Shake-up for business scheme

The committee called for reform of the scheme

An overhaul of the Scottish Parliament's business exchange scheme has been called for following concerns over possible unfair lobbying.

Holyrood's standards committee said the scheme should be reformed within three months to ensure that the parliament has greater control over it.

The scheme was intended to enhance relationships between politicians and the commercial world.

It has been run as a company overseen by a board comprising five MSPs, representatives of major firms and trade union officials.

Margaret Jamieson: Drug company clause

However, it came under scrutiny after the BBC's Newsnight Scotland programme revealed that six of the eight outside representatives who took part in the first exchange were professional lobbyists.

The Labour backbencher Margaret Jamieson also complained that the scheme failed to protect her from signing a controversial 10-year confidentiality clause when she visited the drug company Pfizer.

The committee has recommended the total restructuring of the scheme.

MSPs said it should cease to be an independent company and measures should be taken to improve its accountability and its openness.

The report from the committee said the exchange's position as a separate company was "problematic" and "unacceptable" because most people saw it as a parliamentary body.

It added: "The committee is therefore of the view that there should be a review of the structure of the exchange and the exchange should be reconstituted as part of the parliament with direct and robust lines of accountability to the parliament."

Inadequate guidance

The report also said the fact that organisations in the scheme had to pay a subscription "has given rise to media speculation that companies may buy preferential access to MSPs".

The committee said its MSPs agreed that the scheme was "non-lobbying" but said it was not convinced "there are adequate safeguards in place to ensure it remains so".

The report also blamed the "hybrid nature of the exchange" for the controversy involving Kilmarnock and Loudoun MSP Ms Jamieson.

The deputy convener of the parliament's health committee was asked to sign a confidentiality agreement by drug manufacturer Pfizer when the company took part in the scheme.

The report regretted the inadequate guidance given to Ms Jamieson "which subsequently exposed her to public attacks on her integrity".