Procedures Committee, 29 Feb 2000
Meeting date: Tuesday, February 29, 2000
Official Report
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Voting Arrangements
The next item deals with voting arrangements. We discussed this item in January and agreed that we would invite further evidence from the Scottish Daily Newspaper Society. That information, which indicates that a lot of people read evening newspapers, has been given. The society has also included a list of all the morning debates that have been voted on in the afternoon, although it also includes a couple of motions that were resolved in the morning.
The principle behind the request for morning decision times is to allow significant decisions to be made known to the readers of evening newspapers. Many of the debates were on whipped motions that were supported by the Executive parties or on opposition motions that were unlikely to be passed and I take the view that the only cliffhanger was the debate on the Holyrood project.
We have been over this ground before and I do not think that the evening newspapers have lost very much by not having the final result. The football match analogy breaks down because in a football match, three goals can be scored in the last five minutes. There has been no vote in the Parliament on a party whip in which the vote has gone against the predictions that might have been made at half time. I do not think that the newspapers have a serious complaint, other than in regard to the Holyrood project vote that was taken in June. There might be a further vote on Holyrood soon, of course, but I do not know whether it will be taken in the morning. I have had a further note from the spokesman for the SDNS, which I will copy to the committee, but I cannot see any way to progress the matter. I do not see the point in writing again to the Presiding Officer; he is well aware of his power to vary the voting time and is anxious to use it when the opportunity presents itself.
On occasion in the bureau, there is discussion about voting at lunchtime. No one is trying to avoid such votes. I am sure that, from time to time, we will vote in the morning if it is felt that the voting time should not be delayed.