Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Thursday, October 6, 2016

Official Report 944KB pdf

Investigatory Powers Bill

The next item of business is consideration of a legislative consent motion. I ask Michael Matheson to move motion S5M-01832 on the Investigatory Powers Bill, which is United Kingdom legislation.

Motion moved,

That the Parliament supports the principle of modernising the law in the area of investigatory powers; believes that protection of civil liberties, transparency and independent oversight must be at the heart of this process; supports law enforcement in having necessary powers to keep Scotland’s communities safe, subject to the most stringent checks and safeguards; agrees that the relevant provisions of the Investigatory Powers Bill, which was introduced in the House of Commons on 1 March 2016, relating to the interception of communications in places of detention, decisions relating to the issue, renewal, modification, cancellation and approval of interception warrants, targeted examination warrants and functions relating to mutual assistance warrants, the subject matter of Part III of the Police Act 1997 and other equipment interference provisions, the safeguards relating to the use and retention of material obtained by investigative techniques under the Investigatory Powers Bill, oversight arrangements and functions, the functions of, and rights of appeal from, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, the creation of a Technology Advisory Panel, and amendments to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000 in consequence of the Investigatory Powers Bill, so far as these matters fall within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament or alter the executive competence of the Scottish Ministers, should be considered by the UK Parliament; recognises that many of the provisions are necessary to ensure that law enforcement operates within an updated and robust legislative framework; supports powers that are demonstrably operationally necessary to counter terrorism and prevent and detect serious crime, and recognises the concerns that have been raised about potential impingement on civil liberties and the privacy of individuals in relation to internet connection records and bulk data collection, but notes that these issues are reserved to the UK Parliament and are not matters that the Scottish Ministers or Scottish Parliament can determine.—[Michael Matheson.]

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

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. At lunch time today, 15 minutes after First Minister’s question time concluded, the Scottish Government published Audit Scotland’s section 22 emergency reports on NHS Tayside and NHS 24.

The timing of the laying of section 22 reports is entirely within the Scottish Government’s control, not Audit Scotland’s. I do not see it as any coincidence that the Scottish Government chose to publish those reports safely after the last opportunity before recess for Parliament to question the Government.

NHS Tayside’s finances are in disarray. It will have to make nearly £60 million of cuts this year, which is double the cuts that it made last year. However, it still will not break even, it will not be able to pay back its ever-increasing loan from the Scottish Government and it will have to come back to the Government for the fourth year running to ask for more money. There have been four years of loans, yet it seems that the Scottish Government’s only solution is to swallow up the debts and the spiralling costs into larger health boards.

Presiding Officer, in the interests of parliamentary scrutiny, do you have any power to compel the Government to lay reports so that Parliament has a chance to question ministers in a timely fashion? The Government should not be allowed to try to bury bad news over recess.

I thank Jenny Marra for advance notice of the point of order. The member will know that I cannot compel the Government on publication. I do not believe that that is a point of order, although it is a matter about which the member and other members have a genuine interest and on which they would wish to question the Government.

I make no assumptions about the timing of the report’s publication. I simply ask the cabinet secretary and the Government to reflect on the timing of publication in future.