Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Official Report 841KB pdf

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Air Departure Tax (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

The next item of business is stage 3 of the Air Departure Tax (Scotland) Bill. In dealing with the amendments, members should have the bill as amended at stage 2, which is document SP bill 3A, the marshalled list of amendments, which is SP bill 3A-ML, and the groupings of amendments, which is SP bill 3A-G (Timed).

The division bell will sound and proceedings will be suspended for five minutes before the first division of the afternoon. The voting period on the first division will be 30 seconds. Members who wish to speak in the debate on the group of amendments should press their request-to-speak buttons as soon as possible after I call the group.

Members should now refer to the marshalled list of amendments.

Section 10—Tax bands and rate amounts to be set by regulations

Group 1 is entitled “Regulations under section 10(1): economic, environmental and social impacts”. Amendment 1, in the name of the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution, is grouped with amendments 1A, 1B and 1C.

I will speak first to amendment 1. The Scottish Government fully supports and recognises the importance of robust analysis of policies both before and after implementation. With that in mind, I listened carefully to the points that were raised at the Finance and Constitution Committee at stage 2. I also gave a commitment to work to see whether at stage 3 an amendment on impact assessments could be lodged that the Government could support and which retains the spirit of Mr Harvie’s stage 2 amendment. Amendment 1 is the result of that work. It places two duties on Scottish ministers in relation to the power in section 10(1) to define tax bands and to set tax rate amounts in secondary legislation.

The first duty will require Scottish ministers to

“have regard to the projected economic, environmental and social impacts”

when preparing draft secondary legislation on

“tax bands and ... rate amounts.”

The second duty will require Scottish ministers to keep those impacts under review when the tax bands and rate amounts are in force. The Government considers that amendment 1 is a fair compromise that strikes the right balance between the accountability and the flexibility that are necessary with tax powers.

Amendment 1 will also place in the bill a robust set of requirements that the Government is already on track to meet. First, the Government has commissioned separate independent economic and noise impact assessments of our overall 50 per cent ADT reduction plan. Those reports will be published by the time Parliament is asked to consider the first set of tax bands and rate amounts in the autumn.

Secondly, a strategic environmental assessment is under way. The next step of the SEA will involve the Government publicly consulting over the summer on our overall 50 per cent ADT reduction plan, as well as an environmental report that will outline the findings of the assessment of the plan against a wide range of environmental topics including climate factors, air quality, material assets and biodiversity.

Thirdly, at the same time as the SEA consultations are launched, the Government will publish an updated greenhouse gas emissions impact assessment of our overall 50 per cent ADT reduction plan.

Finally, the Government has asked the contractor undertaking the independent economic assessment, in addition to that analysis being carried out, to consider the best way to design a robust monitoring and evaluation framework so that one can be put in place for assessing the economic, environmental and social impacts of ADT in the future.

I turn to the three amendments that have been lodged by Andy Wightman. The Government does not support them. First, on amendments 1A and 1B, in response to Patrick Harvie’s points at stage 2, the amendment that has been lodged by the Government will require Scottish ministers to

“have regard to the ... environmental ... impacts of ... tax bands and tax rate amounts.”

That will include consideration of the impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the Government does not consider it necessary or appropriate to place in the bill a further duty on Scottish ministers.

Secondly, amendment 1C would restrict the Government’s flexibility to respond at short notice to make changes to the tax by requiring that a detailed set of prescriptive assessments be completed every time before secondary legislation for tax bands and rate amounts can be laid before Parliament. The Scottish Parliament did not consider that to be necessary for the other devolved taxes—the land and buildings transaction tax and the landfill tax—and it is not required for any United Kingdom tax. Neither, in the Government’s view, is it necessary for ADT.

The Scottish ministers will, of course,

“have regard to the economic, environmental and social impacts of”

changes to tax bands and rates. Amendment 1, which the Government lodged, will place a duty on the Scottish ministers to do so. However, the Scottish Government thinks that including in the bill a requirement to publish assessments would be overly prescriptive and is not necessary.

I move amendment 1 and invite Parliament to reject amendments 1A, 1B and 1C.

The amendments that I lodged are designed to add some policy purpose to air departure tax, to ensure that evidence informs decisions on ADT rates, and to add safeguards in the event of Scottish ministers of any Government wanting Parliament to give them the power to reduce taxes on what is already an extraordinarily lightly taxed industry.

