Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 09 February 2022
09 Feb 2022 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Coronavirus (Discretionary Compensation for Self-isolation) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
Mr Mason is, of course, an accountant. I bow to his mastery of the figures at such short notice. I am sure that Ms Baillie will have the chance to respond to that in due course.
I will move on to other matters. When we took evidence, the Law Society of Scotland raised one issue in relation to the bill. It asked that a statement of reasons be provided by the Scottish Government when making regulations under section 3. I referred to that in the stage 1 debate and it was covered in the committee’s report. The point was accepted by the Scottish Government, and an amendment was lodged by the cabinet secretary at stage 2 to implement the change, which was a welcome concession by the Scottish Government.
Deputy—sorry, Presiding Officer. You have appeared—I was about to demote you.
There is very little more to say about the bill. We look forward to its becoming law in due course. I suspect that the next piece of Covid-19 legislation that will come before us—the Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill—might not enjoy such a smooth and uncontroversial parliamentary passage as the one that is before us just now, but that is a matter for another day. In the meantime, we are pleased to support the bill at stage 3.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-03080, in the name of John Swinney, on the Coronavirus (Discretionary Compensation for Self-isolation) (S...
The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery (John Swinney)
SNP
I am pleased to open the final debate on the Coronavirus (Discretionary Compensation for Self-isolation) (Scotland) Bill. I am grateful to members of Parlia...
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab)
Lab
I place on record my thanks to the COVID-19 Recovery Committee, those who gave evidence, the bill team and the Deputy First Minister for getting us to this s...
John Mason (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP)
SNP
Could the member explain the figure referred to in her amendment? The £500 would be 50 hours at £10 an hour.
Jackie Baillie
Lab
If Mr Mason will let me develop the point, he will see where we got the calculations from. Scottish Labour’s reasoned amendment is a recognition that the fi...
Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
I remind members of my entry in the register of members’ interests, which states that I am a member of the Law Society of Scotland. This is the final point ...
Jackie Baillie
Lab
I am sure that the member would agree that, as the cost of living crisis is laid bare, it is absolutely right for us to consider and keep under review the am...
Murdo Fraser
Con
I hear what Jackie Baillie says. Of course, she could have introduced an amendment at stage 3 to implement the change, instead of lodging a reasoned amendmen...
John Mason
SNP
I was doing some calculations on a bit of paper myself. I reckon that, if someone was self-isolating for 10 days, with two days for a weekend, they would oth...
Murdo Fraser
Con
Mr Mason is, of course, an accountant. I bow to his mastery of the figures at such short notice. I am sure that Ms Baillie will have the chance to respond to...
The Presiding Officer (Alison Johnstone)
NPA
We move to the open debate. 16:09
John Mason (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP)
SNP
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak, Presiding Officer. I fear that there will be a bit of repetition from the stage 1 debate, given that little...
Sandesh Gulhane (Glasgow) (Con)
Con
I draw members’ attention to my entry in the register of members’ interests, which states that I am a practising NHS general practitioner. The past two year...
Paul O’Kane (West Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
Since March 2020, many have made sacrifices in exchange for the protection of our national health service and our fellow citizens. Taking action such as self...
Gillian Mackay (Central Scotland) (Green)
Green
As has been noted by others, the Public Health etc (Scotland) Act 2008 was written long before the Covid pandemic and was not intended to meet the challenges...
Jackie Baillie
Lab
Gillian Mackay said that it was appropriate, given the cost of living crisis, to regularly review the amount paid. Does that mean that she will be supporting...
Gillian Mackay
Green
I thought that that would be Jackie Baillie’s question. Yes, I will be supporting the amendment. Alongside ensuring that adequate support is available, we m...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
I call Siobhian Brown, who is the last speaker in the open debate. 16:24
Siobhian Brown (Ayr) (SNP)
SNP
As convener of the COVID-19 Recovery Committee, I thank my fellow committee members and our highly professional clerking team for their work as we considered...
Carol Mochan (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
In closing the debate for Scottish Labour, and in expressing our support for the principles and intentions of the bill, I encourage Parliament to support Sco...
Brian Whittle (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
I am happy to close the stage 3 debate on the Coronavirus (Discretionary Compensation for Self-isolation) (Scotland) Bill on behalf of the Scottish Conservat...
John Swinney
SNP
Hear, hear.
Brian Whittle
Con
Thank you. That was a welcome intervention from the cabinet secretary. I put on record my thanks to all those who have helped with the process, particularly...
Jackie Baillie
Lab
I am sure that the member recognises that that is entirely in the gift of the Presiding Officer. I am sure that he does not intend to challenge her ruling. W...
Brian Whittle
Con
We are a very reasoned party, as Jackie Baillie is well aware. Of course, I would never criticise the Presiding Officer—I would never do that. However, I sug...
John Swinney
SNP
I am delighted to have the opportunity to close the debate. I will address the one and only discordant issue first, before I get on to my usual generous way ...
Brian Whittle
Con
In a reasonable way, I gently suggest to the cabinet secretary that the issue that we have with the upcoming legislation is the fact that, as we exit the oth...
John Swinney
SNP
That is an issue that we will have to chew over in the bill process—whether we should have a statute book that can deal with emergencies. The Conservatives c...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
That concludes the debate.