On a point of order, Presiding Officer.
I wonder whether you can help, Presiding Officer. We have been notified today that the legislative consent motion that was proposed in relation to the Trade Union Bill has been rejected by you and the parliamentary clerks. There is clearly a will across this Parliament to reject the Trade Union Bill, which will have an impact on functions of Government, particularly in relation to payroll deductions, facility time and a range of features that are clearly the preserve of the Scottish Government.
Will you advise on how we can get a legislative consent motion before this Parliament? With one or two exceptions, there is cross-Parliament support for rejecting the bill. It is only the rules in the standing orders of this Parliament that are preventing that from happening. The Parliament should be able to change the rules, to ensure that we can reject the bill. I seek your ruling.
Thank you for your point of order, Mr Findlay. It was my decision that it is not a relevant bill and so no LCM can be lodged. The Parliament has other ways of discussing the matter and I am sure that the Government and any other interested parties will take those discussions forward. There is no possibility of an LCM being lodged in the Parliament because it is not a relevant bill.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I would be grateful for your clarification on why it is not an appropriate bill. If it is merely a matter for the standing orders of this Parliament, would it not be possible to ask the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee to consider a change to standing orders to allow the LCM to be taken?
I have set out all my reasons in my letter to the cabinet secretary. Any member can have a look at that letter, as I have asked for it to be lodged in the Scottish Parliament information centre.
It is not simply a matter for standing orders. On that point, I now move to decision time.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer.
Is this a further point of order or is it the same point of order?
Presiding Officer, you are referring to a letter that many members have not seen. It is only right that members see the letter, so that we can decide how to take the matter forward. When will you provide it to all members of the Parliament?
When you leave here tonight, Mr Findlay, you can go down to SPICe where the letter has been available to every member since before 2 o’clock this afternoon.