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Mr McLeish says the parliament has exceeded its expectations.

The former Scottish Labour leader says the parliament was meant to be family friendly and be less partisan.

He says he is not sure the latter has been achieved.

Mr McLeish says the size of the parliament must be looked at in the future and he says Scotland should have a constitution.

Canon Kenyon Wright, who played a central role in the creation of the Scottish Parliament, has died aged 84.

Mr Wright chaired the executive committee of the Scottish Constitutional Convention, which laid the groundwork for Holyrood.

The retired Scottish Episcopal Church priest died on Wednesday.

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First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said he was "a great loss to Scotland's political, civil and religious communities".

Her predecessor, Alex Salmond, described him as "one of the great spirits of the movement of self-government."

Born in Paisley in 1932, Mr Wright worked as a Methodist missionary in India before serving at Coventry Cathedral in England.

He returned to Scotland in 1981 as General Secretary of the Scottish Council of Churches.

Former Labour first minister Henry McLeish reads into the record the death of Canon Kenyon Wright,.

Mr McLeish praises his work on devolution, as had Lord McConnell.

Mr McLeish uses his submission to say the Scottish Parliament has been a "remarkable success story"and has "quickly become an integral part of the life of Scotland".

The former Labour first minister says: "Nearly 20 years on this is an appropriate time to reconsider and reappraise the institution and identify where we can improve and reform."

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Mr McLeish explains: "The number of MSPs is incredibly limiting in the amount of work that can be processed in the current working week.

"This is clearly an issue at the present time but in this turbulent political world thing could get a whole lot worse as Holyrood assumes more importance in the continuing redistribution of powers and responsibilities within the United Kingdom.

"This is not a partisan or political issue, it is of vital practical importance and significance if Holyrood is to be fit for purpose in this rapidly changing political landscape."

Mr McLeish said there were "compelling reasons for Scotland to have a codified written and accessible constitution".  

The commission will now quiz former first minister Henry McLeish.

Commission John McCormick asks about the role of the parliament in holding chief executives of public bodies to account.

Lord McConnell says the chairs of boards of public bodies should be held to account.

Image source, Commission Chair John McCormick

The former first minister says he is not opposed to confirmation hearings for chairs of boards, but not chief executives.

Mr McCormick asks if the parliament has become complacent.

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Lord McConnell says the parliament is still relatively new, but it it is not generating the debate it should be.

He says: "I would implore you to be radical."

Commission member John Edward asks to what extent the general public are able to get a sense of what the parliament's job actually is.

Mr Edward asks if this is properly advertised by the parliament itself. 

Lord McConnell says he is optimistic in everything he does and he celebrates the parliament but, from time to time, the government will make mistakes.

He says the system should allow them to highlight mistakes and make the appropriate changes.

"The parliament will only have a profile separate from the government when it feels separate from the government," he says. 

Geoff Mawdsley asks what Lord McConnell's preferred voting system should be.

Lord McConnell says in the past he thought he Single Transferrable Vote was worth considering, but he was not stuck on it.

The former first minister says the list MSP and constituency MSP roles are different.

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The former Scottish Labour leader says something must be done about the way the list currently operates, the power to the party is too strong.

Lord McConnell says term limits on the regional list should be looked at. 

He says candidates should be force to choose between standing i the list or in a constituency.

Pam Duncan-Glancy asks how greater diversity could be created in parliament.

Lord McConnell says "nothing beats the parties doing this correctly".

"The parties delivering proper diversity is essential," he says.

Lord McConnell says the voters have to insist on this. 

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The Very Rev Dr. Lorna Hood asks if the drama of FMQs is the best form of scrutiny, as people say they never answer the question and it is very partisan.

Lord McConnell praises Jon Bercow, the speake of the House of Commons, despite saying he would not have voted for him.

He says the way Mr Bercow calls the chamber to order is good and he says a strong presiding officer is fundamental to a parliament. 

Lord McConnell says some chambers in other countries can be quite awful. 

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Labour MSP Johhan Lamont asks about the accuracy of answers in parliamentary sessions with a minister.

Lord McConnell says there were a few ministers he appointed who incurred his wrath for not answering properly.

Commission member Johann Lamont says it has previously been argued that MSPs do not want answers "off the cuff", and that they want more considered responses.

Lord McConnell says he believes that pre-prepared, scripted questions were originally introduced due to the inexperience of parliament.

He says written questions are for pre-prepared questions and oral questions should be unscripted and used to hold ministers to account.

Lord McConnell says "interest drains" from parliament as a result of pre-prepared questions. 

Image source, Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament's weekly First Minister's Questions session was extended to 45 minutes last May.

Nicola Sturgeon hadcalled for a longer session, as well as more chances for committees to quiz her, following her election as first minister.

MSPs voted unanimously to approve longer sessions for the next two weeks.

The change will then be evaluated ahead of a decision on extending the question times on a longer term basis.

Lord McConnell says he found first minister's questions an excellent way to get up to date on the issues.

He says it is a very healthy thing to do.

The former first minister says if extending the time leads to more time for backbenchers then that is a good thing.

He says he felt almost physical relief when it got to questions three, four, five and six.

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Former SNP MSP Fiona McLeod says spontaneity gets results, but asks about its impact on the parliamentary time-table.

Lord McConnell says ministers have to be brave enough to tell committees they cannot wait, but also to be brave enough to wait for a committee to finish an enquiry.

He says to move away from adversarial and make it non-challenging was a mistake.

Lord McConnell says: "Nobody has ever had to resign following a bad performance at ministerial questions."

They must become more challenging he says. 

Lord McConnell says he would be in favour of ad hoc committees being established.

He says he could sit all day criticising the House of Lords but it does produce powerful reports