EDUCATION secretary John Swinney has told MSPs that there was nothing improper about approaches made by his officials to those due to give evidence about legislation on Named Persons, in the latest round of an ongoing dispute.
Holyrood's Education Committee is currently considering the Children and Young People (Information Sharing) bill which is intended to fix problems identified with the controversial named person policy by the supreme court.
However members of the committee had expressed concerns that civil servants had met with individuals and organisations before they gave evidence to the committee, resulting in significant differences between the evidence they gave in writing and the views they expressed in person.
Now Mr Swinney has rejected those concerns in the latest in an exchange of correspondence in a 32-page riposte, insisting: "effective stakeholder and public engagement is the foundation of good government" and citing parliamentary rules to claim there was nothing wrong with the way officials acted.
His letter claims there is precedent for officials telling potential witnesses of planned changes to the legislation and no rules prevent such discussions.
Meanwhile he rejects suggestions officials were acting on their own initiative, adding: "Officials acted upon my instruction".
After responding in detail to 16 points raised by the committee in an earlier letter, Mr Swinney rejects any suggestion that his department's actions were disrespectful to the Education Committee: "I refute the suggestion that there has been a slight on the committee and I hope that this letter provides the clarification sought," he concludes.
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