Plenary, 16 Nov 2000

Meeting date: Thursday, November 16, 2000

Official Report 720KB pdf

---

Parliamentary Bureau Motions

The next item of business is consideration of Parliamentary Bureau motions. I ask Tom McCabe to move the four motions that are set out in the business bulletin: S1M-1351, S1M-1352, S1M-1353 and S1M-1354.

Motions moved,

That the Parliament agrees the following designation of Lead Committee—

The Transport and the Environment Committee to consider the draft Scotland Act 1998 (Modifications of Schedule 5) Order 2000.

That the Parliament agrees that the following Orders be approved:

The Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) (Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning) (West Coast) (No.4) (Scotland) Order 2000 (SSI 2000/359) and

The Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) (Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning) (East Coast) (Scotland) Order (SSI 2000/360) and

The Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) (Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning) (East Coast) (No.2) (Scotland) Order 2000 (SSI 2000/370) and

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Notification of Authorisations etc.) (Scotland) Order 2000 (SSI 2000/340).

That the Parliament agrees that the Office of the Clerk will be closed on 27, 28 and 29 December 2000.

That the Parliament agrees the following dates under Rule 2.3.1: 19–23 February 2001 inclusive, 9–20 April 2001 inclusive, 2 July–31 August 2001 inclusive, 8–19 October 2001 inclusive and 24 December 2001–4 January 2002 inclusive.—[Mr McCabe.]

Those motions having been moved, we now move to decision time.

I want to speak on the last of those Parliamentary Bureau motions, Presiding Officer. It was not clear to me whether Mr McCabe was moving all four motions simultaneously.

Yes, he was. You were a little slow to press your request-to-speak button, Mr Gorrie, but I shall allow you to comment nevertheless.

Thank you, Presiding Officer.

I feel that it is a mistake for us to reduce the number of sitting days of the Parliament, which is what motion S1M-1354 proposes. It is not a question of MSPs being idle; I am sure that all MSPs work extremely hard. It is a question of getting through the parliamentary business, especially the committee business. Reducing sitting time by one week or two weeks, depending on how one calculates it, is a step in the wrong direction and I suggest that we reconvene a week earlier in August than the motion suggests. I am not sure whether I am permitted to move an amendment, or whether I must merely vote against the motion.

You cannot move an amendment, I am afraid, Mr Gorrie. Do you want to reply to that point, Mr McCabe?

I should point out that motion S1M-1354 has all-party support and received such support in the Parliamentary Bureau. We are discussing a list of non-chamber days throughout the next calendar year. In drawing up those days, the bureau reflected on the principles that were set out in the consultative steering group report with regard to how the Parliament conducts its business. We also reflected on our experience of parliamentary work so far.

I acknowledge Mr Gorrie's point about the committees of the Parliament. I stress that, during those non-chamber days, committees of the Parliament can meet, as they have done in the past and will do again during the course of the year. Committees of the Parliament can use that time to undertake visits, within Scotland and to other locations. Other parliamentary organisations also use that time to undertake visits that are difficult to fit in when the chamber is sitting.

Perhaps most important of all, during the times that have been allocated as non-sitting days in the chamber, members have an opportunity to reconnect with their constituencies, to meet groups and individuals, and to do the important work that is more difficult to do during the times when the Parliament usually meets. For those reasons, and based on our experience so far, I strongly recommend the motion to the Parliament.

We shall come to a vote on that motion in a moment.