South Scotland MSP Brian Whittle has urged the Scottish Government to be open and transparent as it deals with the coronavirus outbreak.
The Scottish Government has come in for criticism of its handling of Scotland’s first COVID-19 outbreak at the Nike conference in Edinburgh, with Ministers accused of failing to alert the public to the outbreak or properly trace people at risk of infection.
During a speech in the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Conservative Shadow Health Minister Brian stressed the importance of Parliament’s role in scrutinising the government and challenging Ministers on their decisions saying “Parliament’s value cannot be underestimated at a time like this; it has a vital role as a source of scrutiny both of legislation and of decision making by ministers. It acts as filter of poor decisions and provides an incentive for improvement.”
He went on to challenge the Scottish Government on its failings in care homes and with the Nike conference adding, “Transparency is crucial if the Government wants to take Parliament with it. Mistakes were always going to be made—we accept that—but Parliament cannot accept deflection and avoidance of proper scrutiny.”
The call for greater scrutiny comes as the Scottish Parliament announced it would shorten its normal summer recess to coincide with school pupils returning on the 11th of August. Parliament will also continue to sit one day per week during recess using a combination of physical meetings and video conferencing to ensure MSPs were able to question ministers throughout the summer.
Speaking after the debate, Brian said:
“No government is going to get everything right when dealing with this pandemic. That’s why it’s more important than ever that MSPs have the opportunity to question decisions.
But that can only work if the Scottish Government are prepared to be open and accept when they get things wrong.
Whether it’s testing and provision of PPE in care homes or the handling of early outbreaks, the buck stops with the Scottish Government.
I’m not interested in playing politics with the pandemic, but that doesn’t mean the Scottish Government shouldn’t be questioned and challenged when there are problems.”
