Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Official Report 1314KB pdf

---

Decision Time

There are seven questions as a result of today’s business. The first question is, that amendment S5M-12861.2, in the name of Joe FitzPatrick, which seeks to amend motion S5M-12861, in the name of Rhoda Grant, on a review of Scottish Government freedom of information request handling and record keeping, be agreed to. Are we agreed?

Members: No.

There will be a 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)
Beattie, Colin (Midlothian North and Musselburgh) (SNP)
Brown, Keith (Clackmannanshire and Dunblane) (SNP)
Campbell, Aileen (Clydesdale) (SNP)
Coffey, Willie (Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley) (SNP)
Cole-Hamilton, Alex (Edinburgh Western) (LD)
Constance, Angela (Almond Valley) (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)
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)
Freeman, Jeane (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (SNP)
Gibson, Kenneth (Cunninghame North) (SNP)
Gilruth, Jenny (Mid Fife and Glenrothes) (SNP)
Gougeon, Mairi (Angus North and Mearns) (SNP)
Grahame, Christine (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP)
Harper, Emma (South Scotland) (SNP)
Haughey, Clare (Rutherglen) (SNP)
Hepburn, Jamie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (SNP)
Hyslop, Fiona (Linlithgow) (SNP)
Kidd, Bill (Glasgow Anniesland) (SNP)
Lochhead, Richard (Moray) (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)
McArthur, Liam (Orkney Islands) (LD)
McKee, Ivan (Glasgow Provan) (SNP)
McKelvie, Christina (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse) (SNP)
McMillan, Stuart (Greenock and Inverclyde) (SNP)
Neil, Alex (Airdrie and Shotts) (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)
Rumbles, Mike (North East Scotland) (LD)
Russell, Michael (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)
Scott, Tavish (Shetland Islands) (LD)
Somerville, Shirley-Anne (Dunfermline) (SNP)
Stevenson, Stewart (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP)
Stewart, Kevin (Aberdeen Central) (SNP)
Sturgeon, Nicola (Glasgow Southside) (SNP)
Swinney, John (Perthshire North) (SNP)
Todd, Maree (Highlands and Islands) (SNP)
Torrance, David (Kirkcaldy) (SNP)
Watt, Maureen (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP)
Wheelhouse, Paul (South Scotland) (SNP)
White, Sandra (Glasgow Kelvin) (SNP)
Yousaf, Humza (Glasgow Pollok) (SNP)

Against

Baillie, Jackie (Dumbarton) (Lab)
Baker, Claire (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Balfour, Jeremy (Lothian) (Con)
Ballantyne, Michelle (South Scotland) (Con)
Beamish, Claudia (South Scotland) (Lab)
Bibby, Neil (West Scotland) (Lab)
Bowman, Bill (North East Scotland) (Con)
Briggs, Miles (Lothian) (Con)
Burnett, Alexander (Aberdeenshire West) (Con)
Cameron, Donald (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Carlaw, Jackson (Eastwood) (Con)
Carson, Finlay (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con)
Chapman, Peter (North East Scotland) (Con)
Corry, Maurice (West Scotland) (Con)
Davidson, Ruth (Edinburgh Central) (Con)
Dugdale, Kezia (Lothian) (Lab)
Fee, Mary (West Scotland) (Lab)
Findlay, Neil (Lothian) (Lab)
Finnie, John (Highlands and Islands) (Green)
Fraser, Murdo (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Golden, Maurice (West Scotland) (Con)
Grant, Rhoda (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Greene, Jamie (West Scotland) (Con)
Greer, Ross (West Scotland) (Green)
Griffin, Mark (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Halcro Johnston, Jamie (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Hamilton, Rachael (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con)
Harris, Alison (Central Scotland) (Con)
Harvie, Patrick (Glasgow) (Green)
Johnson, Daniel (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Johnstone, Alison (Lothian) (Green)
Kelly, James (Glasgow) (Lab)
Kerr, Liam (North East Scotland) (Con)
Lamont, Johann (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lennon, Monica (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Leonard, Richard (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Lindhurst, Gordon (Lothian) (Con)
Lockhart, Dean (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Macdonald, Lewis (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Marra, Jenny (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Mason, Tom (North East Scotland) (Con)
McDonald, Mark (Aberdeen Donside) (Ind)
McNeill, Pauline (Glasgow) (Lab)
Mitchell, Margaret (Central Scotland) (Con)
Mountain, Edward (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Mundell, Oliver (Dumfriesshire) (Con)
Rowley, Alex (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Ruskell, Mark (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green)
Sarwar, Anas (Glasgow) (Lab)
Scott, John (Ayr) (Con)
Smith, Elaine (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Smith, Liz (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Smyth, Colin (South Scotland) (Lab)
Stewart, Alexander (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Stewart, David (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Tomkins, Adam (Glasgow) (Con)
Wells, Annie (Glasgow) (Con)
Whittle, Brian (South Scotland) (Con)
Wightman, Andy (Lothian) (Green)

The result of the division is: For 66, Against 59, Abstentions 0.

