Business Motion
The next item is consideration of business motion S1M-1635, in the name of Tom McCabe, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, setting out a business programme. Any member wishing to speak against the motion should indicate now. I ask for the screens to be cleared.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Can you confirm that next week's business could be changed if the Parliamentary Bureau were to vote in favour of motions of no confidence being taken during Executive time?
I will take that point ad avizandum for a moment, Lord James. That is, of course, possible, but time constraints would apply.
Have you decided to speak against the business motion, Mr Gorrie? If you are opposing it, I remind you that only one member has the right to do so, and may make a speech of up to five minutes. You are showing on my screen as having requested to speak.
Depending on the reply by Mr Tavish Scott, I will oppose the motion or not.
We are getting a little ahead of ourselves. I ask Mr Scott to move the motion.
Before moving the motion, I wish to intimate that the Scottish National Party's topic for debate on Thursday 15 February is education. I am grateful to Tricia Marwick for advising the Parliamentary Bureau of that.
I move,
That the Parliament agrees the following programme of business—
Wednesday 14 February 2001
2.30 pm Time for Reflection
followed by Ministerial Statement
followed by Health and Community Care Committee Debate on its Report on the Delivery of Community Care in Scotland
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time
followed by Members' Business - debate on the subject of S1M-1569 Fiona Hyslop: Debt Advice and Debt Awareness Day
Thursday 15 February 2001
9.30 am Scottish National Party Business
followed by Business Motion
2.30 pm Question Time
3.10 pm First Minister's Question Time
3.30 pm Executive Debate on Children's Issues
followed by Executive Motion on the Culture and Recreation Bill – UK Legislation
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time
followed by Members' Business - debate on the subject of S1M-1614 Trish Godman: Hospices
I seek an assurance from Tavish Scott that, in the light of the concern that was expressed yesterday about adequate time for debating Sewel motions that had a significant content, the proceedings on Thursday 15 February will allow enough time for debating the Sewel motion on the Culture and Recreation Bill.
I also ask Tavish Scott to give an assurance that the Parliamentary Bureau will consider the points raised in yesterday's debate about the frequency and duration of Sewel motions, and whether we can impose on Westminster our will on delegated matters—if that is the right word. In summary, I am asking for assurance on next week's business list and for the wider issue to be considered.
I am happy to assure members that the bureau will want to consider those matters as soon as possible.
The question is, that motion S1M-1635, in the name of Tom McCabe, be agreed to.
Motion agreed to.
There are no Parliamentary Bureau motions before us today, so I now suspend the meeting until 2.30 pm.
Meeting suspended until 14:30.
On resuming—
Before we begin question time, I would like to draw members' attention to the fact that, in general at question time, we are reaching fewer than half the questions tabled. In addition, I am unable to call many members who wish to ask supplementary questions—last week there were 14 disappointments.
I would like to remind members of the rules on supplementary questions. Under the standing orders—which are binding for me as well as for everybody else—questions must be brief and on the same subject matter as the original question. They must also be in the form of a question, not a statement and must have no preamble. Although the standing orders do not contain any rules on how questions should be answered, I remind ministers that brief and specific answers are also desirable. If we adhere to those principles, we will get more questions in, and therefore more topics will be covered each week.
With that homily now given, I call Mr John McAllion to ask the first question.