The Scottish Parliament Business Exchange (SPBE) was a charity in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
created to develop a greater understanding between the business world and Members of the
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
(MSPs). Set up in 2001, it closed in April 2016.
History
The SPBE was established in June 2001,
and was promoted as an educational exchange allowing members of the Scottish Parliament to learn more about all kinds of businesses.
From its earliest days, there was debate about its activities and funding. It was criticised by transparency campaigners, including SNP MSP
Tricia Marwick
Patricia Marwick (née Lee; born 5 November 1953) is a Scottish politician who served as Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament from 2011 to 2016. She was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 1999 to 2016. Elected as a member of ...
, who believed its fee-based system created preferential access to Holyrood.
Its activities and reporting systems were repeatedly discussed by the Parliament's Standards Committee; in 2002 it was condemned for failing to "provide sufficient transparency or accountability."
In November 2003 the Committee was "unconvinced" there were "adequate safeguards in place" to ensure the SPBE's commitment of being "non-lobbying".
The SPBE was also criticised after a Labour MSP who took part in one of the schemes was asked to sign a confidentiality agreement by a participating company (Pfizer).
Corporate participants were required to sign a letter affirming they would not use the scheme for
lobbying
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agency, regulatory agencie ...
. In practice the SPBE was dominated by corporations who paid up to £7,500 to join, and three-quarters of those taking part in its first round of activities were full-time lobbyists. It was the Scottish 'chapter' of the International Association of Business and Parliament, a company (2004-2014) based in London.
In January 2007 it was announced that
Devin Scobie of
Caledonia Consulting
Caledonia Consulting is a public affairs and communications firm, established (as Caledonia PR Ltd) in December 2006, in Edinburgh, Scotland, and run by director Margaret Smith.
Involvement with Scottish Parliament Business Exchange
Scobie used t ...
had been appointed as the interim executive director of the SPBE (
Companies House records show he was appointed as SPBE's secretary on 29 January 2007).
Scobie was a former lobbyist with
GPC International and had represented SPBE members such as
Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...
as clients.
SPBE facilitates lobbying forum access to Scottish Parliament
Blogs - David Miller - Unspun ''Spinwatch'', David Miller, 9 January 2008. His role at SPBE reportedly ended in 2008
References
External links
* {{Official website, http://www.spbe.org.uk
Scottish Parliament
Charities based in Scotland
2001 establishments in Scotland