JOBS-WORTH HOME OFFICE CONTRASTS WITH SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT'S OPEN APPROACH.

JOBS-WORTH HOME OFFICE CONTRASTS WITH SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT'S OPEN APPROACH.

HOME OFFICE WASTING CONSTITUENTS' TIME WITH RED TAPE.

Lothians SNP MSP Dr Ian McKee has received letters from the UK Border Agency concerning how to deal with constituents' enquiries which starkly contrasts with the approach of the Scottish Government who put the interests of the constituent before the Parliamentarian.

In their letter to Mr McKee the Home Office's UK Border Agency says that any enquiries sent to them by MSPs "should be caveated to state the matter is a non-devolved issue and that future enquiries should be made through the Westminster MP".

This contrasts with a letter from the Scottish Government's Minister for Parliamentary Business, Bruce Crawford, who says that the Scottish Government "place a high priority on responding to Ministerial correspondence as quickly as possible and to advise a Westminster MP to direct queries on devolved matters through an MSP, would serve to delay the reply".

Commenting on the contrasting attitudes Dr Ian McKee said:

"This is completely unacceptable behaviour and smacks of jobs-worthiness and an addiction to red tape.

"Reserved matter or not, a constituent has every right to choose which Member of Parliament they wish to contact. They should be the priority when it comes to an enquiry they have taken to a Parliamentarian.

"There is no reason why I should not, as a democratically elected Member of Parliament, contact the UK Government for information on their behalf

"As much as the UK Government likes to believe that Holyrood is a second class Parliament, MSPs have the responsibility to represent and work for their constituents no less than MPs in Westminster."