Education Committee, 27 Sep 2006

Meeting date: Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Official Report 242KB pdf

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Adoption and Children (Scotland) Bill

Item 9 relates to our stage 2 consideration of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Bill, which will begin at our next meeting, on Wednesday 4 October. Following discussions about the fairly substantial number of amendments that we expect to be lodged and the helpful response that we have received from ministers, which outlines what action they intend to take in relation to our report, to enable the Scottish Executive to give effect to our recommendations it is proposed that we change the usual order of proceeding so that pre-adoption, adoption support and post-adoption services can be considered holistically. The aim is to try to cover sections 1 to 8, 47 to 63 and 79, and schedule 1, on day 1.

I move,

That the Education Committee considers the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Bill at Stage 2 in the following order: sections 1 to 8, sections 47 to 63, section 79, sections 9 to 46, sections 64 to 78 and sections 80 to 113 and that each schedule is considered immediately after the section that introduces it.

Is that doable? Has any other committee adopted such a procedure?

Are you asking whether any other committee has considered a bill's sections out of order at stage 2?

Yes.

Yes, it has been done before.

Was it satisfactory?

I assume that it is doable; the clerks certainly think that it is.

There were no problems on the previous occasions on which that procedure was adopted.

Any problem about whether we can cope with it is in our own minds. I suppose that it is possible that at the end of the process the bill's sections might be reordered into a logical sequence, but that is for the Executive to consider.

Motion agreed to.

Because we expect a substantial number of amendments to be lodged to the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Bill at stage 2, the committee will probably meet three times to consider those amendments, on 4 October, 1 November and 8 November. To give us sufficient time, I propose that we start the meetings on those dates at 9.45.

The committee's meeting in the week commencing 23 October is likely to take place on the afternoon of 24 October because plenary business has been scheduled for the morning of Wednesday 25 October, which is likely to include the debate on our early years report. That is the recommendation of the Conveners Group, although it is subject to approval by the Parliamentary Bureau. That will be a busy morning for us.

Meeting continued in private until 12:55.