Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Thursday, June 13, 2019

Official Report 1105KB pdf

Point of Order

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I am sorry that I have not had a chance to give advance notice of this point of order, which is on two specific issues. First, under rule 7.2.4 of our standing orders, a member is allowed to give way to another member for an intervention. Could you confirm that no part of our standing orders requires a member to give way and nor should a member be instructed by the chair that another member is entitled to an intervention?

Secondly, will you remind the chamber once again of your regular requests that members who have taken part in a debate should be present for closing speeches, rather than walking out in the middle of a closing speech because they do not like the fact that they are being criticised?

I thank Mr Harvie for the point of order. I remind all members to treat each other with respect. That is an important point of order. All members should treat each other with respect.

I was watching the exchange that took place earlier and I heard the interventions. The Presiding Officer did not instruct the member to take an intervention. She suggested that, when a member names another member, it is good practice to take an intervention. I believe that Mr Ruskell responded appropriately and took an intervention at that point. I thought that the way in which the incident was handled was absolutely right. I could see that temperatures were running a little high at that stage. Members were discussing a contentious bill that people feel strongly about. However, I ask all members to reflect on the issue, to recognise that members care passionately about the matter and to treat each other the way they would like to be treated.