A new blog by IPEN member Ailsa Burn-Murdoch (Senior Researcher at the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, SPICe) summarises the recent milestones the Scottish Parliament have passed in embedding deliberative democracy in scrutiny.
After a year and a half of fact finding and commissioning a full citizens’ panel to explore public participation in the Scottish Parliament, the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee published its final report and recommendations on 12 September 2023.
The blog post focuses on the Committee’s aspirations for institutionalising deliberative democracy, the first steps being taken in exploring and realising that, and key risks in the coming years.
Alisa Burn-Murdoch said:
“The Scottish Parliament has had an internal unit dedicated to supporting citizen participation for several years, and it delivered its first Citizens’ Panels in 2019. The publication of this report, and its unanimous support from the wider membership of the Scottish Parliament, marks a significant step in institutionalising deliberative practice.
“The Parliament will be piloting two more people’s panels, in 2024 and 2025, including one supporting post-legislative scrutiny. The hope is that by the end of the current Parliamentary session, in 2026, the Committee will be able to recommend a practice, governance and accountability framework for the use of deliberative methods that will help the institution to grow and strengthen the role of citizens in its work in future sessions.”
Embedding Deliberative Democracy in a Participatory Parliament was published on 6 November on the Scottish Parliament website.
Images: Scottish Parliament Chamber Floor; Exterior view of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. Photos courtesy of the Scottish Parliament.