Committees essay due on Monday

1. Committees essay due on Monday • Ensure this is completed – plan in class today and finish plan at home • Next week…timed essay in class on how MSPs influence decision-making in the SP

2. The committee system enhances democracy. Discuss. • Small groups of MSPs who meet to scrutinise legislation and conduct inquiries – hold Government to account which means they are democratic. Examples…legislation accepted or rejected. • Committees are made up of MSPs from all parties - proportionate – sharing power which is democratic. However, because SNP have a majority in SP (which is unusual) perhaps they are less democratic than under minority or coalition governments. • Different types of committees – subject and mandatory. Power sharing – different parties convene different committees – which is democratic. MSPs to disregard party allegiances – cooperate for good of nation – democratic. Public petitions committee – public involved in decision-making which is democratic. Also witnesses from public which is democraticand meetings all over Scotland – open and democratic (participation and access). • Committees can propose bills which is democratic because it shows that power is shared – not all legislation from Government. Examples of committee bills…However, SNP control most committees because they have majority – less democratic because SNP dominate. E.g. Justice committee – convened by SNP member, Christine Grahame MSP. 9 members in total – 4 SNP, 2 Labour, 1 Conservative, 1 Liberal Democrat and one Independent (who used to be in SNP and would favour them on many issues) – democratic?

3. Once you have written essay, check for the following… • SPELLING and GRAMMAR • Need HARD FACTS – names, dates, figures, examples of bills. Use notes and research yourself. • Need to explain why everything you say is relevant to the question – ANSWER THE QUESTION THROUGHOUT. Do not ramble on if what you are saying is irrelevant. • MINI-CONCLUSIONS – sum up each paragraph and EXPLAIN why what you have just said answers the question (i.e. why does what I have just said mean that committees are democratic or undemocratic?) • LINKING WORDS/PHRASES at the start of every paragraph – However, on the one hand, on the other hand etc… • CONCLUSION – must show balance. Mention all arguments in essay and conclude whether you think committees enhance democracy or not

4. Paragraph 1 Example • One way in which the committee system certainly enhances democracy is because committees hold the government to account. The founding principles of the Scottish Parliament make it clear that the Government is accountable to the Parliament and committees hold the Government to account by scrutinising every piece of legislation which the Government proposes. Furthermore, committees can reject member’s bills. For example, under the SNP’s minority government of 2007-2011, a number of bills were rejected by committees. One example was Margo MacDonald MSP’s member’s bill entitled the End of Life Assistance Bill. This was knocked back in 2010 after MSPs in the End of Life Assistance Bill Committee, which was set up to consider the bill, decided that it had serious flaws. In 2008 the Government’s Graduate Endowment Abolition (Scotland) Bill was rejected by the Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Committee who argued that the bill was unnecessary . This followed discussion amongst the committee’s members who eventually concluded that the bill was not in the public’s interest. This shows that the committee system hold the Government and individual MSPs to account which enhances democracy. • To sum up, the committee system makes Scotland more democratic because it holds the Scottish Government to account, meaning that the Government cannot simply do whatever it pleases without being scrutinised.

5. Start of paragraph 2… • However, another way in which it could be argued that the committee system enhances democracy is because committees are comprised of members from all political parties, meaning that there is a sharing of power…

6. Examples in essay… • Use websites listed on blog to help you • Include examples of types of committees, names of committees, conveners by name/party, examples of committee business, evidence sessions, bills, inquiries, successes and failures of committee system

7. Examples… • Current Committees – see http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/1700.aspx • Examples…Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee, Education and Culture Committee, Equal Opportunities Committee, Referendum (Scotland) Bill Committee, Finance Committee, Justice Committee etc…

8. Examples… • Committee Bills - http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/Bills/610.aspx (list of all bills) • In 2009, the Finance committee proposed the Scottish Parliamentary pensions bill which set out rules to govern the pension scheme for MSPs.

9. Examples… • Committee Inquiries - in 2012, the Education and Culture Committee conducted an inquiry into children being taken into care. This inquiry was an attempt to find out how well the current system of care for vulnerable children is coping with demand.

10. Examples… • Committee Conveners and Membership - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committees_of_the_Scottish_Parliament - this page gives the membership of every committee in the SP • E.g.

11. Examples… • Evidence Sessions – This year (2013) the Welfare Reform Committee heard from people affected by the so-called “Bedroom Tax”. • In 2011, the Justice Committee heard from expert witnesses when considering the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Bill. It heard from Pat Nevin, a former footballer and football analyst and Graham Spiers, a football journalist.

12. Examples… • Committee Business – the Finance Committee is currently looking at a number of Bills, including the Landfill Tax (Scotland) Bill, and is involved in the implementation of the Scotland Act (2012) which has given the SP more powers in relation to tax and borrowing