Plenary, 09 Sep 2009
Meeting date: Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Official Report
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Point of Order
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I want to clarify the circumstances behind the points of order that were raised at the end of today's debate on the motion to annul the Scottish statutory instrument on legal representation at children's hearings.
In the course of the debate, I indicated that I had provided the Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Committee with the Government's legal advice on legal representation for relevant persons in the children's hearings system. For clarity, I confirm that what I provided was the Government's legal position on the issue. As Cathy Jamieson MSP helpfully pointed out during the debate, under the ministerial code, neither the facts nor content of Government legal advice can be publicly released. Presiding Officer, I wish to apologise to you and to other members if my inadvertent description of that as legal advice meant that I was not as clear as I would have wished.
I am grateful to the minister for that clarification, and I consider the matter closed.