Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Official Report 915KB pdf

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Business Motion

The next item of business is consideration of business motion S5M-04474, in the name of Joe FitzPatrick, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, setting out a revised business programme for today. I ask any member who wishes to speak against the motion to press their request-to-speak button now.

Motion moved,

That the Parliament agrees to the following revision to the programme of business for Tuesday 7 March 2017—

after

followed by Topical Questions

insert

followed by Ministerial Statement: Information Sharing Provisions in relation to Part 4 and Part 5 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014

delete

5.00 pm Decision Time

and insert

5.30 pm Decision Time—[Joe FitzPatrick.]

14:03  

I am taking the unusual step today of speaking against the business motion. I do so because of the importance of this afternoon’s debate on international women’s day. I support the Government’s decision to hold a full debate to mark international women’s day, and that is certainly appreciated by members across the chamber. However, as was raised in the Parliamentary Bureau meeting this morning, the Government has decided to make a ministerial statement this afternoon on the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, which was announced late last night. That has resulted in the debate on international women’s day being delayed and cut by 20 minutes, and it will not conclude until 5.30 this evening, half an hour later than planned.

Labour did not move against the later conclusion time in the Parliamentary Bureau meeting this morning, as we wanted to ensure that the debate is not shortened further, but the irony of changing the time cannot be lost on members. What message does it send to women who have care responsibilities when our Parliament decides to delay a debate on that very issue?

Labour wants to put on record that, if the ministerial statement on the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 had to be delivered today at all, it should have been scheduled for after the debate to mark international women’s day. A Parliament that was truly committed to eradicating gender inequality would not operate in such a way.

14:05  

The debate that we will have this afternoon is very important; indeed, all debates that we have in the Parliament are very important. I think that it will be the first full Government debate in the Parliament on international women’s day, and I am very proud to support the proposal to move decision time to 5.30 to protect the time in that debate.

The question is, that motion S5M-04474, in the name of Joe FitzPatrick, be agreed to. Are we agreed?

Members: No.

There will be a division. We will have a five-minute suspension to call members to the chamber for a vote.

14:06 Meeting suspended.  

14:11 On resuming—  

We move to the division.

