Committee
Procedures Committee, 06 Mar 2007
06 Mar 2007 · S2 · Procedures Committee
Item of business
Guidance
Peter McGrath:
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No significant changes have been made, except with regard to standing orders, in which respect I should highlight four changes: first, in the section on members' bills, from page 23 onwards; secondly, in the section on timetabling motions at stage 3, on page 53 at the very end of the document; thirdly, in the section on amendment deadlines at stages 2 and 3, on pages 38 and 39; and, finally, in the section on revised accompanying documents and the memorandum on delegated powers, on page 13.I echo Hugh Flinn's comment that the document will not be published until dissolution, which I hope will give members enough time to absorb the various points. If they have any comments, they are very welcome to pass them to Andrew Mylne.
In the same item of business
The Convener:
LD
We have three volumes of revised procedural guidance to consider. Hugh Flinn is here to tell us about one or two of them.
Hugh Flinn (Scottish Parliament Directorate of Clerking and Reporting):
Two of them.
The Convener:
LD
Will Peter McGrath tell us about the third volume?
Peter McGrath (Scottish Parliament Directorate of Clerking and Reporting):
Yes.
The Convener:
LD
We will start with "Guidance on Parliamentary Questions", which I just happen to have in my hand, and which updates existing guidance. It is for internal use...
Hugh Flinn:
There have already been three editions of the guidance, so we needed to make only minor changes. The only section that is substantially different is section ...
The Convener:
LD
The change reflects the current system.
Hugh Flinn:
Yes.
The Convener:
LD
Do members have any questions or observations on the paper on oral questions? I know that the committee has spent many hours on the subject and that we all h...
Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green):
Green
I received the papers on Saturday. Given that there are 100 pages of detailed text, I will not be able to clear any of the guidance for publication, although...
The Convener:
LD
The volumes of draft guidance are not our papers. We are invited to cast an eye over them. I do not know whose documents they are. Do they belong to the cham...
Hugh Flinn:
I think so.
The Convener:
LD
I accept Chris Ballance's point—there is a lot of stuff to read—but our scrutiny does not need to be as precise as it normally is.
Chris Ballance:
Green
I just wanted to put that on record.
The Convener:
LD
It was a fair comment.
Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab):
Lab
It was a fair comment, because although the papers are not legal documents, they set out what becomes the practice and convention of Parliament. In the past,...
Hugh Flinn:
It might assist members to know that we will not be sending the documents to print until dissolution. If they have any comments to make over the next week or...
Karen Gillon:
Lab
That is helpful.
The Convener:
LD
If, when they have had a chance to read the document more carefully, members have any comments, should they send them to Andrew Mylne or to Hugh Flinn?
Andrew Mylne (Clerk):
If members send their comments to me, I will pass them on.
The Convener:
LD
Andrew Mylne will also note for discussion of our legacy paper the point that members should have adequate time for reading such documents. In this case, we ...
Hugh Flinn:
I am happy to answer questions. As the covering note makes clear, the changes that have been made to the first edition reflect established practice and prece...
The Convener:
LD
I liked the Loch Ness monster motions in that particular section.I might be transgressing against my earlier comment that it is not up to us to change policy...
Hugh Flinn:
I understand that, but we are constrained by the Parliamentary Bureau's decision on the matter. Paragraphs 2.18.a and 2.18.b at the top of page 7 of the guid...
The Convener:
LD
The guidance seems to be fairly straightforward. As with the guidance on questions, if members have any afterthoughts on the document they can contact Hugh F...
Peter McGrath:
That is correct.
The Convener:
LD
Is there anything in particular that should be drawn to our attention? Where are the bodies buried, so to speak?
Peter McGrath:
No significant changes have been made, except with regard to standing orders, in which respect I should highlight four changes: first, in the section on memb...
Chris Ballance:
Green
I have just noticed that paragraph 1.6 on page 2 refers to "the Sewel convention". This committee established the convention of referring to legislative cons...
Peter McGrath:
The Sewel convention led to the use of legislative consent motions and that is reflected in the wording of paragraph 1.6. It goes on to refer to legislative ...