Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Thursday, November 17, 2016

Official Report 896KB pdf

Decision Time

There are six questions to be put as a result of today’s business. The first question is, that amendment S5M-02511.3, in the name of Dean Lockhart, which seeks to amend motion S5M-02511, in the name of Shirley-Anne Somerville, on innovation, be agreed to.

Amendment agreed to.

The next question is, that amendment S5M-02511.1, in the name of Iain Gray, which seeks to amend motion S5M-02511, in the name of Shirley-Anne Somerville, on innovation, be agreed to.

Amendment agreed to.

The next question is, that amendment S5M-02511.2, in the name of Tavish Scott, which seeks to amend motion S5M-02511, in the name of Shirley-Anne Somerville, on innovation, be agreed to.

Amendment agreed to.

The next question is, that motion S5M-02511, in the name of Shirley-Anne Somerville, on innovation, as amended, be agreed to.

Motion, as amended, agreed to,

That the Parliament acknowledges the contribution that Scotland’s Innovation Centre Programme can make as a driver of innovation on some key sectors of the economy; welcomes the publication of the independent review of Scotland’s Innovation Centre Programme by Professor Graeme Reid, and recognises that the review’s recommendations set out a helpful course for the Scottish Government to consider during the next stage of the programme; urges the Scottish Government to introduce clearer industry-defined success measures in order to assess the overall performance of innovation centres; encourages it to take further action to boost productivity levels in the Scottish economy through innovation; notes with concern the latest available productivity figures, which show that Scotland currently ranks in the third quartile of OECD countries for productivity, despite the Scottish Government’s target for Scotland to rank in the top quartile by 2017; notes that Professor Reid called for a further review to be completed by June 2017; considers that this review should report to the Parliament, which should include progress made on innovation centre objectives, including the generation of 5,000 jobs and the leverage of private sector funding into centre projects, and on improvements to the involvement of further education colleges in the programme, and that it should recommend whether new centres in other sectors are required; notes that the report stated that the Scottish Funding Council and enterprise agencies have vital roles in supporting the innovation centres, and calls for clarity from ministers on their proposals for a Scotland-wide board governing Scottish Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Scottish Funding Council, and how this will impact on innovation centres and, in particular, their ability to make strategic long-term decisions.

The next question is, that motion S5M-02552, in the name of Joe FitzPatrick, on committee membership, be agreed to.

Motion agreed to,

That the Parliament agrees that—

Ross Thomson be appointed to replace Alison Harris as a member of the Public Audit and Post-legislative Scrutiny Committee; and

Alison Harris be appointed to replace Rachael Hamilton as a member of the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee.

The final question is, that motion S5M-02553, in the name of Joe FitzPatrick, on substitution on committees, be agreed to.

Motion agreed to,

That the Parliament agrees that—

Brian Whittle be appointed to replace Alison Harris as the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party substitute on the Health and Sport Committee; and

Alison Harris be appointed to replace Ross Thomson as the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party substitute on the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee.