Scottish Parliament plans further use of YouTube and social media

Published on Tuesday 16 June 2009 11:55

HOLYROOD chiefs are to use blogs, Wikipedia and YouTube to make Parliament more accessible to the public, they said today.

People petitioning Parliament will be able to provide videos and photographs.

And Holyrood's Public Petitions Committee is to have its own blog and Wikipedia page.

The moves, announced today, follow a year-long inquiry by the committee into its work and how it engages with the public.

And local councils should set up their own petitioning procedures for the public, the committee has suggested.

Schoolboy Ryan McLaughlin, 14, from Glasgow, who launched a petition on using vitamin D to combat multiple sclerosis, was taking taking part in the launch of the report.

He used social media to publicise a link to his webpage.

Frank McAveety, convener of the committee, said: "As the first Parliament in the world to launch an e-petitions system, it is vital we continue to embrace new social media like YouTube and blogging to allow people to engage with us as easily as possible.

"That is why we have invited along 14-year-old Ryan McLaughlin, who has already launched his own video on YouTube to publicise his petition.

"Equally, we want to ensure that petitions are scrutinised effectively, which is why we support petitioning within local authorities. This would provide a route for people to take forward more locally based petitions."

• Watch Ryan McLauhglin's YouTube video