Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 04 February 2026
04 Feb 2026 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
European Charter of Local Self-Government (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill
I am grateful to Mark Ruskell for taking the intervention and explaining the anomaly that we face. There are proposals with regard to how the bill, if the motion is agreed to this evening, can be rectified, but does he agree that the parliamentary process does not involve quite the same questions as confronted us with the UNCRC bill? There will have to be careful consideration of how we propose to amend this bill so that, if it comes back, we do not find ourselves in a horrible roundabout that takes us back to where we were.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Alison Johnstone)
NPA
The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-20525, in the name of Mark Ruskell, on a motion on reconsideration of the European Charter of Local Self-...
Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green)
Green
I am happy to move the motion to enable the reconsideration of the European Charter of Local Self-Government (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill. Some members ma...
Martin Whitfield (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
Will the member take an intervention?
Mark Ruskell
Green
If there is time in hand, I will.
The Presiding Officer
NPA
There is a little.
Martin Whitfield
Lab
I am grateful to Mark Ruskell for taking the intervention and explaining the anomaly that we face. There are proposals with regard to how the bill, if the mo...
Mark Ruskell
Green
I agree with the member on that. Clearly, a long time has elapsed, and there have been considerable conversations as well as consideration by both Government...
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government (Shona Robison)
SNP
I am pleased to contribute to the debate following the opening remarks from Mark Ruskell, who is the member in charge of the bill. I pay tribute to him for t...
Alexander Stewart (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
I am pleased to speak on the motion to allow the Parliament to reconsider the European Charter of Local Self-Government (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill.As th...
Mark Griffin (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
The bill has always had a simple and widely supported purpose: to incorporate the European Charter of Local Self-Government into Scots law. In practice, that...
Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh Western) (LD)
LD
I welcome the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Liberal Democrats in support of the motion. I was one of the original signatories to Andy Wightman’s bill...
Mark Ruskell
Green
I thank members for their contributions, and I thank COSLA and, in particular, those in its political leadership, who have been absolutely relentless over th...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
That concludes the debate on the motion on reconsideration of the European Charter of Local Self-Government (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill.