URGENT reforms are required in the Scottish Parliament because it is slipping into complacency and must become more dynamic, a veteran MSP has claimed.

As MSPs gear up for the new session, Hugh Henry said that Question Time sessions have become a farce, ministers regularly prevent MSPs from getting the information they need, irrelevant debates are added to the parliamentary schedule to pad it out and party whips have too much power.

The Labour MSP for Renfrewshire South said he has had long-standing concerns that standards are falling and was not raising the issue now simply because the SNP had an overall majority, though he warned that the parliament and Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick would have to be more assertive in challenging the Government because of it.

One of Mr Henry’s most trenchant criticisms centred on the weekly question time sessions.

He said: “Both First Minister’s Questions and questions to portfolio ministers have become a farce where questions are often not answered at all. The Presiding Officer, on behalf of the Parliament, should ensure they actually answer the questions that are asked.”

He said members whose questions were answered should also be allowed more than one supplementary to allow them to develop a theme, even if that meant reducing the number of questions per session.

Mr Henry was also scathing about the quality of answers to written questions which he said were “often completely and utterly inadequate”.

“It’s a disgrace and it has to change,” he said. “I think ministers are not only hiding behind inadequate answers but they are deliberately preventing MSPs from having the information they need to hold them to account.”

He suggested a new system of allowing MSPs to interrogate ministers, allowing greater time and depth.

Mr Henry also challenged the amount of time allotted to backbenchers during important debates while questioning the value of other debates which he said were “just padding”.

He said more original thinking was required and accused party managers of “dreaming up completely pointless” topics to fulfil the schedule.

“We are filling the time simply to justify our presence in the chamber,” he said.

Mr Henry, winner of The Herald’s Politician of the Year award in November, added: “We need to make sure the topics for debate are relevant and sharp.

“We need to look at how we encourage people to participate in genuine debates where there can be interventions and discourse instead of allotted slots of four minutes where you hardly have time to develop a point. When it comes to important legislation there should be much more time for members to debate amendments, particularly at Stage Three, which is sometimes rushed.

“That’s particularly important because we don’t have a revising chamber so there is greater pressure on us to do it properly.”

He added: “We should also be looking at lessening the influence of the party whips and the Presiding Officer should be looking more at who participates in debates.”

He admitted: “The standard and quality of debates has sometimes left a lot to be desired.”

Mr Henry also suggested shifting Members Debates, usually held at the end of business on Wednesdays and Thursdays, from the main chamber to committee rooms. Normally, only a handful of MSPs attend these debates and they’re watched by an equally small number of people in the public gallery.

Mr Henry said holding them in the committee rooms would provide a more intimate atmosphere for those interested.

He also said committees, which currently do not sit when the main chamber is in session, should be allowed to do so because the present system meant that important business was often interrupted or postponed when it would be better to continue the momentum.

Mr Henry also urged the parliamentary authorities to re-visit the ban on using laptops or notebook computers in the chamber.

They are allowed in the Welsh Assembly and some MSPs are getting around the ban by using smart phones.

Mr Henry is sending his comments to Ms Marwick.