A daily Holyrood question time? Only if there are answers
Holyrood’s outgoing Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone has suggested a daily question time session to help make the Parliament “responsive”.
We would suggest that anything which increases scrutiny of the Scottish government and ministers would most certainly be a good thing but there is an important caveat. The ability to ask questions is not the main problem facing the Scottish Parliament, it is the likelihood of obtaining an answer.
Were a daily question time to follow the same format as elsewhere in Holyrood, it many very well simply become an opportunity for the government to land some soundbites while avoiding the main issue completely. Simply increasing the number of times that can happen therefore will not necessarily achieve its aim.
Instead we would like to see ministers held to the same standard as the questioning MSPs – and when they fail to answer the question, to face action.
Ms Johnstone has of course had high-profile clashes with former Tory leader Douglas Ross, who last year accused the Presiding Officer of having a “blatant bias” against them. He was twice ejected from the Chamber.
The frustration of Mr Ross with the parliament’s ability to scrutinise the government was understandable, as was the action ultimately taken by the presiding officer.
But why not also hold a minister in contempt of parliament when they singularly fail to provide the information demanded?
A daily question time session is not a bad idea, providing we can be confident it will result in open and honest answers from the government.
Otherwise, it will simply be the equivalent of a free party political broadcast. And we already have enough of that once a week at First Minister’s questions.
After May 7, there will be a new parliament, filled with fresh MSPs. There is the chance for a fresh start. And we can start by holding those in government properly to account.
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