Why the Parliament engages with the wider world.

In the first parliamentary session it quickly became evident that the Parliament operates in an environment which extends beyond Scotland ’s borders. It is clear that: Scotland is affected by world events and by decisions made elsewhere – in London, Brussels and beyond. The Parliament needs to be in a position to understand and, where possible, to influence these processes to Scotland ’s benefit.

There is considerable international interest in the Parliament and demand for interaction with it; this has to be managed and can bring benefits.

There is significant interest among Members in engaging with the wider world.
The First Minister said on the occasion of the election of the new Presiding Officer that, “ As long as there is a devolved Parliament in Scotland, I hope that it will not be insular, but will recognise that we are part of a much wider world.” The Scottish Executive published its European Strategy on 20 January 2004. This recognises the role of the Parliament in European issues and seeks to work in partnership. The Executive’s wider External Strategy is expected in due course.

Most fundamentally, engagement with the outside world allows the Parliament to benefit from opportunities to learn and to influence. MSPs and parliamentary staff can learn and the Parliament and Scotland can gain influence at home and abroad by:
sharing experience and building productive relationships with other legislatures, governments and organisations
taking opportunities to find out how others do things to improve the Parliament’s effectiveness across the range of its legislative and operational responsibilities, and
taking opportunities to promote the Parliament and Scotland.
Why an external liaison strategy is needed

Possibilities for external activity and the demand to interact with the Parliament will always outstrip the resource we can devote to it. The Parliament needs to be clear about what it wants from its institutional external engagement. This will help to identify priority activity and relationships so that resources can be focused on these.

It is recommended that resources should be focused on activity and relationships that give the Parliament greatest benefit in terms of learning and influencing. What and from whom do we most need to learn and where do we have most interest in and prospect of increasing our influence?

It is also appropriate in taking forward any activity in the external field to be guided by certain principles. This helps determine what sort of activity we undertake. The principles which served us well in the last session were that, as well as promoting the objectives and priorities of the Parliament, activity should respect the foreign policy of the United Kingdom and should be complementary to the external aims and activity of the Scottish Executive. Experience suggests that our activity can add value in particular by representing and reinforcing the devolved parliamentary role and promoting Scotland as a modern, dynamic and participatory democracy.
Priority relationships and key objectives

Experience in the first session has helped identify which relationships and which types of activity seem to offer most to the Parliament. It is recommended that in this session we build on that experience to focus effort on key priorities and that we try to improve the coherence of our efforts. This means coherence in working with others to deliver better results and creating a coherent set of relationships, taking advantage of linkages between them.

The following paragraphs consider the priority relationships identified in the evaluation of external liaison in the last session and propose five key objectives for the Parliament’s external liaison in the coming session.
Within Scotland and Britain

A key objective should be to reinforce the role of the Parliament within the United Kingdom as a model of inclusive, modern parliamentary practice, able to make a valuable contribution to shaping the world’s perception of Scotland and the United Kingdom.

The Scottish Executive leads in setting and implementing Scotland ’s external relations policy; the Parliament, in plenary and in committee, scrutinises that. But as an institution the Parliament can add value and can benefit from working with Ministers and their officials to promote Scottish interests abroad. The Parliament, at Presiding Officer, Committee and staff level, has developed effective working relationships with the Scottish Executive and its external relations staff. The Parliament is seen as a key element in projecting Scotland and as a constructive partner in external activity. Information is shared between the two organisations and a range of joint activities have been undertaken to promote Scotland together. The priorities and objectives of the two institutions have developed in tandem to some extent, for example the strong emphasis on Europe, although they are not identical in every detail. Where there is mutual benefit, the Parliament should continue to work in this way with the Executive.

We have also benefited by working in partnership with, and with the support of, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, making use of its global network to promote our work. Both the Executive and the FCO regard the Parliament as a valuable and natural partner in the representation of Scotland and the UK internationally. We should continue to capitalise on the increased influence that this partnership offers.

