Stephen Kerr (Central
Scotland) (Con)
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. In the spirit of the
comments that the minister has just made, I appeal to you for
help in relation to an important matter that affects members. The
accountability of the Government to the Parliament is at the
heart of our democracy. As members, we have a duty to ask
questions of the Government, and the Government has a
responsibility to answer them as fully as it can. That is
particularly true for written parliamentary questions when
members are seeking information from the Government.
Today, I received an answer to my question S6W-04075, in which I
asked the Scottish Government
“what recent discussions it has had with businesses regarding the
introduction of a Deposit return
scheme.”
This is the answer that I received from :
“Scottish Government officials have been engaging, and continue
to engage, closely with a range of businesses to reach an
implementation timetable for Scotland’s Deposit return
Scheme (DRS) that is both ambitious and deliverable.”
That is the entire answer, but it is not an answer. That is the
latest in a long series of my questions that have not been
answered.
I am afraid that the Government shows a steely determination to
avoid accountability. Therefore, may I ask you, as the Presiding
Officer of our Parliament, what steps your office can take to
ensure that when members ask written parliamentary questions, the
answers that they receive directly respond to the question, or at
least bear some relationship to the question? That would allow
all members to uphold their basic duty of holding the Government
to account.
The Presiding Officer
(Alison Johnstone)
The member will appreciate that the content of written answers is
not a matter for the Presiding Officer. However, such matters can
be discussed at the Parliamentary Bureau and I am content for
that discussion to take place at the next meeting of that body.
