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Showing 60 of 2,354,908 contributions. Latest 30 days: 0. Coverage: 12 May 1999 — 25 Mar 2026.
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
20 Jun 2019
Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
It has been an interesting discussion. I am happy to clarify the status of and intended audience for guidance in revised amendments at stage 3 and to look at adding clarity to some of the terms used. On the commencement issue, it was not actually a condition that I was lookin...
Oliver Mundell Con Chamber
28 Sep 2023
Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
I share that concern, which is something that the committee thought about, and I know that other committee members are also concerned. The landscape is complicated, which is why one of the key recommendations in our report is that good guidance should be available. We recognis...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber
07 May 2019
Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Bill
This is one of those odd debates in which, at stage 3, most of the debate has already taken place. I think that we will find at decision time that there is consensus across the chamber that we should move the age of criminal responsibility to 12. I understand that there are...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Committee
23 Jan 2020
Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
Thank you, convener. Subject to the guidance that you have just given, I will first make a general point about my amendments, because I think that it will speed things up throughout the proceedings. At stage 2, there are always two choices: to try to put things that are perfec...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
23 Jan 2020
Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
We are not passing legislation today, we are amending a bill that has not yet been passed; there is another stage to come. It is on the record today that anonymity for perpetrators is absolutely not my intention. We have it on record from members of all parties on this committ...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
23 Jan 2020
Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
I will answer the last point first, as it is really very simple. Amendments 23 and 25 do two different things. One is about the court stepping in to put provisions in place on behalf of the victim. The other is about the rights of the victim. I do not see that as a lack of tru...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
07 Feb 2019
Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
In general, I support amendment 100. As with other aspects of the bill, it is important that we have information on which to base decisions. I note the issue to do with the term “legalised police cell”. The provision might therefore be a little odd, but there is no reason why ...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Committee
20 Jun 2019
Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
Amendment 1 is designed to be a simple amendment that seeks to draw together some points of consensus that emerged during the stage 1 evidence and to give reassurance to those in the Parliament and the public who continue to have concerns about the bill. I am particularly grat...
Oliver Mundell Con Chamber
03 Oct 2019
Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
I do not accept that. I speak on behalf of other Conservative members as well as myself. There are members of my party—not all of us, but some—who would have liked to vote for the bill this evening. As an Opposition member of this Parliament I regularly vote against legislatio...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
23 Jan 2020
Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
With all due respect, there is only a risk if you do not trust that the rest of the Parliament shares the views of the committee. If that is the case, it would be open to other members of the Parliament to lodge all sorts of odd, unusual and perverse amendments to the bill at ...
Oliver Mundell Con Chamber
26 Aug 2020
Agriculture (Retained EU Law and Data) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
I do not think that that is the exact history, but when the facts change, so does our position. At stage 1, we thought that we were going to hear from the futures group and that we would have a chance to look at stage 3 in that context. We thought that the bill would sit withi...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber
26 Aug 2020
Agriculture (Retained EU Law and Data) (Scotland) Bill
Agriculture is the beating heart of our rural economy and we must never tire of promoting farming as a good, in and of itself. To break or weaken the connection between farming and our rural communities is to accept as inevitable rural depopulation and a managed decline in our...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Committee
17 Feb 2021
Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
Like Jamie Greene, I support Daniel Johnson’s approach while recognising that there are technical issues with his amendment. I am keen to see what progress is made ahead of stage 3. However, I draw the attention of Mr Johnson and the cabinet secretary to Alex Neil’s comment i...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
09 Jun 2022
Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
I intend to press amendment 112 and move all the amendments in my name. Even when there is an offer to work on matters later, I always think that if those matters are in the bill at the end of stage 2, it is easier to secure concessions at stage 3. The cabinet secretary said s...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber
28 Jun 2022
Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
The majority of the amendments in this group were debated during stage 2. I have brought back my amendments not to debate them again in full or to reheat the arguments that were had at committee, but to give the Government an opportunity to change its mind. There have been onl...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
09 Jun 2022
Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
Amendment 112, with amendments 115, 117, 118, 134, 136, 140 and 145, seeks to remove what Graham Simpson’s amendments have left behind. That is my preference, as I think that those sections and provisions are not required at this time. In the interests of time, I will not rehe...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
05 Sep 2024
Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill: Stage 1
On amendments, I think that you mentioned meeting MSPs from across the Parliament and that detailed work has been carried out on amendments. Given our interests in this section of the bill, are you in a position to share the proposed amendments with the committee at this stage...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber
14 Jan 2026
Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
When we make a promise, we are telling somebody that we are definitely going to do something and that it will definitely happen. It is not an ordinary political pledge, a policy or a statement of ambition. It is, by its very nature, different. It says that nobody and nothing w...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Committee
23 May 2017
Limitation (Childhood Abuse) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
I understand the technical points that have been raised by my colleague, but given the policy agreement, it would be advisable to include amendment 2 for the moment and allow it to be refined at stage 3 when the bill returns. I will support the amendment.
