecting the demographic make-up of Scotland, met in Holyrood throughout October and November to deliberate how the Scottish Parliament can best work with people and communities to ensure their needs are reflected in its work.

Throughout the sittings, the Citizen’s Panel heard from MSPs, Scottish Parliament officials, third-sector organisations and leading academics about democracy and public participation to help facilitate discussion and inform their findings.

The Citizens’ Panel made 17 recommendations on improving how Holyrood’s work involves, reflects, and meets the needs of the full range of communities it represents, focusing on improving engagement for those currently under-represented.

Recommendations from the panel include improving community engagement, how the Parliament uses deliberative democracy, public involvement in Parliamentary business and the way Parliament communicates and educates the public on its work, specifically:

  • Removing barriers to participation so that everyone has an equal opportunity to be involved in the work of the Parliament
  • Legislating to embed deliberative democracy within the Parliamentary process
  • Scheduling specific time in the debating Chamber for individual public questions to be asked
  • Giving the Presiding Officer the power to compel MSPs to give a direct answer to all questions asked.

Five of the panellists, Gillian Ruane, Paul MacDonald, John Sultman, Maria Schwarz and Ronnie Paterson will present their findings to the CPPPC this week.

Following the evidence session, the Committee’s interim report will be published, and the Citizens’ Panel recommendations will go out to public consultation on 16th December for 8 weeks on the Scottish Parliament’s Your Priorities platform.

Commenting ahead of the Committee meeting, Convener Jackson Carlaw MSP said: “The work of the Citizens’ Panel on public participation has been invaluable to our inquiry, bringing fresh perspectives and bold ideas to the table around how Parliament can better engage with individuals, groups and communities from every part of Scotland.

“Ensuring the Scottish Parliament is accessible to a diverse range of people, particularly when developing new laws or policies that affect them, is essential and the recommendations made by the Citizens’ Panel have certainly given the Committee food for thought.

“The Committee will look forward to hearing from panel members this week and learning more about their experiences of the deliberative democracy process and how MSPs and the Parliament can best deliver on their recommendations.”  

Citizens-Panel-Report_FinalDownload

Citizens’ Panel convened to discuss Scotland’s Covid strategy

A citizens’ panel met online for the first time on Saturday to discuss how Scotland is and should continue to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. The panel will meet for the next four weekends before reporting its conclusions to the Scottish Parliament’s Covid-19 Committee.

Participants in the 20-member panel, who have been chosen to broadly reflect the demographics of Scotland, and includes residents from all eight Parliamentary regions, will be asked to respond to the question ‘What priorities should shape the Scottish Government’s approach to COVID-19 restrictions and strategy in 2021?’.

To help in forming a response to this question, a range of experts will give presentations on issues including public health, medical and behavioural science, epidemiology and virology, and the social, legal and economic aspects of the pandemic.

It is expected that the panel’s findings will help the Committee scrutinise the Scottish Government’s strategic approach to the pandemic, including what priorities should inform any future restrictions in 2021.

The Committee will also reflect on the panel’s findings to inform its recommendations for how Covid scrutiny should continue after the election. 

Speaking ahead of the first meeting, the Covid-19 Committee Convener, Donald Cameron MSP, said: “In spite of the hope provided by vaccines, we find ourselves at a worrying juncture in this pandemic. Unfortunately, there is a going to be a need for restrictions for months to come, and the way we respond in 2021 is likely to shape our economy and society for many years to come.

“Therefore, it is critical that we have public support for Government plans to respond to Covid-19, and that we ensure areas important to the public are prioritised. While the Covid-19 Committee is able to provide robust scrutiny and recommendations, it will be immensely helpful to this work to have the informed opinion of a representative group of citizens.

“We are very grateful to the panel members and experts assisting them for giving up their time, and look forward to receiving the final report next month.”

The Citizens’ Panel will meet online on Saturdays 16, 23, 30 January and 6 February. A report will be produced thereafter.