A HOLYROOD committee has called for a halt on any new commissioner-style bodies in Scotland, amid fears they are taking work away from MSPs.

In a new report released on Monday, the cross-party finance and public administration committee says it has heard “compelling evidence” that the present system of bodies — including the Standards Commission for Scotland, the Scottish Information Commissioner, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman and the Scottish Human Rights Commission — “lacks coherence” and “isn’t fit for purpose.”

Calling for a moratorium, committee convener, SNP’s Kenneth Gibson said: “Over the years, the landscape has developed in an ad-hoc way, with new commissioners being agreed on a case-by-case basis.