An Aberdeenshire MP is to challenge Scotland’s most senior civil servant for snubbing a Holyrood committee.
Andrew Bowie, Conservative MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, plans to raise former Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans’s “unacceptable” refusal to answer questions from MSPs sitting on Holyrood’s finance committee in Westminster this week.
At Scottish Questions on Wednesday 16 March, Mr Bowie will ask if it is acceptable for her to refuse to help MSPs and the Scottish Government, after committee convener Kenneth Gibson MSP said members were “extremely disappointed at the discourtesy shown”.
‘Unacceptable barrier’ to democracy
Ms Evans was replaced as permanent secretary by John-Paul Marks on December 31, 2021, but does not officially leave the Civil Service or her £170,000 salary until the end of March 2022.
Up until then, she remains answerable to Simon Case, head of the UK Civil Service.
On January 27 the finance and public administration committee asked Ms Evans to appear to “give evidence on your reflections and insights of your time as permanent secretary”.
However current Permanent Secretary John-Paul Marks replied instead on March 7 to say she would be unable to attend because she is “not able to speak on behalf of or represent the views of Scottish ministers” since leaving her post.
Ahead of Scottish Questions on Wednesday, Mr Bowie said: “I intend to ask a question about the permanent secretary’s unavailability to committee at the Sottish Parliament which is, on the face of it, an unacceptable barrier to democratic scrutiny.
“If there are perfectly good reasons for such a waiver, the parliament and public should have an account of that.”
Her refusal to appear before committee in Holyrood has also been challenged by Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex-Cole Hamilton.
He said: “In her blogs, [Ms Evans] stressed the importance of leadership and accessible government, but by refusing to appear before parliament she seems to be falling far short of what she preached.”