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Every contribution to the Official Report — chamber and committee — searchable in one place. Pulled from data.parliament.scot, indexed for full-text search, linked through to every MSP.

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Showing 60 of 2,354,908 contributions. Latest 30 days: 0. Coverage: 12 May 1999 — 25 Mar 2026.
Des McNulty: Lab Chamber
08 Nov 2007
Holding the SNP Government<br />to Account
No; I will let the arts minister sit down.We have been asked to accept a spending statement in one afternoon, with scrutiny then being passed to parliamentary committees. I am probably the last person in the chamber to underestimate the importance of the scrutiny role of commi...
The Convener: Lab Committee
28 Oct 2003
Financial Memoranda (Scrutiny)
The next item is consideration of the committee's approach to the scrutiny of financial memoranda and whether it wishes to take evidence on the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Bill.I wrote to members asking for their views about whether we should take oral evidence on the Natur...
The Convener (Des McNulty): Lab Committee
26 Mar 2002
Financial Scrutiny Review
I open the sixth meeting in 2002 of the Finance Committee and ask members to ensure that their mobile phones and pagers are turned off, as the meeting has opened in public. I have received no apologies so far.Item 1 is on the financial scrutiny review. We agreed at our meeting...
The Convener: Lab Committee
25 May 2004
Budget Process 2005-06
The reality is that committees have their own remits and will decide how to use their time. It is incumbent on us to do everything that we can to make information available—through our own work and by pursuing the Executive—so that budget scrutiny is as relevant and meaningful...
The Convener: Lab Committee
28 Sep 2004
Financial Memoranda (Scrutiny)
Item 4 is scrutiny of financial memoranda. We agreed at our away day—and subsequently endorsed the decision at our meeting on 14 September—that we would introduce a revised system for scrutiny of financial memoranda.We have a paper on the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Bill, which...
The Convener: Lab Committee
26 Oct 2004
Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Bill: Financial Memorandum
Agenda item 3 is consideration of the level of scrutiny that should be applied to the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Bill. Members will recall that we agreed to choose between three levels of scrutiny when considering a bill. When level 1 or level 2 scrutiny is applie...
The Convener: Lab Committee
08 Mar 2005
Financial Memoranda
Agenda item 3 is to consider the level of scrutiny that we should apply to the financial memoranda for the Licensing (Scotland) Bill, the Family Law (Scotland) Bill and the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Bill. The clerk's paper—FI/S2/05/8/2—outlines the bills' potential t...
Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): Lab Chamber
19 Dec 2001
Budget Process 2002-03: Stage 2
I thank the Parliament for this opportunity to open the debate on the Finance Committee's stage 2 report on the 2002-03 budget process. Since the commencement of stage 2 of the process, my predecessor as convener of the Finance Committee, Mike Watson, has been appointed Minist...
Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): Lab Chamber
03 Mar 2005
Edinburgh Tram (Line One) Bill: Financial Resolution<br />Edinburgh Tram (Line Two) Bill: Financial Resolution
On a point of order, Presiding Officer.I am concerned that the current mechanisms for dealing with private bills may not necessarily deliver consistent analysis of the financial aspects when significant contributions from the Scottish consolidated fund are involved. My comment...
The Convener: Lab Committee
27 Sep 2005
Financial Memoranda
We have two brief items to deal with. Members know that this is our final meeting until 25 October 2005. The Carnegie awards on 4 October mean that we will not meet then, and the two-week October recess follows that. It is likely that the Executive will introduce a couple of b...
Des McNulty: Lab Chamber
19 Dec 2001
Budget Process 2002-03: Stage 2
Alasdair Morgan is absolutely right. We must improve members' awareness of the budget to help them to perform their role more effectively. That can be done by training and by improving the layout of information, for example. We must also find more effective ways of making the ...
The Convener: Lab Committee
16 Apr 2002
Financial Scrutiny Review
Item 3 is on the financial scrutiny review. The committee requested a more focused version of the paper on the review of financial scrutiny arrangements. Professor Midwinter has now produced a concise paper in four sections, with recommendations. Arthur, do you want to speak t...
The Convener: Lab Committee
11 Jun 2002
Financial Scrutiny Review
Agenda item 3 is the financial scrutiny review. In a sense, it follows on from the evidence session on the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill, because it deals with the need to appoint an adviser to help the committee to provide improved scrutiny of financial memoranda. An earli...
The Convener: Lab Committee
24 Sep 2002
Financial Scrutiny Review
It is some time since we monitored the progress of our review of financial scrutiny arrangements. The clerk and Murray McVicar of the Scottish Parliament research and information group have put together an update that sets out the state of play of the review. The paper details...
The Convener: Lab Committee
08 Oct 2002
Financial Scrutiny Review
The fifth item relates to the financial scrutiny review. Professor Arthur Midwinter has provided a paper on block allocations, which are clearly an important issue for health boards and local authorities. Subject committees have expressed concern that they do not have adequate...
The Convener: Lab Committee
24 Jun 2003
Work Programme
I believe that I made it clear that we are pre-booking the dates. The "blank days", as Fergus Ewing puts it, are dates on which I anticipate we will have to meet and engage in detailed scrutiny. The present problem is to identify which bills will emerge and in which order. Fou...
The Convener: Lab Committee
09 Nov 2004
Financial Memoranda (Scrutiny)
The final item on our agenda is consideration of the level of scrutiny that should be applied to the financial memoranda to the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation (Scotland) Bill and the Protection of Children and Prevention of Sexual Offences (Scotland) Bill. Members ha...
The Convener: Lab Committee
09 Nov 2004
Financial Memoranda (Scrutiny)
As more costs appear to arise from the Protection of Children and Prevention of Sexual Offences (Scotland) Bill, the proposal is that we adopt level 2 scrutiny—that is, that we seek written evidence from the relevant bodies, take oral evidence from the Executive and prepare a ...
The Convener: Lab Committee
24 Jan 2006
Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Bill
The fourth item is to consider what level of scrutiny to apply to the Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Bill. The clerk's note suggests that we adopt level 1 scrutiny, which is issuing our standard questionnaire. In this instance, we would inc...
Des McNulty: Lab Committee
10 Jun 2008
Budget Process (Review)
I would hone the purpose of the budget process down to three central points. One is transparency: the budget process exists to make the Government identify what it is spending money on and break it down in ways that allow scrutiny to take place. Its inclination is all too ofte...
Des McNulty: Lab Committee
10 Jun 2008
Budget Process (Review)
I will add two points. One constraint of the budget process is that it is linked to an annual budget round, whereas much of the scrutiny that Mr Frizzell and others have talked about is more appropriate to a multiyear period. For example, an investigation into the appropriaten...
Des McNulty: Lab Committee
19 Jun 2007
Work Programme
The Executive has identified two transport projects over which it wishes to place question marks. The Audit Scotland considerations, which will be published tomorrow, will be followed by a ministerial statement next week presenting a linked set of recommendations. I am not sur...
Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): Lab Chamber
27 Jun 2002
Budget Process 2003-04
I am pleased to speak to the Finance Committee's report on stage 1 of the 2003-04 budget process. I begin by offering my thanks and the thanks of members of the committee to the Finance Committee clerks and to the clerks of the Parliament's subject committees, who have made su...
Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): Lab Chamber
11 May 2005
Private Legislation
Like other members, I welcome the Procedures Committee's report. However, the committee has not addressed some fairly fundamental issues as straightforwardly as I would have hoped.There is a fundamental issue at the core. Major transport projects can proceed only with the bles...
Des McNulty: Lab Chamber
11 May 2005
Private Legislation
There is an argument for examining the private bills process, but only if we can get the other mechanisms right and ensure that the private bills process does not pre-empt those other mechanisms. That is what I think is the problem with the current arrangement. The Procedures ...
Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): Lab Chamber
07 Jun 2007
Sustainable Public Transport
A mountain of evidence was considered during nearly 200 hours of detailed parliamentary scrutiny of the Edinburgh tram and Edinburgh airport rail link schemes. The process of approval involved a vote of the whole Parliament. Both schemes also went through a full pre-expenditur...
The Convener: Lab Committee
29 Jan 2002
Financial Scrutiny
We agreed at the previous meeting to identify issues that the committee could consider in its review of financial scrutiny arrangements. The clerks have produced a paper that sets the review in the context of the committee's previous and continuing work. We need to keep the re...
The Convener: Lab Committee
29 Jan 2002
Financial Scrutiny
On that basis, do members agree that the committee should undertake a review of the financial scrutiny arrangements, paying particular regard to the financial issues advisory group? I acknowledge that such a review will have an impact on our work programme, but it is probably ...
The Convener: Lab Committee
16 Apr 2002
Spending Review 2002
How rigorous will the scrutiny process be? Will it simply be a matter of looking at a proposal against a set of principles, or will a more detailed investigative process be put in place to examine the assumptions and how they hold up against structured financial scrutiny? Ther...
The Convener: Lab Committee
24 Sep 2002
Financial Scrutiny Review
The paper gathers together different strands of work that we have set in train over the past seven or eight months. It shows that the process of refining financial scrutiny is well under way. Significant changes are being made in the way in which the Parliament works. The docu...
The Convener: Lab Committee
08 Oct 2002
Items in Private
The final issue that I want to raise is the external research that Professor Talbot is carrying out as part of the committee's review of financial scrutiny arrangements. It is an international comparison of budget setting and budget scrutiny. Professor Talbot is due to report ...
The Convener: Lab Committee
08 Oct 2002
Items in Private
Professor Talbot is carrying out an international comparison of budget setting and budget scrutiny as part of the committee's review of financial scrutiny arrangements. I do not think that any international travel is associated with the role; it is just a review of the arrange...
The Convener: Lab Committee
10 Jun 2003
Budget Adviser
I caution members that there is only a small pool of people who have the relevant skills and expertise. In the past, some of the people whom we have approached have for their own reasons been unavailable to take on what is an onerous set of responsibilities.I joined the previo...
The Convener: Lab Committee
24 Jun 2003
Work Programme
I have two crucial points to make: first, because of the truncated nature of the budget process—the fact that we are trying to deal with two stages of the budget process in a three-month period between September and November—our routine work on the budget process will be fairl...
The Convener: Lab Committee
28 Oct 2003
Budget Process 2004-05
The issue is not only the balance between private and public sector spending, but whether the public sector can be rebalanced in such a way as to stimulate more growth or greater responsiveness in the private sector. What does your scrutiny of the budget tell you about that? W...
The Convener: Lab Committee
28 Oct 2003
Scottish Parliament Building Project
Next week is the first occasion on which we could consider the matter. I meant two weeks after the week after next week, which would be three weeks from next week. Depending on the availability of witnesses, the choice would be between 4 November and 11 November, and 25 Novemb...
The Convener: Lab Committee
28 Oct 2003
Financial Memoranda (Scrutiny)
No, we would consider each bill and use criteria to decide whether we wanted to take oral evidence and differentiate the scrutiny. Jim Mather says that those measures are not mutually exclusive, but I think that to some extent they might be, if I understand Fergus Ewing's prop...
The Convener: Lab Committee
28 Oct 2003
Financial Memoranda (Scrutiny)
I am in the hands of the committee. I am aware that this is a big part of our work load. For three years, the Finance Committee did not scrutinise the financial memoranda of bills, which was wrong. It then adopted the practice of examining bills selectively, which worked reaso...
The Convener: Lab Committee
28 Oct 2003
Financial Memoranda (Scrutiny)
Time is pressing, so we must make a decision. Do members agree to take oral evidence on the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Bill whenever that can be organised—which would have to be next week? The agenda for next week's meeting will be very congested. Do we also agree that, ba...
The Convener: Lab Committee
18 Nov 2003
Budget Process 2004-05 (Scottish Commission for Public Audit Submission)
I do not think that the committee is required to make a decision in quite the way that Fergus Ewing is describing. The issue is that the report comes from the SCPA. The Parliament makes the decision in that regard. Our interest is in the context of our scrutiny of the overall ...
The Convener: Lab Committee
27 Jan 2004
Items in Private
Anyone who has read the reports on financial memoranda that have been produced by the Finance Committee or has seen the level of inquisition that has taken place during the evidence-taking sessions will be in no doubt that we take the scrutiny process extremely seriously. In t...
The Convener: Lab Committee
02 Mar 2004
Budget Process 2005-06
We are not, at this stage, discussing prospective future inquiries, although the points that have been made could be fed into that debate.I would like to draw together the strands of our discussion so far. I think that everybody is happy for us to ask the committee's adviser t...
The Convener (Des McNulty): Lab Committee
09 Mar 2004
Budget Process 2005-06
I welcome members to the ninth meeting of the Finance Committee in 2004. The meeting is public, so I also welcome members of the press and public. I remind everyone to turn off their pagers and mobile phones.We have received no apologies for absence, so let us move on to agend...
The Convener: Lab Committee
30 Mar 2004
Spending Review 2004
In a sense, both arguments are correct. If we do not have the transparency to aid scrutiny, it is hard for us to make recommendations. We have to focus quite a lot of attention on getting transparency into the scrutiny process. At the same time, if a consensual view is emergin...
The Convener: Lab Committee
30 Mar 2004
Spending Review 2004
I will draw us towards where we need to go. First, we should pick up Wendy Alexander's point and quickly pursue the Executive for the information that we asked for before, and ensure that it is filtered into our scrutiny and, ideally, to that of the subject committees.Secondly...
