The Scottish Parliament

Joined the Commonwealth: 1 January 1911

CPA Branch Formed: 1 January 2000

Unicameral/Bicameral: Unicameral – Scottish Parliament (129)

Parliament/Legislature website: Scottish Parliament

Standing Orders: Scottish Parliament

Committees: To find out about the number of Committees at the Scottish Parliament please click here.

In addition, the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body is responsible for ensuring that the Parliament is provided with the property, staff and services it requires.

While the Parliamentary Bureau has a remit to:

(a) propose the Parliament’s programme of business;

(b) propose alterations to the daily business list;

(c) propose the establishment, remit, membership and duration of any Committee or Sub-Committee; and

(d) determine any question regarding the competence of a committee to deal with a matter and, to determine the lead Committee in relation to any matter that falls within the competence of more than one Committee.

Recent news:

• October 2025 - Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities network plans accessibility guidelines for Legislatures as accessibility audit takes place in Scottish Parliament (part of a suite of recommendations arising from ‘A Parliament for all’ the report of the Scottish Parliament’s cross-party Gender Sensitive Audit).
• October 2023 - Focus on the legislative process at CPA Parliamentary Academy residency course in Scotland
• September 2022 - CPA Secretary-General visits The Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh as Members discuss their activities with the CPA and the wider Commonwealth.

CPA Scotland Branch participation in CPC Workshops:

• 68th CPC: CWP & CPwD Joint Workshop D: Overcoming the Barriers to the Involvement of Women with Disabilities in Politics- Roz McCall MSP - click here for report
• 67th CPC: CPC Workshop H: Creating Inclusive Elections for Persons with Disabilities (CPwD)- Jeremy Balfour MSP - click here for report
• 66th CPC Workshop G: The Commonwealth Charter: A Charter for all human rights or some? Panellist: Hon. Kaukab Stewart, MSP (Scotland) - click here for report
• 65th CPC Workshop H: The Climate Emergency: Are Parliaments holding governments to account? Panellist: Hon. Claire Baker, MSP (Scotland) - click here for report
• 65th CPC - CWP Conference Workshop C: Financial Empowerment of Women and Gender Sensitive Budgeting - Panellist: Hon. Claire Baker, MSP (Scotland) - click here for report

Recent articles in The Parliamentarian:

• The Parliamentarian 2026 Issue One - An article on the Lobbying Register, how it was conceived, what is its main purpose and how can other Parliaments learn from the Scottish Parliament’s example by Billy McLaren, Lobbying Registrar, The Scottish Parliament
• The Parliamentarian 2024 Issue Three - 'Marking the 25th anniversary of the Scottish Parliament in 2024' by Rt Hon. Alison Johnstone, MSP, Presiding Officer of The Scottish Parliament
• The Parliamentarian 2024 Issue One - 'How to host a disability outreach event: The Scottish Parliament’s inaugural disability summit' by Hon. Jeremy Balfour, MSP
• The Parliamentarian 2024 Issue One - 'Building Parliamentary Networks to promote good mental health' by Neil Stewart, Senior Assistant Clerk, Scottish Parliament
• The Parliamentarian 2023 Issue Four - CPA news: CPA Chairperson visits CPA Scotland Branch
• The Parliamentarian 2023 Issue Three - CPA news: CPA Malawi and CPA Scotland bilateral visit
• The Parliamentarian 2023 Issue Two - CWP News: Scottish Parliament publishes gender audit report and International Women's Day event at Scottish Parliament
• The Parliamentarian 2022 Issue Two - Commonwealth Day 2022: CPA Scotland Branch secure Commonwealth Day motion
• The Parliamentarian 2021 Issue Four - 'The work and the role of the Scottish Parliament's cross-party group on Disability' by Hon. Jeremy Balfour, MSP
• The Parliamentarian 2021 Issue Four - 'Reflections on the COP26 Globe Legislators Summit at the Scottish Parliament' by CPA Secretary-General, Stephen Twigg, 'Code Red for Humanity: Parliamentarians gather during COP26 for Global Climate Change Summit' and 'United Nations COP26 Global Climate Change Summit in Scotland'
• The Parliamentarian 2021 Issue One - Linda Fabiani MSP, Deputy Presiding Officer, Young Women Lead programme at the Scottish Parliament 
• The Parliamentarian 2020 Issue Two - CPA news: CPA Vice-Chairperson's visit to Scotland
• The Parliamentarian 2019 Issue Two - Ken McIntosh, MSP, Presiding Officer, Celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Scottish Parliament
• The Parliamentarian 2019 Issue One - Maurice Corry, MSP , Male champions on gender equality
• The Parliamentarian 2018 Issue Four - CPA news: Launch of the Legislative Assemblies Business Continuity Network (LABCON) - CPA Scotland
• The Parliamentarian 2016 Issue Two - Susan Duffy, Head of Committees and Outreach Services, Scottish Parliament’s Women in Leadership programme
• The Parliamentarian 2015 Issue Three - Anne McTaggart MSP, Youth Engagement in Elections in Scotland