Business Motions
The next item of business is consideration of business motion S4M-02754, in the name of Bruce Crawford, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, setting out a business programme.
Motion moved,
That the Parliament agrees the following programme of business—
Wednesday 9 May 2012
2.30 pm Time for Reflection
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
followed by Ministerial Statement: The Future of European Structural Funds from 2014
followed by Finance Committee Debate: Fiscal Sustainability
followed by Public Body Consent Motion: British Waterways Board (Transfer of Functions) Order 2012
followed by Public Body Consent Motion: Inland Waterways Advisory Council (Abolition) Order 2012
followed by Business Motion
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time
followed by Members’ Business
Thursday 10 May 2012
9.15 am Parliamentary Bureau Motions
followed by Stage 1 Debate: Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill
followed by Financial Resolution: Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill
11.40 am General Question Time
12.00 pm First Minister’s Question Time
2.15 pm Themed Question Time
Justice and the Law Officers
Rural Affairs and the Environment
2.55 pm Scottish Government Debate: Scottish Government Growth Strategy
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time
followed by Members’ Business
Wednesday 16 May 2012
2.00 pm Time for Reflection
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
followed by Scottish Government Business
followed by Stage 3 Proceedings: National Library of Scotland Bill
followed by Business Motion
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time
followed by Members’ Business
Thursday 17 May 2012
9.15 am Parliamentary Bureau Motions
followed by Scottish Government Business
11.40 am General Question Time
12.00 pm First Minister’s Question Time
12.30 pm Members’ Business
2.15 pm Themed Question Time
Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy
2.55 pm Scottish Government Business
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time
followed by Members’ Business—[Bruce Crawford.]
Patrick Harvie has asked to speak against the motion. Mr Harvie, you have no more than five minutes.
16:59
I am sure that I will not need all five minutes.
Yesterday afternoon, all members will have received a briefing from the Public and Commercial Services Union Scotland, describing the process that has taken place since the historic industrial action on 30 November, which was of a scale that has not been seen in Scotland for many years and which was a highly controversial subject in the Parliament.
After that action, the United Kingdom Government imposed an ultimatum on PCS and the other unions to accept the deal that is on the table, which will include public servants paying more, working for longer, and receiving less generous pensions. The unions were to respond to that ultimatum in December. The UK Government was not respectful during the negotiation process, and PCS continues to want genuine and meaningful negotiations to take place.
PCS balloted its members on continuation of the campaign, and more than 90 per cent of respondents rejected the Government’s proposals for a new pension scheme. PCS also says that in
“the largest vote for action in any national ballot the union has held, 72.1% said they supported continuing the campaign, including with further industrial action alongside other unions”
and it has called for a day of industrial action on 10 May.
The briefing calls on members of the Scottish Parliament not to cross the PCS picket lines at the Scottish Parliament building and other government buildings.
I will certainly not be doing so, and members will reach their own view about whether they wish to do so, but business that is scheduled on a day of industrial action in this way can take place only if we expect members, their staff and Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body staff to cross the picket line. I therefore ask the Government not to press ahead with the business motion but to come back with a revised one on Wednesday next week that schedules business for 9 May but not for 10 May.
17:01
First, the motion that is before the Parliament is not a Government motion but a Parliamentary Bureau motion. Patrick Harvie is right that the dispute is between the UK Government and PCS.
I have previously made it clear that the Government fully respects the rights of employees to choose to withdraw their labour. We also believe that we have been afforded the privilege of being elected to the Parliament to represent the people of Scotland, and that is exactly what we should be doing. It is our responsibility to debate issues of significance and importance to the people of Scotland and, on the day in question, we will have a stage 1 debate on the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill in the morning and, in the afternoon, a Scottish Government debate on the Scottish Government’s growth strategy. I would have thought that Patrick Harvie would have wanted to be here to be part of a debate in which we will talk about employment and jobs, concentrating on Scotland’s areas of strength such as renewables, the life sciences, tourism and food and drink. I encourage him to turn up to the debate on that day. It is our responsibility to do just that.
The question is, that motion S4M-02754, in the name of Bruce Crawford, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
Members: No.
There will be a division.