External Liaison Unit takes part, on behalf of the Parliament, in the Scottish International Forum (SIF). This is a network that brings together all public organisations in Scotland with an interest in promoting Scotland in the wider world. This offers us the opportunity to influence how Scotland is marketed abroad, to ensure that the parliamentary aspect is properly reflected and provides an additional outlet for promoting the Parliament. We should continue to participate actively.

SIF provides access to a network of partners ranging from Scottish Enterprise to the British Council and individual local authorities. We should increasingly look to work in partnership with other Scottish organisations to help us to follow up or to add value to parliamentary initiatives.

Partnership need not just be in terms of other public bodies. Civic Scotland and the business community should also be encouraged to work with us on external initiatives. We should continue to invite interested groups to addresses by prominent speakers and to take the opportunity of visits to invite them to participate in our work. We should use such opportunities to make the Parliament widely accessible in line with our equal opportunities framework.

The relationship with Westminster and with the devolved assemblies developed strongly in the first session and should continue to be a key focus. Frequent interaction at Presiding Officer, committee, member and staff level allows the sharing of experience within a common constitutional framework and the opportunity to look for similar solutions to problems we all share. The fact that many issues affecting Scotland are reserved to Westminster makes it essential to work for a productive relationship between the two legislatures. Promoting parliamentary practice that has proved successful here as a model for reform in other UK legislatures increases our standing and influence.

The Parliament has 5 seats and 4 substitutes on the British-Irish Interparliamentary Body (BIIPB). The Bureau has now nominated members for the new session. The Body provides a useful formal framework for working with the other UK legislatures and the Irish Parliament. It recognises the proper role of the Scottish Parliament in contributing to issues which affect the British Isles as a whole. It provides a platform for MSPs to air issues of importance to Scotland. In the past this has included discussion of foot and mouth disease, radioactive waste management, EU enlargement and fisheries. Our aim should be to give the Body’s work greater impact e.g. by exploring opportunities for working more closely with the British Irish Council and by developing a more outward-looking approach.
Within Europe

The following should be key objectives:
To increase the effectiveness of the Parliament’s European interaction, including by considering the establishment of a parliamentary presence in Brussels, and by increasing the influence of devolved parliaments generally in EU and wider European matters
To position the Parliament as a strong, dynamic and outward –looking European legislature, with a coherent set of sustainable relationships with similar partners.
These objectives complement well the priorities of the Executive’s European Strategy.

It is essential that the Parliament has a close and productive relationship with the European Union institutions. Decisions made by the European Union affect Scotland and are the business of the Scottish Parliament. The European and External Relations Committee will continue to play the leading role in EU issues, but many of the other committees and the Parliament as an institution need to engage as well. Work on effective “mainstreaming” of EU issues across committees is being taken forward through the Conveners’ Group. Good familiarisation by MSPs and staff with the operation of the institutions and with key players is crucial. We should continue to welcome high-profile EU visitors to the Parliament and to regard Brussels and Strasbourg as key targets for raising our institutional profile. The short-term exchange of staff with the European Parliament is also proving beneficial and should continue.

Following recommendations in the last session from the European Committee, the SPCB has commissioned a feasibility study into a parliamentary presence in Brussels. The Body will be considering during 2004 recommendations on how such a presence could add value to the Parliament’s engagement with EU business.

MSPs nominated post-election as members of the Committee of the Regions and of the Council of Europe ’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Europe are taking up their roles and will be supported by parliamentary staff. ELU will work to bring the benefit of this participation to the rest of the Parliament.

The Parliament should continue to contribute to the debate on Europe ’s future, a key EU issue for Scottish Ministers. The Presiding Officers should take opportunities to participate in events which promote the views of the Parliament on this and on the role of devolved legislative assemblies generally. It is recommended that a Presiding Officer continue to attend the annual Conference of Legislative Regional Assemblies of Europe (CALRE). The Parliament is not a formal member nor do we subscribe to its political declarations. Nonetheless, it is a useful network that enables us to keep abreast of thinking within other legislatures and to promote ourselves widely.

The Parliament should work in complementarity with the Executive in REGLEG, the group of European devolved governments, particularly during 2004 when the First Minister is President of REGLEG. CALRE’s recent close working with the REGLEG offers additional coherence.

