Health Committee, 01 Feb 2005

Meeting date: Tuesday, February 1, 2005

Official Report 240KB pdf

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Subordinate Legislation

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Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) (Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning) (West Coast) (Scotland) Order 2005 (SSI 2005/34)

Item 2 concerns subordinate legislation. I welcome Rhona Brankin to the committee. She is accompanied by Sandy McDougall from the Food Standards Agency.

The committee is asked to consider under the affirmative procedure the Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) (Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning) (West Coast) (Scotland) Order 2005 (SSI 2005/34). The Subordinate Legislation Committee considered the order at its meeting this morning and had no comments to make. Does any member wish to seek clarification from the minister and her official on the order?

I have more of a comment than a question. My party has held a specific line on the instruments on amnesic shellfish poisoning and I will oppose the order, as my party will, until such time as end-product testing becomes the norm.

That probably does not come as a huge surprise to the minister, but she might wish to make a response.

No.

I ask the minister to move the motion.

Motion moved,

That the Health Committee recommends that the Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) (Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning) (West Coast) (Scotland) Order 2005, (SSI 2005/34) be approved.—[Rhona Brankin.]

The question is, that motion S2M-2333 be agreed to. Are we agreed?

No.

There will be a division.

For

Eadie, Helen (Dunfermline East) (Lab)
Hughes, Janis (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab)
Maclean, Kate (Dundee West) (Lab)
McNeil, Mr Duncan (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab)
Milne, Mrs Nanette (North East Scotland) (Con)
Rumbles, Mike (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD)
Turner, Dr Jean (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind)

Abstentions

Robison, Shona (Dundee East) (SNP)

The result of the division is: For 7, Against 0, Abstentions 1.

Motion agreed to.

Convener, will you clarify what the vote was, for my interest?

There were seven votes in favour, one abstention and no votes against.

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Sweeteners in Food Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (SSI 2004/548)

We move on to consider under the negative procedure the Sweeteners in Food Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (SSI 2004/548). The Subordinate Legislation Committee's comments on the regulations are included in the committee papers. I see that the minister has gone already. I have not heard any comments from individual members and no motions to annul have been lodged in relation to the instrument. Are we agreed that the committee does not wish to make any recommendation in relation to the instrument?

Members indicated agreement.

We move on to the item on access to dental health services in Scotland.

Convener, I realise that I am way out of order, but I have just caught up with myself and realised that I voted the wrong way. Is there anything that I can do about that?

I am sorry. The vote has been taken. There is nothing that you can do about it. Just put it down to inexperience. There was clearly a bit of concern around the table at the time. You have now made it quite clear on the record that yours was an inadvertent failure to vote against the motion.