MSPs: We need a lobbying register

A register of lobbying activity in Scotland should be introduced, a group of MSPs has urged.

The Scottish Parliament’s Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee today called for an online register targeted at organisations who have “significant contact” with MSPs or invest significant amounts of money lobbying MSPs on behalf of others.

The committee said such a register should detail meetings with MSPs, including the issues discussed, events and hospitality arranged by organisations that involve MSPs, as well as aims of the lobbying.

Ministers confirmed in 2013 that they would bring forward a bill on lobbying transparency encompassing Labour MSP Neil Findlay’s attempts to establish a statutory register of lobbyists.

The Scottish Government has now been encouraged to use the recommendations as the basis for legislation, introduction of which has been promised before the end of the current parliamentary session.

Committee convener, Stewart Stevenson MSP, said: “Ever since it indicated it would legislate on lobbying, the Government has made clear the Parliament should have a central role in the policy development. The Committee is unanimous in recommending change, and its proposals have been consulted on to ensure they’re practical and not overly bureaucratic.

“The proposals are also a deliberate departure from the approach taken in UK lobbying legislation. The Scottish register would go beyond details of the lobbyists; it would detail the lobbying activity taking place. It would also cover in-house lobbyists as opposed to singling out consultant lobbyists. We want organisations to register based on what they do not who they are.”

The register, which would be fully searchable for members of the public, should have “proportionate sanctions” and allow organisations a “fair opportunity to address inadvertent breaches” before any sort of public censure.

However, failure to comply could see bodies referred to the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life with the potential thereafter to report to the Procurator Fiscal for possible criminal prosecution should misleading information be deliberately entered on the register.

Willie Sullivan, director of the Electoral Reform Society in Scotland, said: “Lobbying ‘scandals’ are by their nature hidden. The aim of a lobbying register is to prevent these scandals before they arise, rather than to expose them once they have happened. 

“A register of lobbyists, detailing who is meeting with whom to discuss what, and how much they are spending, will make it clear where there may be influence on our politicians and decision makers.

“Whether there is undue influence on debates, policy and legislation is not the question – there may well not be - but we should be sure that there isn’t.”

However, the Association for Scottish Public Affairs, the representative body for the public affairs sector in Scotland, questioned what a register will achieve besides dispelling "some of the myths around lobbying". 

“We’re disappointed the Committee continues the false distinction between consultant lobbyists and others," said secretary Alastair Ross. "A lobbyist is a lobbyist and there’s no excuse for anything other than a level playing field whether it’s a lobbyist for a private company, a trade union, or a community campaign.

“We’re also sorry to see the Committee doesn’t go far enough on reviewing the MSP Code of Conduct for those MSPs being lobbied as they have responsibilities too.

“ASPA members are responsible lobbyists – we have a code of conduct we operate to and we’re open and transparent, but we also have a duty to our employers or clients to respect their confidentiality. If a lobbying register requires us to divulge sensitive or private information, they you may find that people stop informing MSPs who are then left taking major decisions without the best possible knowledge.”

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has been urged to introduce a code of practice for those who lobby that advises on expected standards of behavior.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We welcome the publication of the Committee’s report. We have repeatedly said that the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee’s inquiry into lobbying is central to determining the best way forward and we will now take the time to carefully consider its findings.

“As outlined in November’s Programme For Government announcement, the Scottish Government remains committed to take forward the development of a Lobbying Transparency Bill.”