Holyrood's Lobbying Register comes into force on Monday

The new legal requirement to register lobbying activity relating to the Scottish Parliament or Scottish Government comes into effect next week.

From Monday 12 March, the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016 introduces the Lobbying Register which is designed to improve transparency about lobbying of politicians.

Details of certain face-to-face lobbying will have to be added to the online register (www.lobbying.scot), which covers face-to-face lobbying of MSPs, Scottish Government ministers, special advisers or the Permanent Secretary.

Acting lobbying registrar, Dougie Wands commented: "The purpose of the Act is to improve transparency and the new online register is not only easy to use but will allow the public to see the lobbying activity which takes place.

"Over the past 18 months we have spoken to hundreds of individuals and organisations and with a wide range of stakeholders across Scotland to ensure they are aware about the register coming into force and what this means for them."

He added: "Don’t get caught out. If you are unsure about whether this applies to you, contact the Lobbying Register team and they can provide more details."

Click here for a Journal article by the then registrar, and here for advice from the Society's Professional Practice team.