The panel, which is chaired Sir Alan Langlands, was commissioned by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body to carry out a full scale review of the MSPs’ allowances system.  

The review will examine the Members’ Allowances Scheme, the Party Leaders’ Allowance Scheme and the Equipment and Furniture Scheme and the panel has been asked to report back to the Parliament no later than March 2008. 

Following today’s preparatory discussion the panel agreed that it will: invite written evidence from MSPs; issue an open call for evidence from members of the public and interested bodies; establish a dedicated website where members of the public can access information as the inquiry progresses, including evidence received and minutes of meetings; commission information on what tasks are expected of MSPs and the resources they require to do this effectively and efficiently; and commission comparative research data on the allowances arrangement of other parliaments and institutions, including Westminster, the Welsh Assembly and the Northern Ireland Assembly. 

The panel also agreed that their next meeting would be in September, and then monthly from then on.  

In addition to Sir Alan Langlands, who is the principal and vice chancellor of the University of Dundee and former chief executive of the NHS in England, as chair the remaining four members of the panel include: Alastair MacNish, chair of the Accounts Commission and former chief executive of South Lanarkshire Council; Isobel Sharp, president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and a partner in Deloitte and Touche LLP; Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, former UK government minister, MP and MSP; and Tom McCabe MSP, former Finance Minister and a current member of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. 

Langlands said: "Our meeting this morning was essentially preparatory, to ensure that we develop the right methodology over summer that will enable us to conduct a systematic review of what parliamentary allowances are required to enable an MSP to carry out his or her duties. 

"In the coming months, we shall gather evidence not only from the political parties but from the public and any individual body which wishes to put forward its considered view."