New system for complaints against Scottish ministers delayed

The Scottish government has delayed the development of a new procedure for handling harassment complaints, blaming the Omicron variant for taking up time.

A new system is being drawn up following the botched handling of complaints against Alex Salmond.

This was due to be in place by the end of the year, but consultations with staff and unions are still ongoing.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said time needed to be taken to ensure the new procedure is "fair and robust".

He told MSPs that Omicron was "absorbing the time and priorities of ministers and officials", and that it would be January before they could see documents and question him about them.

The current complaints handling process was drawn up in late 2017, in response to the #MeToo movement, and was used to investigate two allegations against Mr Salmond in early 2018.

However, the former first minister raised a court challenge complaining that the investigation was unfair, and the government conceded that it had been "tainted by apparent bias" due to a procedural flaw.

Mr Salmond - who was later cleared of charges of sexual assault in a separate criminal trial - was awarded more than £500,000 in legal costs, and levelled a series of accusations against the government and SNP figures during a Holyrood inquiry into the row.

The inquiry committee concluded that the government's handling of the complaints had been "seriously flawed", with the women involved badly let down.

An internal review of the procedure by leading QC Laura Dunlop was also critical, and recommended that investigations of former ministers should be independent of government.

The government accepted this recommendation, and announced in June 2021 that a new procedure would be drawn up - pledging to update MSPs and launch the updated policy by the end of the year.

However, Mr Swinney has now told Holyrood's finance and public administration committee that it would be January before they could see the plans.

He wrote: "After careful consideration, I propose to engage further with staff and trade unions on the procedure before sending the documents to you before my committee appearance in January.

"I would be very grateful if the committee would give an extension of time until after recess, as the Omicron variant is absorbing the time and priorities of ministers and officials who recognise the importance of this procedure and wish to make it as fair and robust as it can be before presentation to parliament."

The current procedure has not been used again since the mishandling of the complaints against Mr Salmond.

Women's rights campaigners have said the controversy surrounding that case could deter potential complainers from coming forward in future.

The new system is to include an "external, independent procedure to oversee formal complaints about former and current ministers' behaviour".

A "propriety and ethics team" will be established to "ensure the highest standards of propriety and integrity across the civil service in Scotland".

And action is to be taken to improve the government's storage and use of records, after criticism of failures to hand over documents to the court during Mr Salmond's legal challenge.