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
13 Jun 2017
Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
The issue with trivial cases getting through is that the defence really only comes into play once the accused is accused of the offence or charged, so it will not filter people out at an early stage. The defence will come into play only once cases go to court. Having heard the...
Oliver Mundell Con Chamber
22 Jun 2017
Limitation (Childhood Abuse) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
I have not had direct discussions with COSLA on the specific wording of the amendment. However, in the briefing that it sent members ahead of stage 3, COSLA makes its concerns very clear. A number of local authorities across Scotland do not have adequate insurance cover for th...
Oliver Mundell Con Chamber
22 Jun 2017
Limitation (Childhood Abuse) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
I thank the minister for that intervention, but amendment 1 is different from the amendment that was discussed at stage 2—it is narrower and considers only the retrospective aspects. Furthermore, if the costs are unquantifiable—if we do not know what they are—how can we ask lo...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
27 Jun 2017
Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
That is helpful, and I take your point about the multiple types of incidents that occur. You have talked at length about the three-stage test in establishing the offence. You seem fairly satisfied that that is sufficient, so why has the statutory defence of reasonableness bee...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
04 Oct 2017
Children and Young People (Information Sharing) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
I do not, convener. To follow on from that, do you have concerns—to go a stage down from legal responsibility—about professional standards and about how concerns that might be raised by service users would be dealt with inside your organisation? Does that create additional pr...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
04 Oct 2017
Children and Young People (Information Sharing) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
I listened carefully to what you said about the GDPR in response to questions from Daniel Johnson and Tavish Scott. The committee wrote to the cabinet secretary asking whether he would be able to produce an updated version of the illustrative code. In his response on 26 Septem...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber
06 Jun 2018
Historical Sexual Offences (Pardons and Disregards) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
When we get to a bill’s stage 3 debate and there is broad consensus in the chamber, the debate often loses a bit of passion. However, one of the most powerful things that I take from listening to members from right across the chamber today is how strongly members feel about th...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber
13 Nov 2018
Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
I am pleased to open, in today’s debate, for the Scottish Conservative Party. I begin by putting on the record my thanks to the committee clerks and witnesses, and to my fellow members of the committee, who put in a tremendous effort to ensure that the bill was well scrutinise...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
31 Jan 2019
Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
The amendments in the group would make relatively simple changes to give us more confidence in part 3. We are keen to talk about actions as well as behaviour, because behaviour is often seen as being deliberate, whereas a more factual approach tends to be taken to actions. Fro...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
31 Jan 2019
Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
I am very satisfied with the current arrangements in the context of the purposes for which they are intended, which is the investigation of deaths that require further explanation. However, I do not think that the current arrangements would allow the Lord Advocate to examine ...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
31 Jan 2019
Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
I am happy to accept the minister’s reassurances that she will look again at this aspect of the bill at stage 3, but I must object to specific criticisms that have been made by other members and the minister. I am pretty astonished by the suggestion that we should not provide ...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
30 Jan 2019
Scottish National Standardised Assessments Inquiry
Is the risk of the teacher’s judgment being imperfect at that early stage greater than the risk of the test producing a false positive or false negative? Having looked at the test and seen examples of its being done with children in schools, I think that there will be some chi...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
07 Feb 2019
Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
I hear the points that Gail Ross made about the terminology but, although there might be things about amendment 119 that are not perfect, I support Mary Fee and hope that she will press it, because it will focus ministers’ minds on the need to come up with a substantive amendm...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Committee
07 Feb 2019
Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
I am struggling to support most of the amendments in the group for a variety of reasons. The first thing that I would say to Alex Cole-Hamilton is that the idea that there is a better place of safety than a police station in rural communities is not necessarily correct. If we ...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber
28 Mar 2019
Disabled People
I am pleased to speak in this important debate. We have already heard very interesting speeches from across the chamber, and different issues have been raised. It is not just those with disabilities who lose out as a result of discrimination; it is all of us. When people with...
