Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Meeting date: Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Official Report 1067KB pdf

Point of Order

Good afternoon. Clare Haughey has a point of order.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. With reference to section 3 of the “Code of Conduct for Members of the Scottish Parliament”, I raise a concern that proper procedure was not followed at First Minister’s question time on 25 January last week. In a supplementary question, Pam Gosal made a number of claims about the rent cap that was implemented under the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022. However, she failed to declare her interest—in the form of shares that are worth more than £1 million in three letting companies—as listed in her entry in the register of members’ interests.

It is vital that the public who view business in the chamber or who consult the Official Report are fully informed of potential conflicts of interest, particularly during business that is as closely followed as First Minister’s question time is. Before making the point of order, I waited one parliamentary sitting day to allow the member to correct the record. As far as I can ascertain, that has not been done. Will the Presiding Officer give guidance on how the Official Report can be amended to maintain this Parliament’s high standard of scrutiny in the area of members’ financial interests?

I take the opportunity to remind all members that both the code of conduct and the relevant legislation require members to make a declaration of interest before taking part in any proceedings of the Parliament that relate to their registered interests.

Under the code of conduct, I do not have responsibility for considering such complaints. The responsibility to make an appropriate declaration lies with members.