Open For Business?
When the former Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament George Reid drew up a report on the future of the Assembly in October last year he argued that "citizen engagement is a vital component in ensuring that the Assembly's business is conducted in line with the expectations of the democratic society which elected its members". In response the Assembly Commission developed as one of its strategic priorities "the development of a dynamic and responsive strategy for outreach and public engagement".
A new director of engagement is due to be appointed soon, but whenever the successful candidate takes up their job they will find that the Assembly is actually less open than when George Reid penned his report.
Outside the building we have seen the erection of a fence across the bottom of the Stormont steps and the filtering of all visitors through a security booth to the east of the building. As Sinn Fein's Mitchel McLaughlin has pointed out the first image a visitor has when they arrive at Stormont is "a padlocked gate at the bottom of the steps and a sign saying 'No Entry'." He believes the Assembly is "moving in the wrong direction".
Responding to the criticism, the Assembly authorities say they have " sought to balance ease of access with the need to create a safe space for everyone working in and visiting Parliament Buildings". Shortly after Mitchel McLaughlin put out his statement officials started making preparations to change the sign from "No Entry" to "Visitors This Way".
Of course there is general acceptance that security had to be revisited after Michael Stone's unscheduled appearance in November 2006, however it's ironic that Parliament Buildings did not require a fence across the bottom of the steps throughout the troubles.
Inside the building we still have the restrictions on filming introduced after Sinn Fein's Mairead Farrell commemoration. It's hard to imagine many parliaments where the notion of interviewing a Committee chair or a minister in the privacy of their own room would be controversial, but that's the situation we are in. The original draconian restrictions, which threatened to take "Stormont Live" off air were relaxed, but many of the rules remain in place.
Some senior politicians believe that - set beside their avowed aim of increasing engagement - these rules bring the Assembly into disrepute. But not all seem to agree - the DUP's Alastair Ross just yesterday raised a point of order about whether filming for the 91Èȱ¬ "Politics Show" within the Standards Committee and an interview with the Committee Chair Carmel Hanna had received proper clearance.
The "Politics Show" team say they went through all the necessary hoops. But let's say, for the sake of argument that they didn't. What a disgrace it would be that local TV viewers had actually been allowed a peek of a Stormont Committee going about its work and the Committee's chair explaining what it is considering!
Journalists like me complain that - in contrast to our counterparts in Edinburgh and Cardiff - we remain largely confined to the Stormont basement. That can make getting to and from Committee meetings awkward and cuts down on the level of "engagement" we can have with our politicians.
It's even worse for the representatives of local charities, business and professional groups, some of whom I chatted to at a conference last week. They talked about having to wait in the Great Hall in between engagements with MLAs or Committees unable to get so much as a cup of coffee.
Mitchel McLaughlin says "one of the first things we need to look at is the provision of a dedicated visitor's facility". The Assembly authorities agree saying that "in the longer term the Commission is also developing plans for dedicated visitor facilities at Parliament Buildings, including the possibility of a new building designed for that purpose".
Certainly a more easily accessible visitor's restaurant and an expanded version of the current Assembly shop would be an improvement. A new building might enable the construction of committee rooms fitted out with cameras which should, by definition, make Stormont proceedings more open.
However waiting for a new building could take a long time. If the Assembly wants to prove it really is committed to engaging with the public it needs to address the current overly restrictive environment in the short term.
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