Amendment 1A is required as part of amendment 1B, which is the first substantive amendment and follows on from discussions with Patrick Harvie at stage 2, as the cabinet secretary indicated. Patrick Harvie argued that APD rates and bands should be set to deliver a fiscal policy for aviation that is based on targets for greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

Witnesses at the Finance and Constitution Committee from the aviation industry said that aviation emissions can be reduced, but science and international treaties say that emissions must be reduced. I do not recall the cabinet secretary disagreeing at stage 2 with the principle of requiring ADT to deliver an emissions reduction strategy. If he disagrees, perhaps he will tell us this afternoon.

The issue that the cabinet secretary identified as problematic is that a target that is specific to aviation emissions would, in his view, be inflexible and would challenge the whole-economy approach in Scotland’s current climate change legislation. Amendment 1B takes account of his comments and would not require a specific aviation target; instead, it would require ministers, in setting ADT rates and bands, to

“act in the way best calculated”

to deliver on Scotland’s climate targets as a whole.

The second part of amendment 1B refers to the Government’s purpose targets. Those are the measures by which the Government will judge its success, as set out in the national performance framework. Sustainability, measured by reducing climate emissions, is one purpose target; others are a reduction in income inequality and increased sustainable economic growth—although the Government has never given a satisfactory definition of that contradictory term.

The Government has argued that its proposed policy for ADT will increase economic growth. That was exposed as an evidence-free assertion by the Finance and Constitution Committee.

Ministers have been less keen to talk about who benefits from cutting taxes on aviation. Air passenger duty is a fiscally progressive tax, which is paid mostly by corporations, visiting tourists and wealthier members of society who fly frequently. Cutting APD is regressive and socially unjust. Amendment 1B would require ministers to start considering not just growth but quality of life and inequalities.

For the avoidance of doubt, let me say that I do not oppose the Government’s amendment 1. Amendment 1 requires ministers to think about—“have regard to”—broader things including environmental and social impacts, but it does not require and mandate ministers to act positively and make choices that will protect the environment and enhance social justice. As it stands, amendment 1 means that ministers, of any colour and at any time in the future, will be acting lawfully if they decide to set tax rates that increase pollution and offer even bigger tax giveaways to the wealthiest. Amendment 1B would constrain a Government, whatever its political persuasion, in that.

Amendment 1C would end the evidence-free vacuum in which someone in the Scottish National Party decided at some point that it would be a clever thing to cut aviation taxes in half. Amendment 1C would require an assessment of emissions and noise and air pollution for communities around airports. My constituents in north-west Edinburgh experience such pollution every day. It would also require information to help Parliament and others to decide whether a tax change is progressive or regressive and whether it would benefit people who are already wealthy.

Amendment 1C does not ask for a tax forecast, because I have taken account of the minister’s comments at stage 2 about the forecasting role of the Scottish Fiscal Commission. The cabinet secretary said that amendment 1 will require ministers to deal with matters, but the amendment requires ministers only to “have regard to” them. The cabinet secretary also criticised amendment 1C for being too rigid, in that it would require information to be produced in response to every rate change. However, amendment 1C simply provides for publication of an assessment; the framework for the assessment would be permanent, but the information that underpins it should be readily available and publication should not be an onerous task. Instead of ministers being required just to think about things, if amendment 1C were agreed to they would be required to think about them alongside evidence and to provide Parliament with the information that it needs in order to scrutinise properly proposals on rates and bands.

I would like to see a lot more about the extraordinary undertaxation of the aviation industry, and to question who really owns Edinburgh Airport Ltd and who will benefit from tax cuts, but I will leave that for another day and remain focused on the bill and on the amendments that I have lodged, which would do as much as possible to ensure that the new tax power is used responsibly, with behaviour changes and impacts firmly in mind. I urge MSPs to vote for all the amendments in the group.

I move amendment 1A.

Thank you, Mr Wightman. We move to the open debate. I call Murdo Fraser.

I will speak briefly on the amendments that are before us.

As we have heard, the Finance and Constitution Committee recommended that, when bringing forward the setting of rates and bands, the Scottish Government should address the evidence base behind them. I therefore welcome amendment 1, in the name of the cabinet secretary, which helpfully responds to that point and looks at the whole question of the

“economic, environmental and social impacts”

that the setting of the rates and bands will have, as he acknowledged. That is a welcome amendment that we are happy to support.

