Parliament Called To Review Means For Citizens’ Voices To Be Heard

Parliament Called To Review Means For Citizens’ Voices To Be Heard

Scottish Civic Forum
www.workwithus.org
10.06.07

A petition has been lodged with the Scottish Parliament, calling on the Scottish Executive and Scottish Parliament urgently to review their consultation and participation practices; to reinstate funding for the Scottish Civic Forum and to adhere to the Scottish Parliament’s Participation Handbook.

Before devolution, citizens made it clear that they wanted to have an ongoing relationship with the Scottish Parliament, not simply to vote at elections every four years.  The Scottish Civic Forum was set up to support civil society’s participation, particularly the smaller, less well resourced organisations and the most disenfranchised.  It was supported through core funding by the Scottish Executive.

In 2005, a political decision was taken not to continue funding the Forum beyond 2005/06.  As a result the Forum’s core work had to be curtailed.  Over 1,000 people lobbied Executive Ministers and the Scottish Parliament urging them to reconsider the decision on the basis that they felt an independent body like the Forum was needed to facilitate their participation.  Many of them gave examples of having participated in specific issues that the Forum had alerted them to, and which they said that they would not have otherwise known about.

With a new administration at Holyrood, there is an opportunity to raise the question of how consultation and participation is conducted by the Scottish Parliament and Executive and to revisit the question of funding for the Scottish Civic Forum.  A number of MSPs have said publicly that there is a need for an independent body like the Scottish Civic Forum and that it is not appropriate for the Scottish Executive and Scottish Parliament to be the only animators of consultation and participation. The Forum believes that an independent mechanism, tailored to meet the needs of citizens, not just the needs of the Parliament or Executive is a key element of healthy participatory democracy and supports citizens’ aspirations for devolution.

If you want to support the petition, visit the Scottish Parliament website – www.scottish.parliament.uk and click on e-petitions in the left hand column.  You will then be able to click for the list of current petitions and by following the instructions sign the petition.