MSPs are formally sworn in at Holyrood today and there is a request for allowance of remote work to continue even after the Covid-19 pandemic ends.
MSP Emma Roddick, the newly elected Highlands and Islands MSP is the youngest MSP to take the oath. 129 members will be sworn in today. Ms. Lamont has held a seat since 1999 but has now stepped down and is among 34 others who will not be returning.
This time more woman have been elected and also included is the first woman of color, Kaukab Stewart, the SNP’s Glasgow Kelvin MSP.
“I think there is a debate about the extent to which people should be able to engage remotely. I heard (former presiding officer and WestScotland MSP) Ken Macintosh earlier talking about the loss in debate because you can’t intervene, but I think there are some practical things around if you are not going to be in a debate but you can vote, can you vote remotely? I think that kind of thing, being open to those possibilities, is important.”Ms. Lamont, Former Scottish Labor Party Leader
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross MSP, Gail Ross had cited the lack of opportunity for remote working as a factor in her decision to stand down.
“I think it is particularly pertinent for my region because it is massive and far away from Edinburgh. I have been saying this since I got in that we need to, not only retain the remote working access, but improve it because at the moment you can’t really make interventions in debate. I want to see people who are staying in their region for whatever reason – it may be family, caring or just having constituency work – being able to fully participate in debate.”Emma Roddick
She had also expressed that she wouldn’t have been able to campaign for the seat if it wasn’t for technology owing to the financial strain she would’ve had to incur.
As can be seen, across the globe and across departments and industries, remote work is coming to the rescue in more ways than we could’ve imagined. From what is seen, remote work saves money, time and let’s most people do their jobs comfortably and with more motivation.
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