This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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People and Parliament report
26/08/2004
A report looking at civic participation in the democratic process in Scotland was published today by the People and Parliament Trust.
Public Services Minister Andy Kerr welcomed the report and said that the Executive was genuinely committed to working closely with the people of Scotland to encourage them to get involved in the Parliamentary process and to air their views on the issues that matter to them.
He said:
"The Executive is already an open and accountable organisation but we are always looking for new and innovative ways to hear what the people of Scotland have to say.
"It is because of this that we are committed to working more closely with the people of Scotland and all our external partners across our full range policies."
The report, 'Room for More Views - Sharing Power, Shaping Progress' calls for deeper and broader consultation.
The Executive attaches great importance to involving key groups and individuals in policy making.
Internal guidance and support promotes better consultation rather than more consultation, and consultation that is appropriate to the policy and to the needs of the target audience."
The Minister added:
"Consultation is one way to gather views but people need to be involved in the work we do in many different ways and at different times.
"Officials and politicians are already getting out and about, meeting people informally, in their own communities, on their own terms - and hearing what they have to say. This will continue and become more frequent in the future."
The report also calls for progress towards better participation to be measured and monitored.
In response, Mr Kerr said:
"We are determined to promote civic participation and do this in many different ways, including sponsorship of the Scottish Civic Forum - one of the partner organisations involved in this report.
"I welcome the independent scrutiny organisations like People and Parliament and the Civic Forum can provide. It helps the Executive, Parliament and other public bodies to raise our game."
"We have already made the report available to our staff and we will be considering it further to see what other lessons can be learnt."
The People and Parliament report is based on findings from a major participative conference held last year.
The conference brought citizens, officials and politicians together to share their experience of policy making processes. Participants reported increased access and participation since devolution. They also voiced many ideas about areas for further improvement in the future. The report can be found at: www.shstrust.org.uk/
The People & Parliament conference followed up a report from the Trust in 1999 which presented people's high expectations for a new political culture at the advent of the Scottish Parliament. It was based on views gathered from thousands of Scots coming together in small groups to consider Scotland's future, backed up by public opinion research.