The Convener: Lab Committee
21 Sep 2004
Cross-cutting Expenditure Review on Economic Development
Thank you. I will make a few remarks. First, three evidence-taking meetings will be available to the committee—or two and a half, given that I think that we will use part of the first meeting to deal with budget scrutiny. It is for members to identify witnesses from whom we sh...
The Convener: Lab Committee
05 Oct 2004
Budget Process 2005-06<br />(Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Submission)
I do not want to pursue the matter too much further, but there is an issue here and we need clarity. The negotiations and discussions between the commissioners and the corporate body do not take place in the normal scrutiny setting. We need to find a mechanism that allows thos...
The Convener: Lab Committee
05 Oct 2004
Spending Review 2004
I thank Arthur Midwinter for his paper. The committee will organise how we progress that work.We move to agenda item 3 and I welcome Tom McCabe who, subject to parliamentary approval, will be the Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform. With him are colleagues from the ...
The Convener: Lab Committee
09 Nov 2004
Financial Memoranda (Scrutiny)
Members seem to be suggesting that we should apply level 1 scrutiny to the Protection of Children and Prevention of Sexual Offences (Scotland) Bill as well. Is that agreed?Members indicated agreement.
The Convener: Lab Committee
30 Nov 2004
Budget Process 2005-06
The third item is to consider the Scottish Commission for Public Audit's report on Audit Scotland's spending plans. Members will see that apart from the report itself, we have a note from the clerk, which outlines the roles of the SCPA and the Finance Committee in the process....
The Convener (Des McNulty): Lab Committee
15 Mar 2005
Financial Memoranda
I welcome the press and public to the ninth meeting of the Finance Committee in 2005. I remind members to turn off pagers and mobile phones. We have received apologies from Wendy Alexander. Alasdair Morgan will join us later; he is giving evidence to the Procedures Committee.T...
The Convener: Lab Committee
19 Apr 2005
Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Bill: Financial Memorandum
We resume to deal with the second item on our agenda, which is scrutiny of the financial memorandum to the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Bill. The bill was introduced on 2 March by Ross Finnie, the Minister for Environment and Rural Development. The committee agreed that...
The Convener: Lab Committee
26 Apr 2005
Housing (Scotland) Bill: Financial Memorandum
The second item on the agenda is scrutiny of the financial memorandum to the Housing (Scotland) Bill. The bill was introduced on 7 March by Malcolm Chisholm, the Minister for Communities. The committee agreed that it would adopt level 2 scrutiny of the bill, which involves tak...
The Convener: Lab Committee
10 May 2005
Family Law (Scotland) Bill: Financial Memorandum
The second item on our agenda is scrutiny of the financial memorandum of the Family Law (Scotland) Bill. The bill was introduced on 7 February by Cathy Jamieson, the Minister for Justice. The committee agreed to adopt level 2 scrutiny of the bill, which involves our taking wri...
The Convener: Lab Committee
27 Sep 2005
Efficient Government
I will make a few comments at the outset. The committee, too, is determined to succeed in its role of maintaining proper and effective scrutiny. I do not think that the committee has had any doubt that the savings—which we hope will all be delivered—are being monitored. We hav...
The Convener (Des McNulty): Lab Committee
07 Nov 2005
Budget Process
I formally open the 24th meeting of the Finance Committee in 2005. I gave an introduction at the beginning of our informal session at 20 past 9 this morning, but now that we have moved into our formal meeting, I thank all those who took part in our informal workshops. We will ...
The Convener: Lab Committee
10 Jan 2006
Bankruptcy and Diligence etc (Scotland) Bill
Item 3 is to consider what level of scrutiny we should undertake on the Bankruptcy and Diligence etc (Scotland) Bill, which is the weighty tome that we have in front of us. As members will see from the clerk's notes, it is proposed that we adopt level 3 scrutiny, which is taki...
The Convener: Lab Committee
24 Jan 2006
Planning etc (Scotland) Bill
Our third agenda item is to consider what level of scrutiny we should undertake for the Planning etc (Scotland) Bill. The clerk's note proposes that we adopt level 3 scrutiny, which is to take written and oral evidence from bodies on which costs fall and oral evidence from Exe...
The Convener (Des McNulty): Lab Committee
14 Mar 2006
Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill:<br />Financial Memorandum
I open the eighth meeting of the Finance Committee in 2006. I will not welcome members of the press and public because no one is here. We have received apologies from Wendy Alexander and Mark Ballard. Robin Harper plans to attend as a substitute for Mark Ballard, but he has no...
The Convener: Lab Committee
14 Mar 2006
Crofting Reform etc Bill:<br />Financial Memorandum
The second item on our agenda is consideration of the level of scrutiny that should be applied to the Crofting Reform etc Bill's financial memorandum. Because the costs will be minimal, the clerk's paper proposes that we adopt level 1 scrutiny, which would involve our seeking ...
