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MSP corrections procedure amended

 

Changes have been made to the procedure used by MSPs to correct any inaccurate statements made in Holyrood.

It is hoped the move will make the process more open and transparent.

From now on, a specific section of the Scottish Parliament's business bulletin - which sets out the day's proceedings in Holyrood - will be used to publicise any corrections that have been made.

The updated guidance to MSPs also makes it clear the specific steps they are required to take to highlight any corrections to fellow members of the Parliament.

Members of Holyrood's Standards Committee examined the issue after Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick admitted there was still confusion about the process - which was brought in just over a year ago.

The changes - which are being introduced with immediate effect - come in the wake of First Minister Alex Salmond being accused of trying to quietly change the official record of what was said inside the debating chamber.

Dave Thompson, convener of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee, said they had "taken the opportunity to make the guidance and the procedures clearer and more streamlined" He added: "Taken together we trust these changes will deliver an open and accessible corrections process."

Ms Marwick said: "I am grateful to the committee for revisiting this matter quickly. Members will welcome not only greater clarity to the process but more crucially the increased transparency it will bring to parliamentary scrutiny."

The mechanism by which an MSP can correct an incorrect statement, made in either the main chamber or one of the committees, was introduced in Holyrood in October last year. When a correction is made to the official record the incorrect information remains on it, alongside the correction.

Mr Thompson said the revised guidance should "make it clear that there are specific steps that members are required to take to ensure that the corrections they have requested are publicised to other members".

 
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