Oliver Mundell Con Chamber
07 May 2019
Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
I was certainly convinced, and I know that other members of the committee were convinced, by Mary Fee’s arguments at the time, notwithstanding the concerns that the minister has raised. We hoped that those arguments would mean that something workable would come forward at this...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
20 Jun 2019
Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
The amendment seeks to introduce “for the avoidance of doubt” wording. It would not change the law or what is already in the bill; it would just provide some reassurance. It is not designed to supersede what sits above it. However, I am willing to look at the wording and, pote...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
20 Jun 2019
Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
The member might be interested to know that I tried to lodge a version of my amendment with wording that was similar to that, but I was told by the legislation team that they feel that the bill already rules out the possibility of physical punishment, so there is no need for i...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
20 Jun 2019
Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
Again, I point out to the member that I tried that approach. I included a best interests test, which was my preferred approach. However, I was told that the bill is too narrow in scope and cannot give directions to courts or prosecutors. Given the member’s support for and inte...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
20 Jun 2019
Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
With or without being offensive, I note that the clumsy wording that Alex Cole-Hamilton just used sums up my point. There are occasions when physical intervention can be in the best interests of the child. Having accepted the decision of Parliament at stage 1, I do not seek to...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
20 Jun 2019
Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
This is a set of simple, consensus-building amendments, which try to capture in guidance the points that came up in evidence at stage 1. It is important to capture not necessarily in the bill but in guidance some of the points that my colleague Liam Kerr raised in relation to ...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
20 Jun 2019
Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
I do not intend to speak to amendment 7 for long because, judging by the previous debates, I do not imagine that it is likely to get any support. The simple intention is to ensure that bodies are properly resourced. Despite the minister’s letter of 12 June, there is still some...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
20 Jun 2019
Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
I am not surprised that the member in charge of the bill did not pay much attention to the minority statement in the stage 1 report, in which Annie Wells and I drew attention to our concerns about drawing existing resources away from children who most need support most, and—
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
20 Jun 2019
Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
With all due respect, I am not a member of that committee. I moved amendment 7 with a view to satisfying the concerns that I had in relation to stage 1. From my constituency work and my wider work in the Parliament on children and young people, I am aware of the big pressures ...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
20 Jun 2019
Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
I will draw my remarks to a close, because there is not a lot to say in addition to that point. I do not intend to press amendment 1, because I recognise that there are issues with its wording. I hope that other members of the committee will afford me the opportunity to explor...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber
03 Oct 2019
Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
Amendments 2 and 3 are designed to be simple. For the avoidance of doubt, that means that they would not add anything new to the bill, but instead seek to clarify what is already in it. They were intended, in the narrow scope of the bill, to provide some reassurance to parents...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber
03 Oct 2019
Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill
As I stated during the stage 1 debate and the stage 2 consideration of the bill, I believe that violence against children is wrong. However, that is not the issue that is before us today. We are being asked to pass into law primary legislation that is imprecise and suboptimal....
