Finance Committee, 02 Mar 2004

Meeting date: Tuesday, March 2, 2004

Official Report 129KB pdf

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Item in Private

The final item on our agenda is to consider whether to take the draft report on the Fire Sprinklers in Residential Premises (Scotland) Bill in private at a future meeting. I have not yet completed my discussions with the convener of the Communities Committee, which is the lead committee on the bill. There are, as I think we highlighted, a number of procedural issues that we need to sort out with regard to the way in which such bills are handled. However, I am concerned that the committee should not delay the process of Michael Matheson's bill. We need to find a way of completing our discussions about how such bills might be handled in the future, but to do so in a way that does not cut across Michael Matheson's bill going to the next stage, which will be its consideration by the Communities Committee.

For the record, I would prefer to have our discussion in public, but I guess that there is no point in having yet another vote. I shall not push the matter to a vote unless anyone else wants to do that.

I agree that we should be concerned that MSPs who introduce bills should have the same rights and the same chances as the Executive has. Partly because of the standing orders and the procedure that we are obliged to follow, which mean that we have to do a report in a short timescale, and partly because the Executive, for whatever reason, did not submit its figures and its view of the cost implications, we are not in possession of the information that we should have if we are to do our job properly.

In particular, if we had had the Executive's view on the estimated costs of installing sprinkler systems in the establishments to which the bill applies, we would have been in a stronger position when taking evidence. The Executive has to do better if members of the Parliament are to have a fair opportunity to do their work. Michael Matheson has been working on this extremely serious matter over a long period and the Executive must do better in the future if such important legislation is to pass through Parliament.

A number of issues have arisen from our scrutiny of bills and members have had several concerns; we can look at how members' bills are treated in that context. It is not standing orders that constrain us so much as our wish to get our report to the Communities Committee for its consideration—we are concerned about our job in relation to that committee's job. Standing orders govern what the Communities Committee does more than they govern what we do. We need to put in place arrangements that meet the requirements and which are fit for purpose. The way in which the matter has arisen demonstrates that that has not yet happened, but we can sort it out.

Do members agree to take the draft report on the Fire Sprinklers in Residential Premises (Scotland) Bill financial memorandum in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Meeting closed at 10:51.