A register of lobbying activity should be set up, to improve the transparency surrounding decisions made by the Scottish Parliament and Government, according to a report published today by Holyrood’s Standards, Procedures & Public Appointments Committee.
The proposed register would cover "significant" lobbying activity, where organisations have sustained contact with politicians or spend significant money employing staff to seek to influence MSPs.
Following a proposal in 2013 by Neil Findlay MSP for a member's bill, ministers announced that they intended to legislate. The committee was tasked with examining whether there was a problem and, if so, how it might be addressed; to what extent a register of lobbyists would help, who it should cover and how it would operate in practice; and whether other steps might be needed.
Its report, containing 17 recommendations as a basis for legislation, proposes an online register for organisations, but not individuals (or groups of individuals involved in a campaign) that engage in significant lobbying activity. The actvities and not just the lobbyists involved would be shown on the register.
Inadvertent breaches would not attract public censure, but stronger sanctions would apply in cases of repeated failure, financial impropriety or deliberate misleading.
Committee convener Stewart Stevenson MSP said: “Lobbying is a legitimate, valuable and necessary part of a healthy democracy. The more voices that feed into the Parliament and Government, the more informed we are in our decision making and scrutiny. But a Parliament founded on openness must seek to make clear who is lobbying, on what issues, and why.
“We are aware of the valuable contributions made by all sectors in Scotland and no proposals are being made that could impact on this.”
He added: “The proposals are also a deliberate departure from the approach taken in UK lobbying legislation. The Scottish register would go beyond details of the lobbyists; it would detail the lobbying activity taking place. It would also cover in-house lobbyists as opposed to singling out consultant lobbyists. We want organisations to register based on what they do, not who they are.”