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
23 Jan 2020
Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
It is perfectly open to the court to impose time-limited measures and review mechanisms—the court has discretion to do that. I am also open to working with other people to come up with the right amendment. I am concerned when I hear the minister talk about a different amend...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
23 Jan 2020
Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
I thank Angela Constance for that advice. However, my experience in Parliament of working with the Government is that we get far more support on technical drafting and exploring ideas and points of view if we already have something in the bill. If I was interested only in pres...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
23 Jan 2020
Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
In answer to the first point, I am aware that there is on-going work around legal aid, but there is pretty much always on-going work around legal aid. It is a difficult system for the Government to operate. In practice, it is not an easy thing to deliver across the country and...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
23 Jan 2020
Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
Not at this point. It is better to consider changes in each piece of legislation. As law professors are fond of saying, the law is like a ship at sea: you change the planks one at a time rather than dismantle the whole ship. The provisions that we have heard about from the m...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
23 Jan 2020
Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
I think that amendment 25 is the most substantive and probably the most controversial and complicated of my amendments, although amendments 23 and 24 have perhaps called that into question. It is certainly the one with the most drafting issues, but I should say that I engaged ...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
23 Jan 2020
Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
I intend to press amendment 25. As we have heard, the Government appears to be strongly opposed not just to the content of the amendment but, for a variety of reasons, to the principle of giving an automatic right to anonymity for victims of FGM as far as possible. Notwithstan...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
23 Jan 2020
Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
I accept all those points. My understanding when looking at the work that the chamber desk did on my behalf to come up with a form of words for the amendment was that someone who is “subject to the order” means a person who is protected by the order. Following my conversation ...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
23 Jan 2020
Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
Naturally, I do—I am pleased that the minister has responded to the concerns that the whole committee has raised. However, I do not think that that precludes me from asking for a little bit more ahead of stage 3. I am certainly not asking for it for myself. It is about the thr...
Oliver Mundell Con Chamber
26 Aug 2020
Agriculture (Retained EU Law and Data) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
Further to Colin Smyth’s comments, I put on record the Scottish Conservatives’ support for amendment 21. I will come to the amendment in a moment, but I will briefly take the opportunity to personally thank my predecessor Rachael Hamilton for the hard work that she has done on...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber
17 Dec 2020
Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
I am pleased to follow a number of thoughtful speeches. I start by making it clear that, for victims and survivors, no amount of money nor any apology can take away or make good what has happened to them. Although, as others do, I believe that the bill is right and necessary,...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
02 Mar 2022
Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
I am sure that it will be worth the wait. I have a question for the witness from Public Health Scotland. I want to push on that point. In relation to building public trust and confidence and encouraging people to continue to follow the guidance as we move into the next stage,...
Oliver Mundell Con Committee
09 Jun 2022
Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
I would be happy to bring back alternative wording at stage 3, but I hope to establish the principle that, if some regulations or individual parts of regulations are removed, those for education would be reconsidered. In the prioritisation that we used when we opened society b...
Oliver Mundell Con Chamber
28 Jun 2022
Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
Like the amendments in the previous group, many of these amendments—in this case, all but one—were presented at stage 2. We then had a lengthy debate and discussion, and the Government went to great lengths to explain why we did not need a catch-up plan for young people, why i...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Committee
01 Nov 2022
Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
Much of the evidence that we have had centres on concerns about consumers. Minister, you said in your opening remarks that you are happy to consider ways of ensuring that the bill does not apply to ordinary household goods. Do you have any idea at this stage about which option...
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Committee

Equalities and Human Rights Committee 20 June 2019

20 Jun 2019 · S5 · Equalities and Human Rights Committee
Item of business
Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
Mundell, Oliver Con Dumfriesshire Watch on SPTV
It has been an interesting discussion. I am happy to clarify the status of and intended audience for guidance in revised amendments at stage 3 and to look at adding clarity to some of the terms used. On the commencement issue, it was not actually a condition that I was looking for; rather, it was a matter of how to get guidance issues discussed. There was nowhere else for such provisions to fit easily into the bill and I was advised that that wording was the best way to do it. I will look at the possibility of removing the wording at a later stage. On Mary Fee’s points, as I said to Alex Cole-Hamilton, the amendments only refer to guidance “on the operation of this Act”. Secondly, paragraph (1I) of amendment 6 says that the guidance would not be limited to “independent legal advice and contact with a nearest relative or other trusted adult”. It is just that those are two things that I feel strongly about. Independent legal advice is important because, in these marginal or difficult cases, children should be able to understand the probability of success of court action, how they wish to interact with that and what their rights are. 10:30 The nature of a relationship between a child and their parent is special and is recognised as being legally different from other relationships in law. Given the sensitivities around charges that are likely to be made as a result of the defence being abolished, it is really important, and I am sorry that I have not pursued this in relation to other offences. It is an important point. I accept the consensus view on amendment 5 and I will not seek to push it. However, I will press amendment 4 and seek to move amendment 6 at this stage. They could be tidied up or perhaps moved to another section of the bill at stage 3.

