Meeting of the Parliament 09 September 2025
It is important that we place the amendment to business in its proper context. The report stage for the bill that the LCM relates to is in the House of Commons tomorrow. Therefore, the LCM requires expedited consideration by Parliament, because the amendment that triggers the requirement for legislative consent has been tabled at this late stage in the bill’s passage, and the United Kingdom Government is seeking assurances that the Scottish Parliament is granting its consent and that it will be secured before amending stages are complete.
The amendment is important because it helps to further our collective ambition to tackle climate change and facilitate the uptake of zero emission buses.
Given that the bill is about to reach the last amending stage, it would be desirable for Parliament to consider whether its views can still influence the final form of the bill. The only way to achieve that is to suspend standing orders so that the LCM can be taken in the chamber without committee consideration.
However, the committee’s views were sought and its views were that, given the time constraints, the best option would be to vary standing orders to allow the LCM to be taken directly in the chamber.
If Parliament does not get the opportunity to debate the motion on legislative consent tomorrow, there is the risk that the bill, as amended, proceeds to royal assent without this Parliament having had the opportunity to consider the matter and grant its consent. I imagine that all parliamentarians, including Mr Lumsden, want to avoid that.