Michael Matheson investigation: What is the process and expected timescale?

The SNP health secretary is being probed over an £11,000 bill on his Holyrood-issued iPad

Michael Matheson is being investigated over an £11,000 data roaming bill on his parliamentary iPad.

The health secretary is facing calls to resign after he revealed the huge cost was racked up by his teenage sons watching football during a family holiday to Morocco.

Mr Matheson, the SNP MSP for Falkirk West, pledged to pay back the full sum after discovering the truth.

Michael Matheson

However, he failed to initially come clean and misled journalists when asked whether there had been any “personal use” of the device.

The minister referred himself to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB), a cross-party group of MSPs which oversees the running of the Scottish Parliament, which confirmed it had launched an investigation last week.

Unprecedented circumstances

The circumstances here are unprecedented. This is a large sum of money, and there is no mechanism for MSPs to refer themselves to the SPCB.

However, in a statement, the Scottish Parliament said the SPCB has “a vital interest in the integrity of the members’ expenses scheme”, as well as in the principle that SPCB-funded resources are used for parliamentary purposes.

It added: “The Corporate Body will therefore undertake an investigation in line with its duties under the MSP code of conduct. The investigation will consider whether the claims for £11,000 of public money, incurred through data roaming charges, were proper and met the requirements of the scheme and whether resources were used for parliamentary purposes in accordance with all SPCB policies.

“The SPCB will seek to conclude its investigation promptly and its findings in fact, will be published. Depending on those findings, there may be a number of options open to the SPCB, as set out in section 9 of the code of conduct, including referral to the SPPA [standards, procedures and public appointments] committee.”

What is the process?

The SPCB will seek to establish the facts – no more, no less. Its investigation will not look into the wider circumstances.

Mr Matheson will be given an opportunity to provide a full account of what happened. He previously gave the Scottish Parliament a written assurance that the £11,000 bill related to parliamentary work – but that was before he says he discovered his sons’ involvement.

If the SPCB decides Mr Matheson submitted an improper claim, it is likely to refer the matter to Holyrood’s standards committee. It may also recommend the removal of all or part of his expenses entitlement for a specified period of time.

A referral to the standards committee will likely see an investigation by the Ethical Standards Commissioner, Ian Bruce.

What is the likely timescale?

So how long might this process take? It’s tricky to say – but there are two parts to this.

Firstly, there’s the SPCB probe. The Scottish Parliament simply said it will conclude its investigation “promptly”.

Since it is only seeking to establish the facts, this shouldn’t be too complicated. It will not require external expertise to be brought in, for example.

Whether it reports its findings before Christmas or early in the new year, we’re talking a few weeks here, rather than months.

However, if the SPCB refers the matter to Holyrood’s standards committee, then that process will also need to run its course. This would be a wider investigation, and would take longer. In other words, this could rumble on for months.