Johnstone anger covers raft of SNP conference pledges

Her concerns emerged in a letter to the Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy who had written to her voicing her criticism that the creation of a Centre for Teaching Excellence had been made public at the SNP conference and not to the Scottish Parliament.

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She told Ms Duncan-Glancy that she had written to George Adam, the minister for parliamentary business, in light of the announcements which she noted should have been made first to MSPs. Her reply to the Labour MSP was seen by The Herald.

But it has now come to light that Ms Johnstone was also annoyed about a raft of other major announcements that were made at the SNP conference, held during recess, which she said should have been made to Holyrood initially.

Her irritation with the government relates to the many policies unveiled to the SNP conference and is revealed in the letter to Mr Adam, which The Herald has seen.

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In it she noted that one announcement at the Aberdeen conference did follow the "good practice" of unveiling policy during recess via a "government-initiated question" (GIQ).

She drew attention to a new fund to support women and children leaving an abusive relationship announced by the First Minister, being the subject of a Government-initiated question (GIQ), and by doing so was in keeping with protocol.

However, she underlined that the parliamentary procedure was not followed for a series of other announcements.

She cited announcements on an extra £300m to cut NHS waiting lists, additional money for the arts sector, plans to issue Government bonds for the first time (to finance infrastructure projects and help build credibility with investors) and proposals to support the offshore wind and supply chain.

As previously reported by The Herald, she also asked the minister for parliamentary business why the council tax freeze and the centre for teacher excellence were not unveiled via a GIQ.

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She told Mr Adam: "I would be grateful for your explanation of why a GIQ was considered appropriate for the fund for survivors of domestic abuse, but not for other announcements, such as plans to issue Government bonds, funds for reducing waiting lists, a proposed council tax freeze in 2024/25, establishment of a centre of teacher excellence, increased arts and culture funding, plans to support a new offshore wind supply chain and funding support to various projects in Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh."

Earlier in her letter she stressed to the minister that "long-established good practice guidance" on announcements by the Scottish Government states that ministers are "accountable to the Parliament for their policies and the decisions taken in their ministerial capacities" and noted that the issue was something she had raised concerns about.

She told Mr Adam: "The guidance embodies the principle that announcements by the Government on matters of importance should not enter the public domain before or without being communicated to the Parliament.

"It states that, where there is doubt as to the extent to which information can be released in advance of being announced to the Parliament, the Minister for Parliamentary Business, or the appropriate Minister, should consult the Presiding Officer.

"During a recess, the mechanism for making announcements to the Parliament is through written questions initiated by the Government. You will appreciate that respect for this guidance is a matter that I have raised with the Scottish Government previously.

"The right of elected members to question and hold the Scottish Government to account on behalf of their constituents is fundamental to the proper operation of the Parliament."

Last week The Herald revealed Ms Johnstone had written to Mr Adam in a letter to Labour's education spokeswoman Ms Duncan-Glancy who had complained to her about the "unacceptable" education announcement by the SNP which she said "bypassed parliament". 

"Long-established good practice guidance on announcements by the Scottish Government states that ministers are accountable to the Parliament for their policies and the decisions taken in their ministerial capacity," Ms Johnstone told Ms Duncan-Glancy.

"The right of elected members to question and hold the Scottish Government to account on behalf of their constituents is fundamental to the proper operation of the Parliament. 

"The guidance embodies the principle that announcements by the Government on matters of importance should not enter the public domain before or without being communicated to the Parliament. 

"As you note, during a recess, the mechanism for making announcements to the Parliament is through written questions initiated by the Government. 

"I am aware that a number of announcements of Scottish Government policy were made at the recent  Scottish National Party conference.

"I have already written to the minister for parliamentary business to ask for an explanation of why these announcements were not made to the Parliament in the first instance using one of the mechanisms that are considered appropriate, including the one you mention on the establishment of a centre of teacher excellence.

She added: "You can use any of the scrutiny mechanisms available to members to raise this issue in the Parliament, and can raise the matter with your business manager. 

"The actions of Scottish Government Ministers are covered by the Scottish Ministerial Code when they are acting in their ministerial capacity."

The Herald previously reported that education secretary Jenny Gilruth revealed plans to launch the new centre for teaching excellence at the SNP conference, but teachers and professional organisations had been left in the dark over the details.

The council body Cosla was also left fuming after it had not been told of the council tax freeze, while the SNP's partners in government were only told of the policy just before it was unveiled to the SNP conference by First Minister Humza Yousaf in his speech.

In her letter to the Presiding Officer Ms Duncan-Glancy said last week: “It is simply unacceptable that the education secretary bypassed parliament and stakeholders to try to extract political benefit out of this proposal.

“The fact is that this SNP government has treated parliament, teachers and pupils with contempt for years.

“Rather than plotting new announcements designed to grab headlines, the education secretary should be listening to the voices of Scotland’s teachers.”

In her letter to the presiding officer the Labour MSP described it as a "disrespectful" approach to governing which has "side-lined" parliament and stakeholders. 

She said: "Setting up such a centre is a significant announcement. It potentially impacts all of the hundreds of thousands of teachers and pupils in Scotland.

"It may also have significant structural implications for education reform, which you will know is a matter of great interest to all parties above, and to Parliament."

She said the announcement could also have significant funding implications, and drew attention to the SNP's announcement to freeze council tax, which was also not made in Parliament. 

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Minister for Parliamentary Business has responded to the Presiding Officer, stating that Ministers will continue to engage with the Scottish Parliament as policy proposals develop. Ministers recognise and respect the right of elected members to scrutinise and hold the government to account for their policies.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said previously ministers will update parliament on education reform later this year.