PRESIDING Officer Alison Johnstone will decide if the Scottish Greens can continue to quiz Nicola Sturgeon at First Minister’s Questions if their leaders or any of their MSPs become junior ministers.
Patrick Harvie’s and Lorna Slater’s party want to be able to scrutinise the SNP administration should the two parties strike a working deal in government and it is understood they wish to be able to continue keep their slot to press Sturgeon at First Minister’s Questions.
FMQs is the main public arena for parties to hold the government to account. It is held every Thursday, with the Tories, Labour, Greens and LibDems given the chance to challenge the First Minister on her policies and their implementation.
Under the previous Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition governments in Edinburgh, the LibDems were not allowed to ask a question to the First Minister at FMQs but the arrangement currently being considered by the Scottish Government and Scottish Greens is not being presented as a coalition but as a “co operation agreement”.
READ MORE: SNP and Greens' co-operation deal faces 'tight' vote from grassroots members
The Greens have been studying the working agreement their fellow Greens in New Zealand have with Prime Minister Jacinda Arden’s Labour government in New Zealand as a possible model for their deal with the SNP.
One insider told The National: “The debate will resolve on the political judgement on whether it is a good time to go into government.
“A minority of members will have very specific concerns and be enthusiastic either for or against, but the majority will take the view based on an overall calculation as to the net benefits.
“Some of the issues, will there be collective responsibility? Are you governed by the ministerial code? Do the Greens still get questions in parliament. That is for the Presiding Officer (below) to determine.
“But I think they have been trying to bottom some of those points out with the parliamentary authorities. I think their response has been that it depends and that they can’t give a response until they have seen the deal.
“Potentially if you are entering a coalition you don’t get a slot at First Minister’s Questions. In New Zealand the Greens ministers are in government on the portfolios they have in the deal, on the areas they are responsible for, but outside government are areas they don’t have responsibility for and in those areas they can behave like an opposition.”
Earlier this month it emerged that the SNP and Scottish Greens are “95%” agreed on a Holyrood co-operation deal.
The two parties have been in negotiations since May when the SNP fell one seat short of an overall majority.
Last weekend it was reported that the deal may be published at the end of this week.
However, any arrangement would need to get the approval of Scottish Green members with the party to hold an emergency general meeting on the matter on August 28.
The agreement would formalise the pro-independence majority in Holyrood and allow the Scottish Government to brandish their pro-environmental credentials in time for the COP26 summit in November.
Speaking about the negotiations in May, the First Minister told MSPs: “As we embark on this process, we are setting no limits on our ambition.
“So in that vein let me be clear that while this is not a guaranteed or pre-agreed outcome, it is not inconceivable that a cooperation agreement could lead in future to a Green minister or ministers being part of this Government.
“The key point for today is that we are both agreeing to come out of our comfort zones to find new ways of working for the common good.”
She added that it could be possible for the Greens to take ministerial roles.
Patrick Harvie, the Scottish Greens co-leader, said at the time the people of Scotland were looking for “grown up politics”.
READ MORE: Gerry Hassan: Why Greens are much-needed force for good in Scottish politics
He said: “Green parties across Europe and in countries like New Zealand have in recent years rolled up their sleeves and worked with other parties to deliver a better future.
“But they have also shown that there is more than one way for government and opposition parties to work together, without losing the ability to challenge one another.”
Asked whether the Greens could ask questions at FMQs if any of their MSPs become ministers, a Holyrood spokesperson said: “The selection of questions for answer at FMQs is a matter for the Presiding Officer.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Positive discussions between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Green Party on a potential co-operation agreement are ongoing. A further update will be provided to Parliament after recess.”
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