For
Adam, George (Paisley) (SNP)
Adamson, Clare (Central Scotland) (SNP)
Baker, Claire (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Beamish, Claudia (South Scotland) (Lab)
Beattie, Colin (Midlothian North and Musselburgh) (SNP)
Biagi, Marco (Edinburgh Central) (SNP)
Brodie, Chic (South Scotland) (SNP)
Brown, Keith (Clackmannanshire and Dunblane) (SNP)
Burgess, Margaret (Cunninghame South) (SNP)
Campbell, Aileen (Clydesdale) (SNP)
Campbell, Roderick (North East Fife) (SNP)
Chisholm, Malcolm (Edinburgh Northern and Leith) (Lab)
Coffey, Willie (Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley) (SNP)
Constance, Angela (Almond Valley) (SNP)
Crawford, Bruce (Stirling) (SNP)
Cunningham, Roseanna (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP)
Dey, Graeme (Angus South) (SNP)
Don, Nigel (Angus North and Mearns) (SNP)
Eadie, Jim (Edinburgh Southern) (SNP)
Ewing, Annabelle (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP)
Ewing, Fergus (Inverness and Nairn) (SNP)
Fabiani, Linda (East Kilbride) (SNP)
Fee, Mary (West Scotland) (Lab)
Ferguson, Patricia (Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn) (Lab)
Finnie, John (Highlands and Islands) (SNP)
Fraser, Murdo (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Gibson, Kenneth (Cunninghame North) (SNP)
Gibson, Rob (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP)
Goldie, Annabel (West Scotland) (Con)
Grahame, Christine (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP)
Gray, Iain (East Lothian) (Lab)
Hepburn, Jamie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (SNP)
Hyslop, Fiona (Linlithgow) (SNP)
Ingram, Adam (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (SNP)
Keir, Colin (Edinburgh Western) (SNP)
Kidd, Bill (Glasgow Anniesland) (SNP)
Lyle, Richard (Central Scotland) (SNP)
MacAskill, Kenny (Edinburgh Eastern) (SNP)
MacDonald, Angus (Falkirk East) (SNP)
MacDonald, Gordon (Edinburgh Pentlands) (SNP)
Mackay, Derek (Renfrewshire North and West) (SNP)
MacKenzie, Mike (Highlands and Islands) (SNP)
Marra, Jenny (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Martin, Paul (Glasgow Provan) (Lab)
Mason, John (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP)
Matheson, Michael (Falkirk West) (SNP)
Maxwell, Stewart (West Scotland) (SNP)
McAlpine, Joan (South Scotland) (SNP)
McDonald, Mark (North East Scotland) (SNP)
McGrigor, Jamie (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
McLeod, Aileen (South Scotland) (SNP)
McLeod, Fiona (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP)
McMahon, Michael (Uddingston and Bellshill) (Lab)
McMahon, Siobhan (Central Scotland) (Lab)
McMillan, Stuart (West Scotland) (SNP)
McTaggart, Anne (Glasgow) (Lab)
Milne, Nanette (North East Scotland) (Con)
Neil, Alex (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)
Park, John (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Paterson, Gil (Clydebank and Milngavie) (SNP)
Rennie, Willie (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD)
Robertson, Dennis (Aberdeenshire West) (SNP)
Robison, Shona (Dundee City East) (SNP)
Russell, Michael (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)
Salmond, Alex (Aberdeenshire East) (SNP)
Scanlon, Mary (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Scott, John (Ayr) (Con)
Stevenson, Stewart (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP)
Stewart, Kevin (Aberdeen Central) (SNP)
Sturgeon, Nicola (Glasgow Southside) (SNP)
Swinney, John (Perthshire North) (SNP)
Thompson, Dave (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP)
Urquhart, Jean (Highlands and Islands) (SNP)
Wheelhouse, Paul (South Scotland) (SNP)
White, Sandra (Glasgow Kelvin) (SNP)
Wilson, John (Central Scotland) (SNP)
Yousaf, Humza (Glasgow) (SNP)
Against
Harvie, Patrick (Glasgow) (Green)
Johnstone, Alison (Lothian) (Green)
The result of the division is: For 77, Against 2, Abstentions 0.
Motion agreed to,
That the Parliament agrees the following programme of business—
Wednesday 9 May 2012
2.30 pm Time for Reflection
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
followed by Ministerial Statement: The Future of European Structural Funds from 2014
followed by Finance Committee Debate: Fiscal Sustainability
followed by Public Body Consent Motion: British Waterways Board (Transfer of Functions) Order 2012
followed by Public Body Consent Motion: Inland Waterways Advisory Council (Abolition) Order 2012
followed by Business Motion
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time
followed by Members’ Business
Thursday 10 May 2012
9.15 am Parliamentary Bureau Motions
followed by Stage 1 Debate: Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill
followed by Financial Resolution: Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill
11.40 am General Question Time
12.00 pm First Minister’s Question Time
2.15 pm Themed Question Time
Justice and the Law Officers
Rural Affairs and the Environment
2.55 pm Scottish Government Debate: Scottish Government Growth Strategy
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time
followed by Members’ Business
Wednesday 16 May 2012
2.00 pm Time for Reflection
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
followed by Scottish Government Business
followed by Stage 3 Proceedings: National Library of Scotland Bill
followed by Business Motion
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time
followed by Members’ Business
Thursday 17 May 2012
9.15 am Parliamentary Bureau Motions
followed by Scottish Government Business
11.40 am General Question Time
12.00 pm First Minister’s Question Time
12.30 pm Members’ Business
2.15 pm Themed Question Time
Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy
2.55 pm Scottish Government Business
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time
followed by Members’ Business
The next item of business is consideration of business motion S4M-02755, in the name of Bruce Crawford, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, setting out a timetable for stage 2 of the Criminal Cases (Punishment and Review) (Scotland) Bill.
Motion moved,
That the Parliament agrees that consideration of the Criminal Cases (Punishment and Review) (Scotland) Bill at Stage 2 be completed by 18 May 2012.—[Bruce Crawford.]
Motion agreed to.
The next item of business is consideration of business motion S4M-02756, in the name of Bruce Crawford, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, setting out a stage 2 timetable for the Long Leases (Scotland) Bill.
Motion moved,
That the Parliament agrees that consideration of the Long Leases (Scotland) Bill at Stage 2 be completed by 25 May 2012.—[Bruce Crawford.]
Motion agreed to.