Chamber and committees

Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Decision Time

The Presiding Officer (Ken Macintosh)

We come to decision time. There are five questions to be put.

I remind members that, if the amendment in the name of Adam Tomkins is agreed to, all the other amendments will fall.

The first question is, that amendment S5M-08035.2, in the name of Adam Tomkins, which seeks to amend motion S5M-08035, in the name of Jeane Freeman, on the roll-out of universal credit, be agreed to. Are we agreed?

Members: No.

The Presiding Officer

There will be a division.

For

Balfour, Jeremy (Lothian) (Con)
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)
Golden, Maurice (West Scotland) (Con)
Greene, Jamie (West Scotland) (Con)
Halcro Johnston, Jamie (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Hamilton, Rachael (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con)
Harris, Alison (Central Scotland) (Con)
Kerr, Liam (North East Scotland) (Con)
Lindhurst, Gordon (Lothian) (Con)
Lockhart, Dean (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Mason, Tom (North East Scotland) (Con)
Mitchell, Margaret (Central Scotland) (Con)
Mundell, Oliver (Dumfriesshire) (Con)
Scott, John (Ayr) (Con)
Tomkins, Adam (Glasgow) (Con)
Whittle, Brian (South Scotland) (Con)

Against

Adam, George (Paisley) (SNP)
Allan, Alasdair (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP)
Arthur, Tom (Renfrewshire South) (SNP)
Baker, Claire (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Beamish, Claudia (South Scotland) (Lab)
Beattie, Colin (Midlothian North and Musselburgh) (SNP)
Bibby, Neil (West Scotland) (Lab)
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)
Crawford, Bruce (Stirling) (SNP)
Cunningham, Roseanna (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP)
Denham, Ash (Edinburgh Eastern) (SNP)
Dey, Graeme (Angus South) (SNP)
Dornan, James (Glasgow Cathcart) (SNP)
Dugdale, Kezia (Lothian) (Lab)
Ewing, Annabelle (Cowdenbeath) (SNP)
Fabiani, Linda (East Kilbride) (SNP)
Fee, Mary (West Scotland) (Lab)
Findlay, Neil (Lothian) (Lab)
Finnie, John (Highlands and Islands) (Green)
FitzPatrick, Joe (Dundee City West) (SNP)
Forbes, Kate (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP)
Freeman, Jeane (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (SNP)
Gougeon, Mairi (Angus North and Mearns) (SNP)
Grahame, Christine (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP)
Gray, Iain (East Lothian) (Lab)
Greer, Ross (West Scotland) (Green)
Griffin, Mark (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Harper, Emma (South Scotland) (SNP)
Harvie, Patrick (Glasgow) (Green)
Haughey, Clare (Rutherglen) (SNP)
Hepburn, Jamie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (SNP)
Hyslop, Fiona (Linlithgow) (SNP)
Johnson, Daniel (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Johnstone, Alison (Lothian) (Green)
Kelly, James (Glasgow) (Lab)
Kidd, Bill (Glasgow Anniesland) (SNP)
Lamont, Johann (Glasgow) (Lab)
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, 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)
McAlpine, Joan (South Scotland) (SNP)
McArthur, Liam (Orkney Islands) (LD)
McDonald, Mark (Aberdeen Donside) (SNP)
McKee, Ivan (Glasgow Provan) (SNP)
McKelvie, Christina (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse) (SNP)
McMillan, Stuart (Greenock and Inverclyde) (SNP)
McNeill, Pauline (Glasgow) (Lab)
Neil, Alex (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)
Rennie, Willie (North East Fife) (LD)
Robison, Shona (Dundee City East) (SNP)
Rowley, Alex (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Rumbles, Mike (North East Scotland) (LD)
Ruskell, Mark (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green)
Russell, Michael (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)
Sarwar, Anas (Glasgow) (Lab)
Smyth, Colin (South Scotland) (Lab)
Stevenson, Stewart (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP)
Stewart, David (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Stewart, Kevin (Aberdeen Central) (SNP)
Todd, Maree (Highlands and Islands) (SNP)
Torrance, David (Kirkcaldy) (SNP)
Watt, Maureen (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP)
White, Sandra (Glasgow Kelvin) (SNP)
Yousaf, Humza (Glasgow Pollok) (SNP)

The Presiding Officer

The result of the division is: For 23, Against 75, Abstentions 0.

