Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Official Report 860KB pdf

Standing Order Rule Changes (First Minister’s Question Time)

The next item of business is consideration of motion S5M-02057, in the name of Clare Adamson, on behalf of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee, on standing orders changes to First Minister’s question time. I invite Clare Adamson to speak to and move the motion.

The Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee proposes some changes to the rules on First Minister’s question time. Since the start of the parliamentary session, the Presiding Officer has trialled changes to the format for First Minister’s question time. Up to eight questions are being selected instead of six, and the time for First Minister’s question time has been extended from “up to 30 minutes” to “up to 45 minutes”.

On 6 October, the Presiding Officer wrote to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau asking us to revise standing orders to make those changes permanent. The committee’s view is that the revised format for First Minister’s question time is an improvement on the previous arrangements, and we believe that there is cross-party support for amending standing orders to allow the new format to continue in the future. The relatively limited changes to standing orders that we propose today will allow that to happen.

I am pleased to move,

That the Parliament notes the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee’s 4th Report 2016 (Session 5), First Minister’s Question Time - Standing Order rule changes (SP Paper 22), and agrees that the changes to Standing Orders set out in Annexe A of the report be made with effect from 27 October 2016.

Thank you. The question on the motion will be put at decision time.