In the same item of business

The Convener SNP
Item 2 is stage 2 consideration of the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill. I welcome John Finnie, the member in charge of the bill, and...
Adam Tomkins (Glasgow) (Con) Con
On a point of clarification, convener, I lodged two amendments to the bill, which I understand that you decided not to select for debate. The only reason tha...
The Convener SNP
I thank the member. Standing orders rule 9.10.4 states that it is for the convener of a committee to “determine any dispute as to whether an amendment of wh...
Adam Tomkins Con
I am grateful for that explanation, which I understand. However, I do not understand why my amendments were deemed to be contrary to the general principles o...
The Convener SNP
It is a long-standing convention that the Presiding Officer and conveners do not explain their decisions on admissibility. However, to be helpful, I note tha...
The Convener SNP
Amendment 1, in the name of Oliver Mundell, is in a group on its own.
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con
Amendment 1 is designed to be a simple amendment that seeks to draw together some points of consensus that emerged during the stage 1 evidence and to give re...
Gail Ross (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP) SNP
I have a couple of questions about amendment 1. One is about the line that says “prevent the child from committing a criminal offence.” I am looking for cl...
Oliver Mundell Con
The amendment seeks to introduce “for the avoidance of doubt” wording. It would not change the law or what is already in the bill; it would just provide some...
Gail Ross SNP
I thank Oliver Mundell for that. I am pleased to hear him say that he might look again at the wording. I would be happy with that.
Mary Fee (West Scotland) (Lab) Lab
Good morning, everyone. I will say a few brief words in support of Oliver Mundell’s amendment 1. It reflects the concerns that we heard from a number of witn...
Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh Western) (LD) LD
I thank Oliver Mundell for reaching out to Opposition members in discussions about potential amendments for stage 2. I am sorry to say that I cannot support ...
Adam Tomkins Con
The member says that the bill brings clarity because it draws a line under the physical punishment of children—I think that that is what he just said. Does h...
Alex Cole-Hamilton LD
I am grateful to the member for his intervention, but I do not accept that premise at all. We are talking about the removal of a legal defence that used also...
Oliver Mundell Con
The member might be interested to know that I tried to lodge a version of my amendment with wording that was similar to that, but I was told by the legislati...
Alex Cole-Hamilton LD
I am grateful for the member’s clarification on that point. It is very helpful. When the member and I discussed potential stage 2 amendments—I am keen to fo...
Oliver Mundell Con
Will the member take an intervention on that point?
Alex Cole-Hamilton LD
I will do so in a minute. First, let me finish my point. The amendment might have said that, at the point of referral by police or social work, the Crown Of...
Oliver Mundell Con
Again, I point out to the member that I tried that approach. I included a best interests test, which was my preferred approach. However, I was told that the ...
Alex Cole-Hamilton LD
I am grateful for that clarification. I have another anxiety, in addition to the fact that the amendment undermines the clarity that the bill affords by arg...
The Convener SNP
Before Oliver Mundell replies, I note that he will have the opportunity to wind up, so we should maybe keep moving.
Oliver Mundell Con
I will pick up those points in my winding-up speech, convener.
Alex Cole-Hamilton LD
For all the reasons that I have set out, I am afraid that I cannot support amendment 1.
The Convener SNP
Does Fulton MacGregor still want to come in?
Fulton MacGregor (Coatbridge and Chryston) (SNP) SNP
Gail Ross and Alex Cole-Hamilton have covered the main points that I was going to make. I think that the intention behind the amendment is correct, and, foll...
The Minister for Children and Young People (Maree Todd) SNP
I welcome the opportunity to speak for the Scottish Government in a very important debate for all children in Scotland. We cannot support amendment 1 for se...
Oliver Mundell Con
I understand the point that the minister is trying to make, but given that the bill refers to the removal of a defence, it is pretty clear that those would b...
Maree Todd SNP
If amendment 1 is designed to provide that, in certain unspecified circumstances, a parent or carer could say that they used physical punishment because it w...
Oliver Mundell Con
I thank the minister for giving way again. As I said to Alex Cole-Hamilton, I sought to make reference to the 1995 act in a previous draft of my amendment, b...
Maree Todd SNP
There is already general provision on parents exercising their responsibilities in the interests of the child. The bill will not, in its impact on existing l...