The Presiding Officer, on 26 October 2016, created an independent Commission on Parliamentary Reform to take a fresh look at how well the Parliament is working and how best it can represent, reflect, and respond to, the needs of Scottish people today and in the years to come. Civic society was placed at the heart of the Commission, and its members heard from 1200 people at 50 events across the country, from Galashiels to inverness.
The Commission published a report of its findings on parliamentary reform on 20 June 2017, and the Parliament held a debate on the report on 29 June 2017.
The Presiding Officer responded to the report immediately by accepting recommendation 73 and establishing a Presiding Officer’s Advisory Group to oversee delivery of the report’s recommendations. The Advisory Group referred the recommendations to the relevant parliamentary bodies, including SPCB, the Parliamentary Bureau, and Conveners Group to take forward, while meeting regularly to review progress.
The Presiding Officer's Advisory Group published its report on how the Commission recommendations have been delivered on 7 March 2019. Parliamentary reform is an ongoing process and the Presiding Officer and wider Parliament are continuing to look for ways to build on the principles and themes of the Commission’s work to ensure that the Scottish Parliament can continue to develop as a stronger, more agile, inclusive and effective legislature.