HOLYROOD is to launch an inquiry into whether the Parliament should automatically re-visit legislation to ensure it has been effective.
The move by MSPs to look at ways in which the scrutiny of previous acts of the Scottish Parliament may be improved comes as opposition parties are growing ever more critical of how committees are holding the Government to account in the country's first majority Parliament of the devolution era.
The Standards, Procedures and Appointments Committee accepts fresh checks may be needed to track the effective working of a single chamber parliament with no revising body in place before laws are passed.
At the request of Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick, the committee recently came up with reforms to the way the Parliament is timetabled to make it more responsive.
Committee convener Dave Thompson said: "We want to look closely at our process of post-legislative scrutiny, to ensure that acts of this Parliament work as they were intended, perhaps revisiting new laws one or two years, or more, after coming into force."
Some evidence raised at the committee's previous inquiry pointed to post-legislative scrutiny being the next step in updating Holyrood's procedures.
Most Holyrood committees have chosen to revisit previous legislation – but sometimes this amounts to a small number of evidence sessions rather than a concerted analysis of a law's effectiveness.
David McLetchie on behalf of the Conservative group suggested a year ago: "There is considerable scope for more post-legislative scrutiny in the Parliament."
Labour's Hugh Henry said at the same time: "Given that we have a Parliament that is responsible for scrutinising then passing legislation and that we have no revising chamber, I think we have sometimes rushed into legislation and not given sufficient thought to how effectively an act has worked."
Ex-SNP deputy presiding officer, Alasdair Morgan, said: "We passed our first legislation 12 years ago. We need to look again at that legislation to see how it is working. We don't have enough time in the committees for post-legislative scrutiny."
Liam McArthur of the Liberal Democrats said: "The credibility of the legislation we pass will only be enhanced by a reassurance that capacity, willingness and determination exist to look back at it and ensure that it does what it said on the tin."
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