MSPs move away from Mound but not controversy

The Scottish Parliament’s temporary residence on the Mound came to an end yesterday, five years after it started.

The first days of the parliament’s existence at the General Assembly Hall in 1999 were overshadowed by a widely condemned decision to mint commemorative medals for MSPs.

And, as they left yesterday, MSPs’ found that their final day was also mired in controversy - this time over a decision to charge the public for guided tours of the new building at Holyrood.

The new parliament building is already 380 million over budget and three years behind schedule, but MSPs were hoping their move down the Royal Mile over the summer would allow them to make a fresh start, and put the troubles of the past five years behind them.

But, on the evidence of yesterday’s furore over the charges, that seems unlikely.

Some MSPs expressed outrage and disbelief when they learned members of the public will be charged 3.50 for a guided tour of the 431 million building at the foot of the Royal Mile.

Tommy Sheridan, the Scottish Socialist MSP, said it was "adding insult to injury" to charge people to see round a building which they had already paid for.

And Margo MacDonald, the independent MSP, said she was alarmed that MSPs had not been consulted about the decision, which had been taken by Scottish Parliament’s Corporate Body, led by the Presiding Officer, George Reid.

Mr Reid insisted the charges were valid and legitimate, pointing out that they would only be levied for official, guided tours hosted by a professional expert, and no-one would have to pay to enter the public gallery or to see the parliament at work.

MSPs will start work in September and guided tours will start in October.

Officials expect 780,000 people to go round the new building in its first year, and the corporate body decided that the visitors, not the taxpayer, should cover the cost of the guides to take them round.

A parliament spokesperson said: "The parliament is procuring an expert guided-tour service. These charges have been set on a break-even, non-profit basis."

There will be four tours every hour, and each one will last 45 minutes.

The spokesperson added: "The guides will take a maximum group of 25 people at a time and provide a detailed commentary on the building design, art, devolution, elections and how the parliament works."

But this did not satisfy Mr Sheridan, who said: "The members of the corporate body should hang their heads in shame, as they are double-charging the people of Scotland to see a building they have already paid for.

"The Scottish Parliament building has sunk further into a quagmire of embarrassment," he said.

Mr Sheridan said the corporate body, which includes MSPs from the four main parties, had failed to follow the example set by Glasgow City Council, which shows visitors round its council chambers free.

Ms MacDonald, a long-time critic of the Holyrood project, said the corporate body had tried to insist that it had consulted MSPs before making its decision, but she said this did not appear to have happened.

She said: "If there was a consultation process, no-one seems to be aware of it. The parliament is founded on principles of accountability and transparency, this doesn’t seem to have been translated into practice."

The main way to get a guided tour at Westminster is through your MP, which means it is only available to UK citizens, but it is free.

During the summer break, anyone can join a 75-minute tour of the House of Commons and the Lords for a charge of 7 for adults and 5 for children, the over-60s and students.

The issue erupted during First Minister’s questions yesterday.

That session also marked the last First Minister’s question time session for John Swinney, the outgoing Scottish National Party leader.

Mr Swinney was given a rousing send off by his colleagues as he clashed with Mr McConnell yesterday, choosing to appeal for Scottish independence from the front-bench for the last time before standing down over the summer.

Mr Swinney will remain as SNP leader until he is replaced by one of his colleagues.

The new leader will be elected on 3 September, but will have only a week to prepare before facing Mr McConnell for the first question time session in the new building, on 9 September.