The Executive’s European Strategy regards building strong links with other regions and countries in the EU as being central to the delivery of benefits to Scotland. The Strategy highlights in particular the development of links with a range of leading regions, with Nordic countries and with Accession States.

In the last parliamentary session, good contacts were established with the leading devolved legislatures in Catalonia and Flanders. Presiding Officers and the Bureau took the view that the Parliament should not sign formal agreements, but work flexibly with partners in a developing relationship. The most productive aspect of the relationship has been at European Committee level, where partners have agreed to work together in a network, Network of Regional Parliamentary European Committees (NORPEC) that may be expanded to include other legislatures in due course. Good exchanges of experience have also taken place between our staff and those in the Flemish, Catalan and Basque Parliaments.

The Scottish Executive has signed agreements with Catalonia, Tuscany, Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia. The Executive is keen for others within Scotland to take forward activity under these agreements. It may be that the Parliament or its committees are interested in co-operating with counterparts in some of these sub-states, for example, by inviting them to join NORPEC. Staff are discussing with Executive officials their plans for activity under the agreements and we would propose to share our intentions with them so that we can take advantage of any potential benefits of co-ordination.

Towards the end of the last session, contacts with the Nordic parliaments and the Nordic Council, the network of Nordic legislatures, developed strongly. The Parliament hosted a successful seminar with the Nordic Council, the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Scottish Executive. The Nordics offer good models of modern democracy and economic success to Scotland, which shares many of the geographical and social characteristics of these countries. The Nordic Council of Ministers has made clear its wish to work towards closer relations with the Executive and regards Scotland as a West Nordic nation. Early soundings suggest the Nordic Council is interested in developing its relationship with the Scottish Parliament primarily by means of a link through the British-Irish Interparliamentary Body. The Body, with the encouragement of our members, has begun to explore this. We would suggest that association with these strong northern partners is an attractive prospect and that sustained relations with Nordic parliaments should remain a priority for this session.

The “new” Europe offers Scotland many opportunities in terms of markets and sharing of experience on common issues. With FCO and Scottish Executive support, we have put effort into sharing our experience as a democracy in transition with nations who will soon be members of the EU. Links with Estonia in particular have led to sustained exchanges. It is recommended that we continue to follow-up these links.

To maximise coherence, a particular focus on the Baltic States as both associate partners in the Nordic Council and as new European states would make sense.
With the Commonwealth

An active Scotland branch, which has proved of strong interest to a range of MSPs, of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) has developed. All MSPs are members of the branch; the Presiding Officer is its ex-officio President. Elections for the 4 Executive Committee were held shortly after the general election. The Committee wants to use the budget allocated annually by the SPCB to continue its active participation in the CPA to promote parliamentary democracy across the Commonwealth, providing members with opportunities to participate in events organised internationally and hosting activities within the Parliament.

A forward programme for the new session is under discussion with the Executive Committee. It recommends that relations with Canada and its federal and state parliaments should be a particular focus. Experience in the first session identified this as the most promising and practical of our CPA relationships. This would fit well with an emphasis on northern neighbours in our European relations. We should look to identify linkages between the two, to maximise the coherence of the CPA and non-CPA strands of the Parliament’s external activity. The Committee may also support the development of links with parliaments in Southern Africa and India, both significant developing democracies.
With the USA

The Parliament expended resources over the last session in developing its participation in Tartan Day in the United States, alongside the Executive and other partners. Scotland ’s profile was raised and some useful contacts were made. Tartan Day, or Week as it has become, can be a useful promotional tool for Scotland in the United States, and in Canada too.
Promoting Scotland and Participatory Democracy

A key objective should be to work with the Scottish Executive and other partners to promote Scotland and the Scottish approach to building participatory democracy.

The Parliament’s focus should be on building beneficial parliamentary relationships with priority targets. It can also play a part, however, in Scottish Executive activity which is chiefly designed to promote Scotland abroad for political, public diplomacy, trade and economic, cultural or tourism purposes. For example, the Presiding Officer led a delegation to participate in Scotland in Catalonia in September. The Scottish International Forum is working up future Scotland Weeks of promotional activity in target areas of importance to a range of members. It is recommended that the Presiding Officers consider participation in Scotland Weeks or other promotional activity on a case by case basis in the light of its relevance to the Parliament’s interests.

