The issue of accuracy of quotation was hotly contested yesterday in Parliament, both in Committee and in the Chamber, with newly appointed Labour Parliamentary leader Wendy Alexander in SNP members’ firing line.
In her debut at First Minister's Questions last Thursday, Alexander opened with the topic of fuel poverty, questioning Alex Salmond about the SNP’s intentions for the continuation of the previous Executive’s Central Heating Programme which provides free central heating for people over 60 years.
Referring to evidence given by Communities and Sport Minister, Stewart Maxwell to the Local Government and Communities Committee the previous day she asked, “Why, then, did the Minister for Communities and Sport admit yesterday that the Scottish National Party Government is now reviewing the scheme, with targeting or means testing the likely outcome?”.
The First Minister immediately disputed the accuracy of Alexander’s statement, saying, "I am afraid that Wendy Alexander's description of what he said at yesterday's committee meeting is not accurate…. The Minister for Communities and Sport said clearly yesterday that we are reviewing the scheme with the purpose of improving it."
Questioned in last week’s Committee on the continuation of the programme, the Minister stated that a review would be carried out after which it would be assessed and potential changes considered but flatly denied any plans to discontinue the scheme.
Maxwell said: "Nothing stays the same forever and we cannot say that the current programme will last forever. It is entirely reasonable to review it. I am not for a minute suggesting that we will take it away or stop it; that will not happen. The programme will continue, but we have to ensure that it targets those who live in fuel poverty, which might mean looking at other options to ensure that that happens. That does not mean that we will means test people, or that we will stop the programme."
This disparity of interpretations initially aroused some heated exchanges in yesterday’s Local Government and Communities Committee with SNP MSPs Alasdair Allan, Bob Doris and Kenneth Gibson raising the issue with the Committee Convener, Labour’s Duncan McNeil.
The SNP members declared their strong objection to Alexander’s alleged misrepresentation of the Minister’s statements prior to publication of the official report of the meeting on the principle that this called into question the integrity of the Committee. Allan recommended that the Committee write to Alexander asking for an apology.
The Convener dismissed the point stating that this was not a point of committee procedure but a political point of view and not appropriate business for the Committee to consider.
Labour MSP Johann Lamont intervened that “Comment is free” and that people were entitled to draw conclusions from what they heard in Committee, while Liberal Democrat Jim Tolson intensified the political friction in the room by adding that it was not the committee’s integrity that was in question but the Minister’s. The Convener shortly closed the discussion, saying that he had already “indulged it” and must move on to the Committee’s agenda.
The SNP members were not content to let the issue lie however and it was raised once more by Kenneth Gibson that afternoon as a point of order in the Chamber. When told by the Presiding Officer that the Chamber was not the place to raise this issue, Bob Doris responded that they had earlier attempted to raise the matter in Committee and asked the PO what the appropriate channel for complaint was if a Member has misled the Parliament. The PO replied that it was up to the Member herself to apologise if that was the case and that he would not ask her to do that.
Labour reacted with their own point of order raised by Jackie Baillie prior to decision time, who stated that Wendy Alexander had not misled the parliament and quoted Stewart Maxwell’s statements to last week’s Committee by way of evidence. The PO responded saying that he was not entirely sure what this point of order was about, that he was not there to adjudicate on the accuracy of what members say in the Chamber and would now like to consider the matter closed.
No one has commented on this article.
Related news items:
|
Holyrood news 
