Meeting of the Parliament 04 October 2022
I move that we do not support the suspension of the standing orders. The Scottish Government has insisted on enforcing an emergency legislation timetable in relation to the bill. That has meant that members saw the content of the bill only late last night, leaving them little time before the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee met this morning and before they are being expected to debate the bill and vote on its general principles.
Prior to the introduction of Covid-19 emergency legislation, consultation was undertaken with the sectors that were directly impacted, but that is not the case with this bill. The Scottish housing market is complex, and unintended consequences of the bill will be clear. However, the decision by Scottish National Party-Green ministers has been made without any consultation with the sector’s representative bodies, and has resulted in much frantic activity since the announcement was made by the First Minister to assess the negative impacts that the bill will clearly have.
I hope that Parliament will consider that we need the opportunity to properly consider the bill and its impact. The process under which the bill has been introduced is unacceptable and flawed, and the Government has tried to bypass any in-depth scrutiny from Parliament. Organisations and businesses that will be impacted have highlighted that to us all.
I therefore ask ministers to provide members with the same opportunity that they had with the emergency Covid legislation to look at the bill in more detail, and I urge members to vote against the suspension of standing orders.