On the three amendments in the name of Andy Wightman, I understand where he is coming from on behalf of the Scottish Green Party. My concern is that the amendments are too prescriptive. They put too many obligations on ministers that might be difficult to meet, particularly given the short timeframe in which rates and bands might have to be adjusted in response to economic conditions. I recognise that, as the cabinet secretary said, there might be a need for greater flexibility than the amendments would allow.

Murdo Fraser indicates that a scenario might arise in which a decision on rates and bands needs to be taken quickly. Surely even in a situation that is perceived as urgent such a decision could not be made in the absence of evidence or of an analysis of the factors that are set out in the Green amendments. If the information on which to base a decision is available, surely it can be published.

I thank Mr Harvie for that comment, but I think that his concerns are addressed in the cabinet secretary’s amendment 1, which says that ministers “must have regard to” those aspects before they set taxes and bands.

There is a second point that, with respect, Mr Wightman did not address when speaking to his amendments. When ministers propose taxes and bands, they have to bring them to the Parliament for a vote, so if members are not satisfied that evidence has been presented in support of the setting of those rates and bands, they can reject them and send them back. Members are quite entitled to consider and justify their actions at that point.

When those proposals for rates and bands come to Parliament for us to make a decision about them, we will be unable to do that effectively and in an informed fashion if they are not accompanied by an analysis of their social, economic and environmental impacts. Ministers are required only to “have regard to” those factors when setting the rates. Surely Parliament needs a fuller analysis and fuller information to properly do its job.

If members are not satisfied that the evidence is there to support the setting of rates and bands, they can reject the proposal to set them and send it back to the Government to think again. That seems to me entirely sensible. Unlike Mr Wightman, I have more faith in the ability of members to consider those matters properly at the time such rates and bands are proposed. For that reason, my party will be happy to support amendment 1, in the name of the cabinet secretary, but we cannot support the amendments in the name of Mr Wightman.

I speak in favour of all the amendments in this group—amendment 1, in the name of the cabinet secretary, and, in particular, amendments 1A, 1B and 1C, in the name of Andy Wightman.

The amendments are important because many of those who contributed to both the Scottish Government’s consultation and the Finance and Constitution Committee’s scrutiny of the bill expressed real concern about the impact that a significant tax reduction could have. They expressed concern about the environmental impact of reducing the tax burden on the aviation industry, and about the implications that a loss of revenue could have on public finances. Indeed, a majority of those who participated in the Scottish Government’s own consultation exercise opposed the very course of action that ministers are committing to: effectively cutting air passenger duty in half with a view to abolishing the tax altogether. I want to explain how the amendments could partially address some of the concerns that have been expressed.

15:45  

The Finance and Constitution Committee heard from Transform Scotland and other campaigners that aviation is already one of the most lightly taxed industries in the world and that further tax reductions would increase aviation emissions. We heard that a tax reduction could reduce Government revenue by up to £189 million a year, at a time when public services are already under severe pressure. We also heard that, as Andy Wightman said, those who are frequent flyers, who are the wealthiest or are on higher incomes, would benefit disproportionately.

There is also considerable doubt as to whether a tax cut would actually boost or benefit the economy in any meaningful way. The Parliament should know that no credible evidence has been presented to the Finance and Constitution Committee to suggest, for example, that the growth in passenger numbers in Ireland had anything to do with the abolition of the equivalent departure taxes. Here in Scotland, airports are already reporting record growth in passenger numbers, and all that growth and success has occurred with the existing levels of air passenger duty.

The case for the Government’s tax cut is not stacking up. It therefore seems reasonable to require Scottish ministers to set out exactly what the impact of their plans will be before they may proceed with any changes to rates or bands. We believe that, at all times, they should have due regard to the economic, environmental and social impacts of their proposals. That is why we support the cabinet secretary’s amendment 1. Let us be clear, however, that having due regard to the impacts of new tax rates is the bare minimum that we should expect from the Scottish Government. We can and should go further.

I turn to Andy Wightman’s amendments 1A, 1B and 1C. Amendment 1C would require ministers to

“publish an assessment of the projected economic, environmental and social impacts of the proposed tax bands and tax rate amounts.”

Essentially, Scottish ministers would have to provide evidence to justify the rates and bands that they chose to apply. Amendment 1C would place a reasonable duty on ministers in requiring them to do just that. Given the direction of Government policy regarding air departure tax, Scottish Labour chooses to support Andy Wightman’s amendments.