Amendment agreed to.

The next question is, that amendment S5M-12861.1, in the name of Edward Mountain, which seeks to amend motion S5M-12861, as amended, be agreed to.

Amendment agreed to.

The next question is, that motion S5M-12861, in the name of Rhoda Grant, on a review of Government FOI handling and record keeping, as amended, be agreed to.

Motion, as amended, agreed to,

That the Parliament notes the concerns raised on Scottish Government transparency in the intervention report from the Scottish Information Commissioner; notes the key findings that the Scottish Government’s FoI policies and procedures are not clear enough regarding the role of special advisers in responding to FoI requests; believes that the Scottish Government takes longer to respond to journalists’ FoI requests than other requests; considers that response times for journalists’ FoI requests have improved but can improve further; notes that the Scottish Government has accepted the commissioner’s recommendations in full and will develop an action plan as required by the commissioner to be published in September 2018; welcomes the proposed extension of FoI law to registered social landlords; agrees that the Scottish Government should consult on proposals to further extend coverage of Scotland’s freedom of information legislation, for example, to companies providing services on behalf of the public sector, and further calls on the Scottish Information Commissioner to make public the report on the government’s implementation of the action plan when approved annually.

The next question is, that amendment S5M-12856.3, in the name of Shona Robison, which seeks to amend motion S5M-12856, in the name of Anas Sarwar, on access to vital medicines, be agreed to.

Amendment agreed to.

The next question is, that amendment S5M-12856.1, in the name of Miles Briggs, which seeks to amend motion S5M-12856, as amended, be agreed to.

Amendment agreed to.

The next question is, that motion S5M-12856, in the name of Anas Sarwar, on access to vital medicines, as amended, be agreed to.

Motion, as amended, agreed to,

That the Parliament calls on the Scottish Government, as a matter of urgency, to bring NHS National Services Scotland, the Scottish Medicines Consortium and the relevant pharmaceutical companies together to deliver access to the life-prolonging medicines, Perjeta and Orkambi, for patients in Scotland who need them; notes the commitment that was made by the Scottish Government in December 2016, following the Review of Access to New Medicines (the Montgomery Review), to improve ways of negotiating with drug companies on the cost of medicines; calls for a new system of negotiation to be implemented now; welcomes the introduction of a new ultra-orphan pathway within the Scottish Medicines Consortium process that will make available, with ongoing evaluation for at least three years, medicines for the rarest conditions; notes the roll-out of the Peer Approved Clinical System in June 2018, replacing individual patient treatment requests, which allows clinicians to seek medicines for their patients that are not currently accepted for routine use by the NHS in Scotland, and which makes clear that the cost of the medicine must not be part of the decision-making process; further notes the commitment of the Scottish Government to continue to use all Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme rebate funding to support access to new medicines; welcomes the commitment of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry for its members to provide Scotland with the same discounts offered elsewhere in the UK for accessing medicines; believes that pharmaceutical companies should offer NHS Scotland fair prices and should properly engage with health technology assessments in order to demonstrate the clinical effectiveness of their medicines, and further calls on the Scottish Government to remove barriers to make access to new drugs easier, including the reform of the Patient Access Scheme Assessment Group.

I propose to ask a single question on the five Parliamentary Bureau motions. If any member objects, please say so now.

No member objects, so the question is, that motions S5M-12879 to S5M-12881 and motions S5M-12896 and S5M-12897, in the name of Joe FitzPatrick, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, be agreed to.

Motions agreed to.

That the Parliament agrees that the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee be designated as the lead committee in consideration of the Transport (Scotland) Bill at stage 1.

That the Parliament agrees that the Justice Committee be designated as the lead committee in consideration of the Vulnerable Witnesses (Criminal Evidence) (Scotland) Bill at stage 1.

That the Parliament agrees that the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee be designated as the lead committee in consideration of the Damages (Investment Returns and Periodical Payments) (Scotland) Bill at stage 1.

That the Parliament agrees that, between 31 January 2019 and 31 January 2020, the Office of the Clerk will be open on all days except: Saturdays and Sundays, 19 and 22 April 2019, 6 May 2019, 24 and 27 May 2019, 13 September 2019, 29 November 2019, 24 December (pm), 25 and 26 December 2019, and 1 and 2 January 2020.

That the Parliament agrees the following parliamentary recess dates under Rule 2.3.1: 9 to 17 February 2019 (inclusive), 30 March to 14 April 2019 (inclusive), 30 June to 1 September 2019 (inclusive), 12 to 27 October 2019 (inclusive), 21 December 2019 to 5 January 2020 (inclusive).