Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament (Virtual) 26 January 2021
26 Jan 2021 · S5 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Post-mortem Examinations (Defence Time Limit) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
I call Adam Tomkins to speak on behalf of the Justice Committee.
16:49In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Lewis Macdonald)
Lab
The next item of business is a debate on motion S5M-23803, in the name of Gil Paterson, on the Post-mortem Examinations (Defence Time Limit) (Scotland) Bill ...
Gil Paterson (Clydebank and Milngavie) (SNP)
SNP
I am delighted to open the debate on the general principles of the Post-mortem Examinations (Defence Time Limit) (Scotland) Bill. The bill has been a long ti...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
I call Adam Tomkins to speak on behalf of the Justice Committee. 16:49
Adam Tomkins (Glasgow) (Con)
Con
This is the second of two members’ bills that have come to the chamber for debate this month after having been examined by the Justice Committee. As I explai...
The Cabinet Secretary for Justice (Humza Yousaf)
SNP
I begin, first and foremost, by paying tribute to Gil Paterson for his dedication to the issue over several years, and for his hard work in introducing the b...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
Members will be aware that we are running significantly behind as a result of technical difficulties earlier this afternoon. Therefore, before I call the rem...
Liam Kerr (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
The Scottish Conservatives will vote against the bill at decision time, but I make it clear that that is a finely balanced decision, because we have a great ...
Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Lab
I congratulate Gil Paterson on introducing the bill. Inaudible.—to introduce a member’s bill, so it is a success to reach this stage. The bill addresses the...
Liam McArthur (Orkney Islands) (LD)
LD
This is the third of three member’s bill debates that I have covered recently, following our consideration last week of the bills that had been introduced by...
John Finnie (Highlands and Islands) (Green)
Green
At decision time, the Scottish Green Party will support the general principles of the bill, which is what we will be voting on. The bill might not be the fin...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
We move to the open debate. I ask for three-minute speeches, please. 17:14
Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP)
SNP
I thank my colleague Gil Paterson for introducing the bill and for his hard work and tenacity on behalf of victims and their families over many years. The bi...
James Kelly (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
I pay tribute to Gil Paterson for the amount of work that he has put into pursing the bill and into an issue that he has raised consistently in Parliament. T...
Rona Mackay (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP)
SNP
It is customary to begin a speech by saying how pleased one is to be taking part in the debate. That is, unfortunately, not the case for me today. To say tha...
Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Lab
This has been a short debate, but one in which Gil Paterson has highlighted the heartache that any delay in releasing the body of a loved one can cause to a ...
Gordon Lindhurst (Lothian) (Con)
Con
Justice should be paramount in any criminal justice system and should have two ends: protection of the innocent, including victims of crime, and conviction o...
Humza Yousaf
SNP
I thank all those who have contributed to the debate. Once again, I pay tribute—as everyone else has—to Gil Paterson’s hard work on the bill. As I said in my...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
I call Gil Paterson, the member in charge of the bill, to wind up the debate. 17:36
Gil Paterson
SNP
I will address issues that have been raised in the debate. First, though, it would be remiss of me not to thank everyone in the Parliament’s non-Government b...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
Thank you very much. That concludes the debate on the Post-mortem Examinations (Defence Time Limit) (Scotland) Bill. It is now time to move on to the next it...