I rise to support Andy Wightman’s amendments in particular. The cabinet secretary said that he listened carefully to the debate and the representations that were made at stage 2 and that he lodged his amendment 1 in response. That is welcome because it is a move in the right direction. However, I feel that the amendment is a bit waffly. It says:

“the Scottish Ministers must have regard to the projected economic, environmental and social impacts of the proposed tax bands and tax rate amounts.”

I get the impression that the cabinet secretary, in having regard to those matters, will sit in his ministerial office and ask one of his aides to get the binoculars out to have a look over to Edinburgh airport to see what is happening, and that he will say, “Well, there are plenty of planes going in and out and there looks to be lots of people going in and out, so it’s all going absolutely fine.”

Andy Wightman’s amendments would strengthen the bill considerably. We are debating fundamental issues. The Government will use the power to reduce ADT, and in doing so it will ask us to believe that that will not have an adverse effect on carbon emissions, that it will not adversely affect the Scottish budget and that it is fair. We have serious concerns about that.

Andy Wightman’s amendments require a proper assessment to be published so that we can see evidence on the effect that a cut in ADT will have on emissions, on the Scottish budget and on people in different income deciles. That evidence is crucial in enabling the Parliament to decide whether any such cut is appropriate.

I ask the cabinet secretary, even at this late stage, to look at accepting Andy Wightman’s amendments, because they would strengthen not only the bill but the process of parliamentary scrutiny.

As no other member has asked to speak, I call the cabinet secretary to wind up on amendment 1.

I suppose that I could begin from where James Kelly left off, on what he described as a waffly move in the right direction—that is high praise indeed from James Kelly. Actually, the work that I have commissioned and agreed to undertake is far more robust than he suggests.

I am sure that it is not out of ignorance that James Kelly and Neil Bibby ignore my agreement to publish a range of work, in view of the Finance and Constitution Committee’s deliberations. Andy Wightman’s amendments are partly about making it a duty to publish that information every time the Government wants to make a proposal on rates and bands.

Is the cabinet secretary any more able than he was at stage 2 to tell us why on earth he already feels able to adopt a policy on how he wants to use the tax—on halving it and then scrapping it? How can he adopt that policy before he has conducted any of the economic analyses that he now intends to commission?

Patrick Harvie has fairly asked a specific question that Andy Wightman has also asked: what independent Scottish Government-commissioned analysis was undertaken? There is a range of evidence for the policy position, but I was fairly asked about what independent analysis the Government had commissioned. That analysis is being undertaken.

My amendment 1 proposes to look at our powers responsibly and places a duty on ministers to consider all the burdens and considerations in making a proposal on tax rates and bands. However, it must be recognised that work has been commissioned that will be published before Parliament is asked to make a decision on any affirmative order on rates and bands. That is in keeping with other devolved taxes. I would argue that the proposal goes further by including climate and environmental considerations.

I understand the concerns of Mr Harvie and Mr Wightman, but I have looked at who sponsors the evidence, commissioned independent Government analysis and looked at the environmental concerns. We will publish reports and consultations. In view of all that, Andy Wightman’s amendments are too prescriptive and therefore unnecessary, and I will certainly press amendment 1.

Air departure tax is a modest tax on a very lightly taxed industry. The effective tax subsidy for the UK aviation sector in 2012 was around £11.4 billion, with no tax on jet fuel, zero rating for VAT and so on. That is more than £400 per household. With fares falling, the number of flights growing and pollution increasing, there is no need to cut that tax, but we need a legislative framework within which to set it, and that is what the bill will provide.

Ministers must make the proposals on rates that they intend to bring to the Parliament fully informed by climate change targets and firm evidence. My amendments create a statutory duty to do certain things, and ministers should welcome those tests. I am very concerned that the Government’s approach to the bill is informed by its predetermined policy to cut the tax as opposed to considering carefully how to design a tax for an industry that is already one of the biggest threats to the planet.

I welcome the assessments that the minister has said that he will table, but there is no statutory duty to table them. The statutory duty on ministers will be to

“have regard to the projected economic, environmental and social impacts”

and to keep those impacts “under review”. There is no statutory duty even to publish those assessments. If our amendments are agreed to, there would be a statutory duty to

“act in the way best calculated to”

meet

“the emission reduction targets set out in Part 1 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009”

and

“the Purpose Targets set out in their National Performance Framework”

and to “publish an assessment”. That is fairly modest.

