The Scottish Ministerial Code applies to members of the Scottish Government (the First Minister, Cabinet Secretaries, Law Officers and junior Scottish Ministers). The guidance is issued by the First Minister and is a collection of standards around expected behaviours and responsibilities. Since 2008 there has been a mechanism for an independent review of any suspected breaches of the code.

History

Drafting of the new Scottish Ministerial Code was discussed at the first meeting of the Cabinet on 20 May 1999. It was based on a

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used in Whitehall. The first version was issued in August 1999. The 2008 version introduced changes that specifically prohibited ministers from making misleading statements in the Parliament chamber. In 2015 changes were made to allow Ministers to confirm whether they have received legal advice on a specific topic. Ministerial parliamentary aides were originally not able to sit on committees that provided scrutiny of their Minister. This positions became known as Parliamentary Liaison Officers (PLOs) and the restriction was removed in 2007. In August 2016 A requirement was introduced for PLOs to declare this on the first occasion that they took part in parliamentary business within the remit of their Cabinet Secretary. By December this had been tightened up to extend to every occasion. The February 2018 version contained new sections to guard against harassment, bullying and other such inappropriate behaviour.

Scrutiny

In 2008 an independent Panel was created to review any concerns, with former Presiding Officers Lord David Steel and George Reid appointed. Steel and Reid left their positions in mid-2011. Following this Lord Peter Fraser and

Dame Elish Angiolini Lady Elish Frances Angiolini (''née'' McPhilomy; born 24 June 1960"Angiolini, Elish Frances" in ''Who's Who'', A & C Black.) is a Scottish lawyer. She was the Lord Advocate of Scotland from 2006 until 2011, having previously been Solicitor Ge ...

were appointed. David Bell was appointed in October 2012, then in 2013

James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland * James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman * James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), S ...

, a former Director of Public Prosecutions on Ireland.

Inquiries under the code

In 2009, First Minister Alex Salmond was cleared of a complaint leveraged by Tavish Scott, relating to exchanges at First Minister's Questions (FMQs) on the future of the Scottish Interfaith Council.

References

{{reflist

External links

Scottish Ministerial Code 2018 edition
Scottish Government 1999 establishments in Scotland 1999 in British politics Ethical codes Professional ethics