The Parliament can promote itself and Scotland by capitalising on the interest in our model of modern,participatory democracy. Countries and regions that have experienced repression or conflict have shown particular eagerness to learn from our approach. The Parliament has already contributed to projects to assist with the development of legislative processes in Bosnia and Palestine and with the emergence of a regional parliamentary initiative in the South Caucasus. There is strong support among MSPs for this work and it is has raised Scotland ’s and the Parliament’s profile at home and abroad. ELU would propose to consider ways of developing this aspect of the Parliament’s external activity in partnership with other relevant organisations.
Inward visits

A key objective should be to manage the flow of inward delegation visits in a way which gives most return to the Parliament and Scotland for the investment of MSP and staff time involved.

Our expectation is that the high-level of interest in the Parliament and in devolution will continue. The new Parliament building will stimulate further interest. We expect a very high number of inward delegation visits from other parliaments, governments and international organisations. This offers welcome means of showcasing the Parliament to a broad spectrum of international parliamentarians and decision-makers. We are working in consultation with the Parliamentary Bureau and with other directorates across the Parliament to ensure the flow is managed and that priorities are observed. But hosting and meeting such delegations is likely to be a significant part of the work of the Presiding Officers and, to a lesser extent, committee conveners, members and staff. We are committed to getting the most for the Parliament and Scotland out of the resource that goes into these visits. We are improving the consultation, the pre-briefing, the feedback and the reporting associated with visits. There will be wide dissemination of this material on the Parliament’s intra and internet sites. Our aim is to make possible a more “intelligent” service that brings benefit to the Parliament and Scotland as well as to the visitors. We will also maximise the benefit that high-profile visits bring in terms of positive media coverage.
Outward delegations

In the last session, a small number of cross-party outward delegations was organised each year. These can be a useful way to establish contacts and to cover a lot of issues in a short space of time. They are, however, resource intensive in terms of staff and members’ time and tend to be most worthwhile as part of a broader programme of sustained activity.
Involvement across the Parliament

In the first Parliamentary session the Presiding Officers worked in consultation with other parliamentary authorities and committees of the Parliament in taking forward external issues. Reports were submitted to the European Committee, Business Managers and to the Corporate Body on general external issues and on specific proposals. This should continue with these bodies being properly involved in the management of the Parliament’s external activities.

A new element in this session will be the expanded remit of the former European Committee to include external relations. This gives the Committee a remit to scrutinise the external relations work of the Scottish Executive. This broader remit will enable the Committee to make an even more valuable and informed input to the Parliament’s institutional-level external liaison

While much of the weight of external liaison falls on the Presiding Officers, many other MSPs play a part and this is essential. International visitors want to interact with committees and their conveners or with relevant cross-party groups. Members can gain a lot from international engagement, and some have been nominated by the Parliament to international organisations. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association branch, particularly its annually elected Executive Committee, is another key player in the Parliament’s external activity. The staff of the Parliament, too, have developed links with counterparts in other legislatures and international organisations that benefit the operation of the Parliament.

The Parliament’s strategy should be to encourage the broad involvement of Members and staff in external liaison, for example, by consulting widely on strategy and forward programmes, by offering opportunities for MSPs and staff to meet inward delegations, to take part in outward delegations and by organising external–related events in the Parliament.
Communication

ELU attaches great importance to its role in communicating well about the Parliament’s external activity within the Parliament, to civic Scotland, to other Scottish and UK organisations and to the wider world. The Parliament’s intranet (http://intranet/speir/services/elu/elu.html) and internet (http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/sp/po/index.htm) sites carry a wealth of information about external activity. ELU is contributing to the work led by Access and Information Directorate to improve external communications generally.
Reporting and evaluation

ELU will submit annually to the Presiding Officers a report evaluating the Parliament’s institutional-level external liaison and making recommendations. This will be submitted to Business Managers and disseminated within the Parliament and more widely.

External Liaison Unit
May 2004