I press amendment 1A.

The question is, that amendment 1A be agreed to. Are we agreed?

Members: No.

There will be a division. As this is the first division, I suspend the meeting for five minutes.

15:54 Meeting suspended.  

15:59 On resuming—  

We move to the division on amendment 1A.

For

Baillie, Jackie (Dumbarton) (Lab)
Baker, Claire (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Beamish, Claudia (South Scotland) (Lab)
Bibby, Neil (West Scotland) (Lab)
Cole-Hamilton, Alex (Edinburgh Western) (LD)
Findlay, Neil (Lothian) (Lab)
Finnie, John (Highlands and Islands) (Green)
Grant, Rhoda (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Gray, Iain (East Lothian) (Lab)
Greer, Ross (West Scotland) (Green)
Harvie, Patrick (Glasgow) (Green)
Johnson, Daniel (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Johnstone, Alison (Lothian) (Green)
Kelly, James (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lamont, Johann (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lennon, Monica (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Leonard, Richard (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Macdonald, Lewis (North East Scotland) (Lab)
McArthur, Liam (Orkney Islands) (LD)
McNeill, Pauline (Glasgow) (Lab)
Rennie, Willie (North East Fife) (LD)
Rowley, Alex (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Rumbles, Mike (North East Scotland) (LD)
Ruskell, Mark (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green)
Sarwar, Anas (Glasgow) (Lab)
Scott, Tavish (Shetland Islands) (LD)
Smith, Elaine (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Stewart, David (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Wightman, Andy (Lothian) (Green)

Against

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)
Ballantyne, Michelle (South Scotland) (Con)
Beattie, Colin (Midlothian North and Musselburgh) (SNP)
Bowman, Bill (North East Scotland) (Con)
Briggs, Miles (Lothian) (Con)
Brown, Keith (Clackmannanshire and Dunblane) (SNP)
Burnett, Alexander (Aberdeenshire West) (Con)
Cameron, Donald (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Campbell, Aileen (Clydesdale) (SNP)
Carlaw, Jackson (Eastwood) (Con)
Carson, Finlay (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con)
Chapman, Peter (North East Scotland) (Con)
Coffey, Willie (Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley) (SNP)
Constance, Angela (Almond Valley) (SNP)
Corry, Maurice (West Scotland) (Con)
Crawford, Bruce (Stirling) (SNP)
Cunningham, Roseanna (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP)
Davidson, Ruth (Edinburgh Central) (Con)
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)
FitzPatrick, Joe (Dundee City West) (SNP)
Forbes, Kate (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP)
Fraser, Murdo (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Freeman, Jeane (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (SNP)
Gilruth, Jenny (Mid Fife and Glenrothes) (SNP)
Golden, Maurice (West Scotland) (Con)
Greene, Jamie (West Scotland) (Con)
Halcro Johnston, Jamie (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Hamilton, Rachael (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con)
Harper, Emma (South Scotland) (SNP)
Haughey, Clare (Rutherglen) (SNP)
Hepburn, Jamie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (SNP)
Hyslop, Fiona (Linlithgow) (SNP)
Kerr, Liam (North East Scotland) (Con)
Kidd, Bill (Glasgow Anniesland) (SNP)
Lindhurst, Gordon (Lothian) (Con)
Lockhart, Dean (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
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)
Mason, Tom (North East Scotland) (Con)
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)
Mitchell, Margaret (Central Scotland) (Con)
Mundell, Oliver (Dumfriesshire) (Con)
Neil, Alex (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)
Robison, Shona (Dundee City East) (SNP)
Ross, Gail (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP)
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)
Todd, Maree (Highlands and Islands) (SNP)
Tomkins, Adam (Glasgow) (Con)
Torrance, David (Kirkcaldy) (SNP)
Watt, Maureen (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP)
Wells, Annie (Glasgow) (Con)
Wheelhouse, Paul (South Scotland) (SNP)
White, Sandra (Glasgow Kelvin) (SNP)
Whittle, Brian (South Scotland) (Con)
Yousaf, Humza (Glasgow Pollok) (SNP)

The result of the division is: For 29, Against 86, Abstentions 0.

Amendment 1A disagreed to.

Amendment 1B moved—[Andy Wightman].

The question is, that amendment 1B be agreed to. Are we agreed?

Members: No.

There will be a division.

