Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 22 December 2020
I will briefly make some comments similar to Liam McArthur’s. At stage 2, a great many members, including Angela Constance—who I also congratulate on her reappointment to Government—had similar concerns. However, I think that we came forward with a wee bit of a scattergun approach to the different changes that we wanted to see, with Angela Constance’s amendments on purpose, Liam McArthur’s on scrutiny and accountability, and some of my amendments.
In the absence of agreement on those wider issues of purpose and scrutiny, I would still say that the amendments that I proposed at stage 2 were necessary, as they provided for shorter reporting periods and a few other changes. As it was not clear at stage 2 that we would get any consensus on those wider issues, I am pleased that we agreed to those amendments in my name. However, I am happy to have them reversed now at stage 3—in a later group—given that we have achieved consensus. I thank Liam McArthur, Alex Rowley, the minister and Angela Constance, who lodged the amendments in this group.
Having that consensus develop throughout the bill has been an important process. I am pleased that we have managed to shape the bill into a better one than it was when it was introduced. That being the case, I will not oppose the Government’s amendments that reverse my stage 2 amendments when we reach them. I will happily support the amendments in group 2, as well as the later ones on scrutiny.