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Item 3 is that old favourite, the Arbitration (Scotland) Bill. We must consider our approach to the scrutiny of the bill at stage 2. There is a paper from the clerk.
Members indicated agreement.
It is proposed that stage 2 of the bill be considered at one meeting, on 7 October. Although our approach might change if too many amendments are lodged, that is the intention. Do members agree to that approach?
Members indicated agreement.
It is also suggested that we agree in principle that we should consider lodging committee amendments if there is consensus on them. Obviously, that does not debar any member from lodging their own amendments. Our approach will also be subject to indications from the Government about whether it intends to lodge amendments to deal with issues that the committee wishes to be addressed.
What are the dates by which ministers, members and the committee must lodge amendments? There will be at least two different dates.
The latest time at which members and the Scottish Government can lodge amendments is 12 o'clock on the Friday preceding our meeting on Wednesday 7 October. It has been customary for the Scottish Government to lodge its amendments in advance of the preceding Friday—it has typically done so two or three days before then. The Government does not have to do that, but that is normally what ministers do so that non-Government members can see the amendments and decide what to do. If that practice is followed, I expect Government amendments to be lodged around the Tuesday or Wednesday of the week before our stage 2 meeting—around 1 October—although the date is not fixed.
If we wanted to lodge a committee amendment in response to the lack of a Government amendment, we could not really leave it until 1 October. We would need to decide that in the previous week.
I think that the Government will write us a note about the amendments that it intends to lodge as a result of the stakeholder meetings that it held over the summer, although it will not necessarily send the actual amendments. I hope that we will find out then whether there are any gaps that we would wish to lodge amendments to fill. I hope that we will be in that position by next week's meeting. If the committee agrees in principle to lodge amendments, their preparation could be delegated to me and the clerks and we could hold them ready to lodge if the Government does not lodge appropriate amendments. Do members agree that that is an acceptable way forward?
Members indicated agreement.
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