For

Baillie, Jackie (Dumbarton) (Lab)
Baker, Claire (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Beamish, Claudia (South Scotland) (Lab)
Bibby, Neil (West Scotland) (Lab)
Cole-Hamilton, Alex (Edinburgh Western) (LD)
Findlay, Neil (Lothian) (Lab)
Finnie, John (Highlands and Islands) (Green)
Grant, Rhoda (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Gray, Iain (East Lothian) (Lab)
Greer, Ross (West Scotland) (Green)
Harvie, Patrick (Glasgow) (Green)
Johnson, Daniel (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Johnstone, Alison (Lothian) (Green)
Kelly, James (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lamont, Johann (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lennon, Monica (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Leonard, Richard (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Macdonald, Lewis (North East Scotland) (Lab)
McArthur, Liam (Orkney Islands) (LD)
McNeill, Pauline (Glasgow) (Lab)
Rennie, Willie (North East Fife) (LD)
Rowley, Alex (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Rumbles, Mike (North East Scotland) (LD)
Ruskell, Mark (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green)
Sarwar, Anas (Glasgow) (Lab)
Scott, Tavish (Shetland Islands) (LD)
Smith, Elaine (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Smyth, Colin (South Scotland) (Lab)
Stewart, David (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Wightman, Andy (Lothian) (Green)

Against

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)
Ballantyne, Michelle (South Scotland) (Con)
Beattie, Colin (Midlothian North and Musselburgh) (SNP)
Bowman, Bill (North East Scotland) (Con)
Briggs, Miles (Lothian) (Con)
Brown, Keith (Clackmannanshire and Dunblane) (SNP)
Burnett, Alexander (Aberdeenshire West) (Con)
Cameron, Donald (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Campbell, Aileen (Clydesdale) (SNP)
Carlaw, Jackson (Eastwood) (Con)
Carson, Finlay (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con)
Chapman, Peter (North East Scotland) (Con)
Coffey, Willie (Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley) (SNP)
Constance, Angela (Almond Valley) (SNP)
Crawford, Bruce (Stirling) (SNP)
Cunningham, Roseanna (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP)
Davidson, Ruth (Edinburgh Central) (Con)
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)
FitzPatrick, Joe (Dundee City West) (SNP)
Forbes, Kate (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP)
Fraser, Murdo (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Freeman, Jeane (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (SNP)
Gilruth, Jenny (Mid Fife and Glenrothes) (SNP)
Golden, Maurice (West Scotland) (Con)
Greene, Jamie (West Scotland) (Con)
Halcro Johnston, Jamie (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Hamilton, Rachael (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con)
Harper, Emma (South Scotland) (SNP)
Haughey, Clare (Rutherglen) (SNP)
Hepburn, Jamie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (SNP)
Hyslop, Fiona (Linlithgow) (SNP)
Kerr, Liam (North East Scotland) (Con)
Kidd, Bill (Glasgow Anniesland) (SNP)
Lindhurst, Gordon (Lothian) (Con)
Lockhart, Dean (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
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, Tom (North East Scotland) (Con)
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)
Mitchell, Margaret (Central Scotland) (Con)
Mountain, Edward (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Mundell, Oliver (Dumfriesshire) (Con)
Neil, Alex (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)
Robison, Shona (Dundee City East) (SNP)
Ross, Gail (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP)
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)
Todd, Maree (Highlands and Islands) (SNP)
Tomkins, Adam (Glasgow) (Con)
Torrance, David (Kirkcaldy) (SNP)
Watt, Maureen (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP)
Wells, Annie (Glasgow) (Con)
Wheelhouse, Paul (South Scotland) (SNP)
White, Sandra (Glasgow Kelvin) (SNP)
Whittle, Brian (South Scotland) (Con)
Yousaf, Humza (Glasgow Pollok) (SNP)

The result of the division is: For 30, Against 85, Abstentions 0.

Amendment 1B disagreed to.

Amendment 1C moved—[Andy Wightman].

The question is, that amendment 1C be agreed to. Are we agreed?

Members: No.

There will be a division.

