Spcb) Meeting Held on Wednesday 16 April 2008 at 10.30Am in Room Q1.03

MINUTES OF THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENTARY CORPORATE BODY (SPCB) MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY 16 APRIL 2008 AT 10.30AM IN ROOM Q1.03 Present: Alex Fergusson MSP (Chair) Tom McCabe MSP Alex Johnstone MSP Tricia Marwick MSP Mike Pringle MSP In attendance: Alasdair Morgan MSP Paul Grice Ken Hughes Ian Leitch Stewart Gilfillan Bill Thomson Catriona Hardman Huw Williams Derek Croll Dave Ferguson Keith Low Anna Reid Aneela McKenna Bill Anderson Eric MacLeod Jane McEwan Alli Williams Mary Ann Masson Judith Proudfoot, Secretary MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING 1. The minute of the meeting held on 19 March 2008 was agreed. MATTERS ARISING Scottish Commission for Human Rights – Part-time members 2. The Presiding Officer was pleased to be able to advise members that the 3 candidates approached following interview had all accepted appointment as members of the Scottish Commission for Human Rights. Issues by correspondence 3. The SPCB noted the proposal set out in SPCB(2008)Paper 15 for SPICe to pilot the use of one of the counters in the Garden Lobby as a new SPICe enquiry point. 1 SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT SUPPORT TO THE SCOTTISH CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION – SPCB(2008)PAPER 16 4. The SPCB noted the current status of the Commission and agreed, under the terms of the Parliament’s Resolution directing the SPCB to “allocate appropriate resource and funding”, to the secondment of a clerk for an initial period of eight months and the provision of other limited services in kind. Tricia Marwick MSP noted her dissent from this decision. 5. The SPCB noted, however, that the full requirements of the Commission were not known at this stage and asked that the chair of the Commission, Sir Kenneth Calman, be invited to attend a future meeting to outline his requirements once these were known. MEMBERS’ EXPENSES SCHEME – oral 6. The SPCB received an update on ongoing discussions by Business Managers of the Allowances Review Report. SCOTTISH COMMISSION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: ACCOMMODATION – SPCB(2008)Paper 17 7. The SPCB commended officials on their negotiations on co-locating the Scottish Commission for Human Rights (SCHR) with the Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR). The SPCB agreed the arrangements subject to the satisfactory completion of any final negotiations. CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT 8. The Chief Executive presented his report which covered March 2008. SPCB welcomed the revised format which provided more statistical information on a wide range of areas. Some of the matters highlighted included: • Level of committee work was varied with some busy while others were more quiet. • Work to enhance mobile phone reception was ongoing. • Problems were still being experienced with remote access to the IT systems. Officials were working on this as a matter of priority with contractors. • Level of engagement events continued to be high. In particular, the very successful delegation to the Scotland Week celebrations, led by the Presiding Officer, was noted. • The Parliament’s Gaelic Language Plan had been submitted to Bòrd na Gàidhlig 2 • Successful installation of improved and more energy efficient lighting in the Main Hall/Public Foyer. • Refresh of the exhibition in the Main Hall. • Ongoing work on ‘ecological footprint’. • Financial Report for Period 11 showing expenditure at 5% under budget for the year to date. 9. The SPCB also noted the resignation of 2 members of the Art Advisory Group. CHAMBER UPDATE – SPCB(2008)Paper 18 10. The SPCB received an update on ongoing discussions relating to the chamber strut incident and final accounts. SPCB FINANCE SYSTEMS – SPCB(2008)Paper 19 11. The SPCB noted that the Audit Advisory Board had reviewed the Finance Systems Report and had supported the direction proposed. The SPCB endorsed the recommendations of the Report that the current finance system be retained, with work continuing to develop its functionality including the implementation of the purchasing system. SPCB ANNUAL EQUALITIES REPORT 2007 – SPCB(2008)Paper 20 12. The SPCB recognised the considerable amount of work involved in preparing this Report and thanked officials for their efforts. The depth of the information contained in the Report illustrated the importance these issues were given by the organisation. 13. The SPCB approved the Report and agreed the proposals for publication, including the provision of a copy of the Report to the Equal Opportunities Committee. EQUALITY STAFF AUDIT 2007 – SPCB(2008)Paper 21 14. Again, the SPCB thanked officials for their work in producing this report. The SPCB noted the very high response rate by staff (86%) and was encouraged in particular by the findings in relation to the view of the SPCB as an equal opportunities employer and the ability of staff to achieve a work/home life balance. 15. The SPCB was concerned to note the results relating to harassment/bullying. While these reflected a ‘perception’ of harassment/bullying rather than reported cases, the SPCB was pleased to note the actions already in place to monitor and address these issues. 3 ACCESS TO THE HOLYROOD COMPLEX – SPCB(2008)Paper 22 16. The SPCB considered the issue of passes which provide access to the parliamentary complex and agreed that this item would be discussed further at a future meeting. DATE OF NEXT MEETING 17. The next SPCB meeting was scheduled to take place at 10.30am on 30 April 2008. SPCB Secretariat 17 April 2008 4 .

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