Serbian Parliament to welcome delegation of north MSPs

THREE north members of the Scottish Parliament will this week visit the Serbian Parliament to deliver workshops on the corporate services provided to MSPs to support them in their work.

All three are members of the Scottish parliamentary corporate body, the cross-party group responsible for ensuring parliament is provided with the property, staff and services it requires.

Orkney’s Liam McArthur and Highlands and Islands members Mary Scanlon and David Stewart will arrive in Belgrade on Wednesday to deliver workshops on the following topics:

• The role of the Scottish parliamentary corporate body

• The legislative process in the Scottish Parliament

• The electoral system for the Scottish Parliament

• The work of the Parliament’s public audit and public petitions committees.

Speaking ahead of their departure, Mr Stewart, convener of the public petitions committee, said: "Holyrood welcomes more than 80 international delegations a year and there is a huge interest from other parliaments to learn about how we do things here in Scotland.

"Many are keen to learn about our public petitions committee, a topic I am always happy to talk about as I believe strongly in its effectiveness."

The visit has been organised by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, which is paying for the travel, accommodation and expenses of the delegation once it departs Scotland.

The MSPs will be accompanied by three members of staff who have experience in the corporate body activities and will support the MSPs in the delivery of the workshops.