For

Baillie, Jackie (Dumbarton) (Lab)
Baker, Claire (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Beamish, Claudia (South Scotland) (Lab)
Bibby, Neil (West Scotland) (Lab)
Cole-Hamilton, Alex (Edinburgh Western) (LD)
Findlay, Neil (Lothian) (Lab)
Finnie, John (Highlands and Islands) (Green)
Grant, Rhoda (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Gray, Iain (East Lothian) (Lab)
Greer, Ross (West Scotland) (Green)
Harvie, Patrick (Glasgow) (Green)
Johnson, Daniel (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Johnstone, Alison (Lothian) (Green)
Kelly, James (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lamont, Johann (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lennon, Monica (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Leonard, Richard (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Macdonald, Lewis (North East Scotland) (Lab)
McArthur, Liam (Orkney Islands) (LD)
McNeill, Pauline (Glasgow) (Lab)
Rennie, Willie (North East Fife) (LD)
Rowley, Alex (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Rumbles, Mike (North East Scotland) (LD)
Ruskell, Mark (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green)
Sarwar, Anas (Glasgow) (Lab)
Scott, Tavish (Shetland Islands) (LD)
Smith, Elaine (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Smyth, Colin (South Scotland) (Lab)
Stewart, David (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Wightman, Andy (Lothian) (Green)

Against

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)
Ballantyne, Michelle (South Scotland) (Con)
Beattie, Colin (Midlothian North and Musselburgh) (SNP)
Bowman, Bill (North East Scotland) (Con)
Briggs, Miles (Lothian) (Con)
Brown, Keith (Clackmannanshire and Dunblane) (SNP)
Burnett, Alexander (Aberdeenshire West) (Con)
Cameron, Donald (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Campbell, Aileen (Clydesdale) (SNP)
Carlaw, Jackson (Eastwood) (Con)
Carson, Finlay (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con)
Chapman, Peter (North East Scotland) (Con)
Coffey, Willie (Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley) (SNP)
Constance, Angela (Almond Valley) (SNP)
Corry, Maurice (West Scotland) (Con)
Crawford, Bruce (Stirling) (SNP)
Cunningham, Roseanna (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP)
Davidson, Ruth (Edinburgh Central) (Con)
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)
FitzPatrick, Joe (Dundee City West) (SNP)
Forbes, Kate (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP)
Fraser, Murdo (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Freeman, Jeane (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (SNP)
Gilruth, Jenny (Mid Fife and Glenrothes) (SNP)
Golden, Maurice (West Scotland) (Con)
Greene, Jamie (West Scotland) (Con)
Halcro Johnston, Jamie (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Hamilton, Rachael (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con)
Harper, Emma (South Scotland) (SNP)
Haughey, Clare (Rutherglen) (SNP)
Hepburn, Jamie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (SNP)
Hyslop, Fiona (Linlithgow) (SNP)
Kerr, Liam (North East Scotland) (Con)
Kidd, Bill (Glasgow Anniesland) (SNP)
Lindhurst, Gordon (Lothian) (Con)
Lockhart, Dean (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
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)
Mason, Tom (North East Scotland) (Con)
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)
Mitchell, Margaret (Central Scotland) (Con)
Mountain, Edward (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Mundell, Oliver (Dumfriesshire) (Con)
Neil, Alex (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)
Robison, Shona (Dundee City East) (SNP)
Ross, Gail (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP)
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)
Todd, Maree (Highlands and Islands) (SNP)
Tomkins, Adam (Glasgow) (Con)
Torrance, David (Kirkcaldy) (SNP)
Watt, Maureen (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP)
Wells, Annie (Glasgow) (Con)
Wheelhouse, Paul (South Scotland) (SNP)
White, Sandra (Glasgow Kelvin) (SNP)
Whittle, Brian (South Scotland) (Con)
Yousaf, Humza (Glasgow Pollok) (SNP)

The result of the division is: For 30, Against 87, Abstentions 0.

Amendment 1C disagreed to.

I invite Derek Mackay to press or seek to withdraw amendment 1.

I press amendment 1.

Amendment 1 agreed to.

That ends consideration of amendments.

There has been a procedural change, which I will read out. It will be repeated later.

As members will be aware, at this point in the proceedings, the Presiding Officer is now required under standing orders to state whether, in his view, any provision in the bill relates to a protected subject matter—briefly, whether any provision modifies the electoral system and franchise for Scottish parliamentary elections. If it does, the motion to pass the bill requires support from a supermajority of members. That is a two-thirds majority, or 86 members.

In this case, the Presiding Officer’s view is that no provision in the Air Departure Tax (Scotland) Bill relates to a protected subject matter. Therefore, the bill does not require a supermajority to be passed at stage 3.

I am sure that that is all embedded in members’ memories now.