Assistant steps up as new Holyrood chief executive

A longserving employee of the Scottish Parliament has been named as its new clerk and chief executive.

David McGill, who has worked at the Parliament since 1999, has been appointed to succeed Sir Paul Grice, who has retired. In his 20 years at Holyrood he has performed a variety of roles including clerking parliamentary committees and principal private secretary to the Presiding Officer. Most recently, he served as assistant chief executive, working directly with political parties and advising the Presiding Officer on procedural and parliamentary matters.

Before joining the Parliament, he worked as a civil servant, first at Registers of Scotland as an executive officer and then as deputy clerk to the Lands Tribunal for Scotland.

His new appointment follows an open competition and selection process. He will be responsible for providing the Parliament with the property, staff and services required to carry out its purposes for advising the Presiding Officer and Deputy Presiding Officers in the management of parliamentary business. As principal accountable officer, he will also be responsible for the financial management of the Parliament. In addition he has lead responsibility for the Parliament’s response to constitutional issues.

Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh MSP commented: “I am delighted to welcome David as the new clerk and chief executive of the Scottish Parliament. David has been with us from the very beginning of devolution in 1999 and has always shared the Parliament’s vision of a new way of doing politics founded on the principles of promoting equality, accessibility, transparency and the sharing of power with the people of Scotland.

“I have had the good fortune to work alongside David in a number of senior roles in recent years and I know that he brings with him an intelligence and sincerity allied to a natural sense of empathy and warmth which will help continue to build the reputation of this institution at the heart of public life. He has excellent political judgment and I have no doubt that he will be an outstanding leader, helping to guide the organisation through whatever the future holds.”