For

Adam, George (Paisley) (SNP)
Adamson, Clare (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)
Allan, Alasdair (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP)
Arthur, Tom (Renfrewshire South) (SNP)
Balfour, Jeremy (Lothian) (Con)
Bowman, Bill (North East Scotland) (Con)
Campbell, Aileen (Clydesdale) (SNP)
Carlaw, Jackson (Eastwood) (Con)
Carson, Finlay (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con)
Cole-Hamilton, Alex (Edinburgh Western) (LD)
Constance, Angela (Almond Valley) (SNP)
Corry, Maurice (West Scotland) (Con)
Crawford, Bruce (Stirling) (SNP)
Cunningham, Roseanna (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP)
Denham, Ash (Edinburgh Eastern) (SNP)
Dey, Graeme (Angus South) (SNP)
Doris, Bob (Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn) (SNP)
Dornan, James (Glasgow Cathcart) (SNP)
Evans, Mairi (Angus North and Mearns) (SNP)
Ewing, Annabelle (Cowdenbeath) (SNP)
Ewing, Fergus (Inverness and Nairn) (SNP)
Fabiani, Linda (East Kilbride) (SNP)
Finnie, John (Highlands and Islands) (Green)
FitzPatrick, Joe (Dundee City West) (SNP)
Forbes, Kate (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP)
Fraser, Murdo (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Gibson, Kenneth (Cunninghame North) (SNP)
Gilruth, Jenny (Mid Fife and Glenrothes) (SNP)
Grahame, Christine (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP)
Greene, Jamie (West Scotland) (Con)
Greer, Ross (West Scotland) (Green)
Hamilton, Rachael (South Scotland) (Con)
Harper, Emma (South Scotland) (SNP)
Harvie, Patrick (Glasgow) (Green)
Haughey, Clare (Rutherglen) (SNP)
Hyslop, Fiona (Linlithgow) (SNP)
Johnstone, Alison (Lothian) (Green)
Kerr, Liam (North East Scotland) (Con)
Kidd, Bill (Glasgow Anniesland) (SNP)
Lyle, Richard (Uddingston and Bellshill) (SNP)
MacDonald, Angus (Falkirk East) (SNP)
MacDonald, Gordon (Edinburgh Pentlands) (SNP)
MacGregor, Fulton (Coatbridge and Chryston) (SNP)
Mackay, Derek (Renfrewshire North and West) (SNP)
Mackay, Rona (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP)
Macpherson, Ben (Edinburgh Northern and Leith) (SNP)
Maguire, Ruth (Cunninghame South) (SNP)
Martin, Gillian (Aberdeenshire East) (SNP)
Mason, John (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP)
Matheson, Michael (Falkirk West) (SNP)
McAlpine, Joan (South Scotland) (SNP)
McDonald, Mark (Aberdeen Donside) (SNP)
McKee, Ivan (Glasgow Provan) (SNP)
McKelvie, Christina (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse) (SNP)
McMillan, Stuart (Greenock and Inverclyde) (SNP)
Paterson, Gil (Clydebank and Milngavie) (SNP)
Rennie, Willie (North East Fife) (LD)
Robison, Shona (Dundee City East) (SNP)
Ross, Gail (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP)
Ruskell, Mark (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green)
Russell, Michael (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)
Scott, John (Ayr) (Con)
Scott, Tavish (Shetland Islands) (LD)
Simpson, Graham (Central Scotland) (Con)
Smith, Liz (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Somerville, Shirley-Anne (Dunfermline) (SNP)
Stevenson, Stewart (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP)
Stewart, Alexander (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Stewart, Kevin (Aberdeen Central) (SNP)
Sturgeon, Nicola (Glasgow Southside) (SNP)
Swinney, John (Perthshire North) (SNP)
Thomson, Ross (North East Scotland) (Con)
Todd, Maree (Highlands and Islands) (SNP)
Tomkins, Adam (Glasgow) (Con)
Torrance, David (Kirkcaldy) (SNP)
Watt, Maureen (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP)
Wheelhouse, Paul (South Scotland) (SNP)
Wightman, Andy (Lothian) (Green)
Yousaf, Humza (Glasgow Pollok) (SNP)

Abstentions

Baillie, Jackie (Dumbarton) (Lab)
Beamish, Claudia (South Scotland) (Lab)
Dugdale, Kezia (Lothian) (Lab)
Fee, Mary (West Scotland) (Lab)
Findlay, Neil (Lothian) (Lab)
Grant, Rhoda (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Gray, Iain (East Lothian) (Lab)
Griffin, Mark (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Johnson, Daniel (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Lamont, Johann (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lennon, Monica (Central Scotland) (Lab)
McNeill, Pauline (Glasgow) (Lab)
Rowley, Alex (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Smith, Elaine (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Smyth, Colin (South Scotland) (Lab)
Stewart, David (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)

The result of the division is: For 79, Against 0, Abstentions 16.

Motion agreed to,

That the Parliament agrees to the following revision to the programme of business for Tuesday 7 March 2017—

after

followed by Topical Questions

insert

followed by Ministerial Statement: Information Sharing Provisions in relation to Part 4 and Part 5 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014

delete

5.00 pm Decision Time

and insert

5.30 pm Decision Time

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Is there any way under our standing orders for you to look at whether statements that would take away time from important debates should be introduced at short notice only if they are on matters of extreme urgency? [Interruption.]

Order. Let the member make her point, please.

I happen to believe that the international women’s day debate, which has been brought forward for debate in the chamber in Government time for the first time—is extremely important. The cries of derision from those on the Scottish National Party seats do not do that justice. I would be grateful for your consideration of the matter, Presiding Officer.

I assure the member—and the other members present—that the very point that she raises was discussed this morning by the Parliamentary Bureau, and I am sure that it will be discussed again.