Menu
UK Parliament
indyref, referendums, independence vote

Committee visit Edinburgh to question Scottish Government Minister John Swinney

16 June 2014

Image of UK Parliament portcullis

The Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) will hold the sixth evidence session of Civil Service impartiality and referendums inquiry in Edinburgh on Monday 16 June at 9.30am.

The inquiry aims to consider the dual obligations of civil servants in the Scottish Government to their Ministers and to the UK Civil Service as a whole and to explore what "impartiality and objectivity" mean in practice for civil servants working on the referendum on independence. It will also scrutinise the leadership of the Civil Service in relation to the referendum on independence.

Witnesses

Monday 16 June, Royal College of Surgeons, Surgeons' Hall, Edinburgh

9.30am:

  • John Swinney MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth, Scottish Government

10.30am:

  • David Clegg, Daily Record
  • Scott MacNab, The Scotsman
  • Simon Johnson, The Telegraph (Scotland)
  • Susan Deacon, Professorial Fellow, University of Edinburgh, and former Scottish Parliament Minister

Issues to be explored

  • historical and comparative perspectives on the implications of devolution for civil servants in the UK;
  • examples of challenges in upholding the principle of civil service impartiality; and
  • tensions in the policy advice role of officials in the context of the referendum on Scottish independence.

The @CommonsPASC Twitter account will be live tweeting the session, using the hashtag #CSScotland

Further Information