Contents
- Business Motion
- General Question Time
- First Minister’s Question Time
- Scottish Apprenticeship Week
- Portfolio Question Time
- Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
- Covid-19 (Update)
- Business Motion
- Decision Time
Business Motion
Our first item of business today is consideration of business motion S5M-21233, in the name of Graeme Dey, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, setting out a revision to today’s business.
I apologise to members for having to propose a change to today’s business at such short notice. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport is required to participate in a meeting about coronavirus with the United Kingdom Government, and she is therefore unable to update Parliament today. However, the First Minister will write to update all party leaders as soon as practically possible after today’s meeting, and with the agreement of the bureau, the Government proposes to make a statement to Parliament on the issue next Tuesday.
I move,
That the Parliament agrees the following revisions to the programme of business on Thursday 12 March 2020—
delete
2.30 pm Ministerial Statement: Novel coronavirus COVID-19 update
followed by
2.30 pm Portfolio Questions: Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity
and insert
2.30 pm Portfolio Questions:
Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity
I thank Mr Dey. The information was circulated to business managers by email this morning, so we accept the motion. However, there is huge parliamentary demand for an update on the UK Government statement. Everyone understands that we are in a moving situation, and that the health minister and the First Minister will have to attend the COBRA meeting, but there is an expectation that Parliament will be kept fully informed.
I am chairing the meeting of the corporate body at lunch time, so I suggest that Mr Dey and the business managers get together with the business team at lunch time to discuss how Parliament might be kept informed. In light of all the responses to questions and First Minister’s questions, we can revisit the issue and there might be an opportunity to have an urgent question at the end of the day. If we can get the business managers together at lunch time, they can discuss it.
On that note, the question is, that motion S5M-21233 be agreed to.
Motion agreed to.