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Chamber

Plenary, 08 Nov 2007

08 Nov 2007 · S3 · Plenary
Item of business
Holding the SNP Government<br />to Account
McNulty, Des Lab Clydebank and Milngavie Watch on SPTV
No; I will let the arts minister sit down.

We have been asked to accept a spending statement in one afternoon, with scrutiny then being passed to parliamentary committees. I am probably the last person in the chamber to underestimate the importance of the scrutiny role of committees. As convener of the Finance Committee, I scrutinised ministers rather more vigorously than some of them found comfortable. However, let us be clear about the basis on which the committees' role operates. The basis of committee scrutiny is to ask whether the policy objectives and targets that have been set out are reflected in the allocations and management of budgets. The scrutiny review that the Parliament agreed in 2005 reflected the central importance of the spending review cycle in setting spending plans, which at that time were biennial, and recommended extended detailed scrutiny in spending review years. The practical effect of the current position is that that process of extended scrutiny will not take place, because the time to achieve it is not available.

The Labour motion proposes clearly that there should be a process that will allow scrutiny to take place in detail and in principle. There is an in-principle level of political scrutiny that is best carried out in the chamber.

In the same item of business

The Presiding Officer (Alex Fergusson): NPA
Good morning. The first item of business is a debate on motion S3M-788, in the name of Jackie Baillie, on holding the Scottish National Party Government to a...
Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): Lab
This debate is a chance for the SNP to go "homeward" and "think again", in the words of the popular song, before it brings its budget to Parliament next week...
The Minister for Environment (Michael Russell): SNP
I wonder whether Wendy Alexander recognises the following quotation from the Labour Party's former Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform on the budg...
Ms Alexander: Lab
I will make it absolutely clear: stage 1 of the budget process provides the chance for Parliament to look forward and back, but the last time we had a stage ...
Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): SNP
Why did Wendy Alexander insist that I go after her on "Good Morning Scotland" this morning and why did she refuse to debate with me on the programme?
Ms Alexander: Lab
That question comes from the party that refuses any parliamentary debate for 10 weeks. I suggest that you are more interested in having your spin doctors scu...
Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): SNP
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I am concerned that Wendy Alexander is not speaking to the motion in hand. Can you please advise on that?
The Presiding Officer: NPA
That is not a point of order. It is entirely up to the person who is speaking.
Ms Alexander: Lab
A few weeks ago, our First Minister told an interviewer, "Government is easy"; this week, he will have to eat those words. The SNP promised a new politics bu...
The Presiding Officer: NPA
Order.
Ms Alexander: Lab
I recall providing £30 million when we were in government.If the public have any residual doubts, they should consider local government. The SNP's manifesto ...
The Presiding Officer: NPA
I remind members that the second person singular—that is, the word "you"—should be used only by me.
Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): Con
Labour's motion talks of "Holding the SNP Government to Account". My proposition is simple: we should instead consider how Parliament holds the Government—wh...
Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab): Lab
Will the member take an intervention?
Derek Brownlee: Con
I will give way in time.Those of us who want to enhance Parliament's standing will not play fast and loose with its procedures for party-political advantage....
Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): LD
Will the member give way?
Derek Brownlee: Con
Let me make progress.
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): Lab
Will the member take an intervention?
Derek Brownlee: Con
There are two reasons why we do not support Labour's motion. First, in seeking to add the debates that are mentioned in the motion, Labour seeks, in effect, ...
Jackie Baillie: Lab
Will the member take an intervention?
The Presiding Officer: NPA
I think the member has made it clear that he is not doing so.
Derek Brownlee: Con
If the debates are to influence the budget process, should they not be part of it? If such debates would be valuable, should not they form part of every budg...
Iain Gray: Lab
Will the member take an intervention?
Mike Rumbles: LD
Will the member take an intervention?
The Presiding Officer: NPA
Order.
Mike Rumbles: LD
Are you going to take an intervention?
The Presiding Officer: NPA
Order.
Derek Brownlee: Con
The second reason why we do not support Labour's motion is that, if what is being sought is greater scrutiny, we do not consider that the proposal in the mot...
Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): LD
Does Mr Brownlee agree with what he said in the Finance Committee's meeting on Tuesday 11 September? He said:"I am not particularly happy for us to signal th...
Derek Brownlee: Con
Indeed I do agree. We do that through the current process, which Tavish Scott described in 2003 as"a demonstrable improvement in scrutiny."—Official Report, ...