The Sunday Herald
January 14, 2001
Academics reveal the true extent of silent power at Scottish parliament;Mound more secretive than Westminster
BYLINE: By Douglas Fraser Political Editor
SECTION: Pg. 7
LENGTH: 782 words
The Scottish Executive is less open about the influence of corporate clout and lobbyists than the UK government and it has no plans to require ministers or civil servants to reveal how they come under pressure.
That is the finding of researchers at Stirling University, who are calling on the Scottish parliament's standards committee to demand that everyone in the Executive is open about lobbying activities.
They want ministers and civil servants to give annual reports about all meetings or significant contacts with lobbyists, their clients or other special-interest groups.
They also want lobbyists and their clients to reveal how much they spend trying to influence each piece of legislation.
The research, to be published in March, is the only independent submission to the committee, which flags up major areas of potential conflict of interest for legislators and officials.
And while the academics say there should be full and statutory regulation of lobbyists, the academics also warn the committee that it would be wrong to limit itself to MSPs, saying the activities of the whole Executive should be included.
But Mike Rumbles, chairman of the standards committee, yesterday firmly rejected the idea of extending the inquiry into lobbyist activity so that it covers the Scottish Executive's civil servants and political special advisers. He said it would, however, cover ministers, as they are MSPs.
The research shows the extent to which Edinburgh has become a base for six major multi-national lobbying firms, also with major presences in London and Brussels. Several major companies and organisations have also directly hired parliamentary affairs officers.
The industry tends to take a very low profile. This is particularly so after the sleaze and cash-for-questions scandals in Westminster in the mid-1990s, which were followed by a tough set of anti-sleaze requirements on openness in the Neill Report.
The industry in Scotland lowered its profile following the Lobbygate inquiry, in which the standards committee looked into claims that lobbyists were selling improper access to ministers, including schools minister Jack McConnell, who was cleared, but whose pre-election role in public affairs caused him embarrassment.
"Lobbyists are subterranean. People don't know about them," said David Miller, one of the Stirling researchers. "They're extremely shy of the media and always have been. This is a key part of our political scene, where business interests tend to dominate, in the subterranean world where policy is made."
The drive towards partnership between the public and private sector is a particular danger, he argues, in private finance deals on hospitals, schools and housing, where companies stand to gain lucrative contracts from negotiations with officials and ministers.
Working with Philip Schlesinger and Will Dinan, as authors of Open Scotland: Journalists, Spin Doctors and Lobbyists, Miller says states in America have successfully brought in lobbyist regulation by law, which Scotland could follow. "Statutory regulation could be the beginnings of a programme of reform of the culture of secrecy which affects both lobbying and the civil service in Scotland," he said.
He fears the standards committee could duck the lobbying regulation issue. It meets later this month to decide how to handle it, with its membership having changed. The academic says the committee only consulted with those already having an interest in a self-regulation system, and could be swayed by the lack of evidence of public interest or public opinion.
"It's not enough to have a parliament," he argues. "Part of the argument for devolution was that we needed to reform the whole culture of governance. But that hasn't happened, because the culture of the civil service is still determined in London, and Donald Dewar didn't let it happen because he was so cautious. The MSPs seem frightened to go as far as Westminster in a parliament which is supposed to be open."
Angela Casey, convener of the Association for Scottish Public Affairs, one of two industry bodies opposed to statutory regulation, said the industry should regulate itself with a code of conduct, while the MSPs should regulate their own behaviour.
She explained that lobbying and public affairs exist to help people understand the political system, and to "seek an open dialogue with the Parliament to the benefit of both parties". ASPA argues those who breach its code should face the sanction of being "named and shamed" and expelled from the association.