Audit recommends rule changes to guarantee female representation on parliamentary bodies

Parliamentary rules need to be overhauled so women are fairly represented and single-sex committees are no longer allowed to be formed, a review led by Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone has recommended.

Johnstone put together a cross-party group of MSPs and academics a year ago to carry out an audit of the representation and participation of women at Holyrood.

The group found that there have been fluctuations in the number of women in leadership and decision-making roles in the parliament and that men tend to be over-represented in a number of mandatory committees, such those dealing with finance, audit, standards and procedures, and delegated powers.

It has now made a series of recommendations, including that rules are changed to guarantee women’s representation on bodies such as committees, the Parliamentary Bureau and the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, and that single-sex parliamentary committees are consigned to the past.

It also said a forum for female MSPs to discuss issues of mutual interest should be set up, a permanent proxy voting system should be introduced, and sitting-time data should be reviewed to work out how to limit unpredictability.

Johnstone said that, while parliament currently has the highest proportion of female members since 1999, “history shows us that progress cannot be taken for granted”.  

“The package of measures published today is designed to strengthen equal representation and participation at Holyrood,” she said. 

“Having women in key roles and ensuring they are properly represented across the parliament helps bring different voices and perspectives to decisions.

“This report is only the first step towards substantive reform. I believe that the recommendations will help drive institutional change over the short, medium and longer-term.”

In addition to the presiding officer, the audit board included Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole Hamilton, Jeremy Balfour of the Scottish Conservatives, Karen Adam of the SNP, Maggie Chapman of the Greens and Monica Lennon of Scottish Labour.

They were joined by academics including University of Edinburgh politics professor Fiona Mackay and gender and politics lecturer Dr Meryl Kenny, and Sarah Childs, professor of politics and gender at Royal Holloway.

Kenny said that, if implemented, the recommendations would created “an inclusive Scottish parliament for the 21^st century”.