Amendment disagreed to.

The Presiding Officer

The next question is, that amendment S5M-08035.4, in the name of Alex Rowley, which seeks to amend motion S5M-08035, in the name of Jeane Freeman, be agreed to. Are we agreed?

Members: No.

The Presiding Officer

There will be a division.

For

Against

The Presiding Officer

The result of the division is: For 75, Against 23, Abstentions 0.

Amendment agreed to.

The Presiding Officer

The next question is, that amendment S5M-08035.1, in the name of Alison Johnstone, which seeks to amend motion S5M-08035, in the name of Jeane Freeman, be agreed to. Are we agreed?

Members: No.

The Presiding Officer

There will be a division.

For

Against

The Presiding Officer

The result of the division is: For 75, Against 23, Abstentions 0.

Amendment agreed to.

The Presiding Officer

The next question is, that amendment S5M-08035.3, in the name of Alex Cole-Hamilton, which seeks to amend motion S5M-08035, in the name of Jeane Freeman, on the roll-out of universal credit, be agreed to. Are we agreed?

Members: No.

The Presiding Officer

There will be a division.

For

Against

The Presiding Officer

The result of the division is: For 75, Against 23, Abstentions 0.

Amendment agreed to.

The Presiding Officer

The final question is, that motion S5M-08035, in the name of Jeane Freeman, on the roll-out of universal credit, as amended, be agreed to. Are we agreed?

Members: No.

The Presiding Officer

There will be a division.

For

Against

The Presiding Officer

The result of the division is: For 75, Against 23, Abstentions 0.

Motion, as amended, agreed to,

That the Parliament calls on the UK Government to immediately halt the roll-out of universal credit full service due to the overwhelming evidence of the damage that it is causing recipients; agrees that the clear failings in the design and delivery of the system must be addressed; condemns the six-week wait for the first payment of universal credit, which is pushing people into rent arrears, debt and crisis; notes the evidence from a wide range of third sector organisations that highlights the hardship and harm being caused by universal credit; notes that the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee inquiry into universal credit has highlighted the fundamental flaws that must be resolved before full service roll-out proceeds; welcomes the Scottish Government’s use of flexibilities over the system to provide recipients in Scotland a choice of more frequent payments and for the housing element to be paid direct to landlords, but recognises that this does not address the most damaging aspects built in to universal credit; recognises the Scottish Government’s commitment to introduce split payments of universal credit and to work with stakeholders to consider how these can be delivered in Scotland; welcomes the joint letter from COSLA and the Scottish Government demonstrating the defects of universal credit and calling for the roll-out to be paused; observes that the independent Office for Budget Responsibility has said that universal credit is ‘less generous on average than the tax credits and benefits systems that it replaces’ despite original assurances that ‘no-one will experience a reduction in the benefit they receive as a result of the introduction of universal credit’; believes that the UK Government must stop ignoring the overwhelming evidence that shows the negative impact of universal credit full service and take urgent action to fix the problems and make the system fit for purpose and work for the people of Scotland; notes that the highly-complicated application process and resultant administrational errors have delayed payments, which have also pushed people into crisis; further notes that the aim to create a ‘truly digital welfare service’ risks excluding and disadvantaging people who are not online or computer literate; believes that the UK Government must put a comprehensive support package in place before universal credit roll-out accelerates, to make sure that people receive advice on managing their money, advances and dealing with complications in the application process; considers that, to support this, the universal credit helpline should be free of charge, at least until the roll-out is complete; recognises the importance of recipients having financial independence, particularly in domestic abuse settings, and therefore believes that universal credit should be automatically split between adults in a household.

Universal Credit (Roll-out)

Garbh Allt Community Initiative

Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Contents

Decision Time