| absolute majority |
When the number of members voting for a proposition is more than half of the total number of seats for members of the Parliament or, in the case of a committee or sub-committee, more than half of the number of members of that committee or sub-committee. In a Parliament with 129 seats, 65 votes would be required to obtain an absolute majority. An example of a motion which requires such a majority is one that seeks to remove from office the Presiding Officer or a deputy Presiding Officer (rule 3.5.2). |
| accompanying documents |
The documents that accompany a bill on its introduction. The documents which are required depend on the type of bill, but most public bills are accompanied by a financial memorandum, a policy memorandum, explanatory notes, and a statement on legislative competence signed by the Presiding Officer. |
| accountable officer |
An officer accountable to the Parliament for the actions, including the accounts and audit, of a particular public body, under the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000, based on the report of the Financial Issues Advisory Group. For example, the Clerk is the principal accountable officer for the parliamentary corporation. |
| Acts of the Parliament of Scotland |
The laws passed by the former Scottish Parliament which ceased to exist in 1707 on the union of the Parliaments. |
| Acts of the Scottish Parliament (ASP) |
The laws that Parliament passes and that receive royal assent. They are numbered: [year] asp [number]. |
| Acts of Union |
The respective Acts of the Scottish Parliament and the English Parliament ratifying the 1707 union of the two Kingdoms set out in the Treaty of Union. |
| ad hoc committee |
A committee of the Scottish Parliament established for a specific purpose, for example, to consider particular types of bills such as private bills and consolidation bills. |
| ad hoc group of Ministers |
A group established by the Cabinet either to monitor events which require considerable ministerial input in the short term or to consider unexpected issues and provide advice to Cabinet. Their membership, remit and time-span are agreed by Cabinet but such groups are intended to be time-limited. |
| additional member system (AMS) |
The form of voting system used for the Scottish Parliament. Under AMS, 73 MSPs are elected for single-member constituencies using the first-past-the-post system and 56 MSPs - 7 for each of the 8 parliamentary regions - are elected using a list system. The number of constituency seats won by each party is taken into account in calculating who is elected on the regional lists, thus ensuring that the overall result is close to proportional. |
| admissibility criteria |
Criteria set out in the Standing Orders that motions, amendments, questions and petitions must satisfy in order to be lodged. For example, amendments to bills must be relevant to the subject matter of the bill. |
| adviser |
A person who can be appointed by the SPCB, with the approval of the Parliamentary Bureau, to assist a committee or sub-committee with an inquiry, including suggesting witnesses and lines of questioning, analysing evidence received and providing advice on technical matters. Different advisers may be appointed for different inquiries. |
| Advocate General for Scotland |
The UK government’s Law Officer for Scottish matters. This post was created at devolution when the posts of Lord Advocate and Solicitor General for Scotland were transferred to the Scottish Executive. More information is available on the Office of the Advocate General for Scotland website. |
| affirmation |
On being returned as members, all MSPs are required either to take the oath of allegiance or to make the solemn affirmation before the Clerk at a meeting of the Parliament. The form of the oath is set out in the Promissory Oaths Act 1868, and the corresponding affirmation, which may be taken instead, is set out in the Oaths Act 1978. An MSP may not participate in any other proceedings of the Parliament until he or she has taken the oath or made the solemn affirmation. An MSP that does not do this, normally within a 2 month period of being returned as an MSP, will cease to be an MSP. |
| affirmative instrument |
A statutory instrument that can only come into force (or remain in force) if it is approved by a resolution of the Parliament. This is generally regarded as the stronger of the two main forms of Parliamentary control over subordinate legislation. See also negative instrument. |
| allowances code |
A set of rules which governs the proper use of allowances payable under the members' allowances scheme. |
| Allowances Office |
The office within the Directorate of Resources and Governance that is responsible for administering the members’ allowances scheme and processing expenses claims made by members, members' support staff and Parliament staff. In the House of Commons, salaries, expenses and allowances for members and their staff are dealt with by the Fees Office. |
| allowances scheme |
See members allowances scheme. |
| amendments |
Proposed textual changes to motions or bills, lodged by members and published in the Business Bulletin. Amendments to a motion are moved and debated during debates on the motion itself. Amendments to bills are published in marshalled lists and are grouped for debate. They are moved and debated during Stage 2 and Stage 3 proceedings on the bill and, if agreed to, are incorporated into the amended print of the bill published after each of these stages. |
| Annual Evaluation Report |
A spending plan provided by the Scottish Ministers to the Parliament by 31 March each year (or by the first sitting day thereafter), under the written agreement between the Scottish Ministers and the Parliament (SP Paper 155, June 2000), setting out general expenditure proposals for those years for which aggregate figures are then available. The document is provided by the Executive for parliamentary scrutiny in Stage 1 of the annual budget process, leading to the draft budget and the budget bill. |
| Annual Report |
The Parliament publishes an annual report of its activities during the previous year. Each mandatory and subject committee also publishes an annual report on its activities during the Parliamentary year. |
| appointed day |
The day when legislative provisions in an Act come into force. The principal appointed day for the Scotland Act 1998 was 1 July 1999, when the main features of the devolution scheme became operational. |
| approval (of a bill) |
Where a private or public bill has had to go through a process of Reconsideration, the final step of that process is for Parliament to decide whether to approve the bill. |
| Assembly Hall, Church of Scotland |
Temporary location on the Mound in Edinburgh for meetings of the Parliament before completion of the new Holyrood complex. |
| Audit Adviser |
Based in the Audit Office and reporting to the Chief Executive, the Audit Adviser provides advice on public sector audit, finance and corporate governance matters. |
| Audit Committee |
A mandatory committee of the Parliament, of 8 members, the remit of which is to consider and report on any accounts laid before the Parliament, including reports by the Auditor General for Scotland and any other document laid before the Parliament concerning financial control, accounting and auditing in relation to public expenditure. The committee must be established within 42 sitting days of a Scottish Parliament election. No member of the Scottish Executive or junior Scottish Minister may be a member of the committee. No member who represents a political party which is represented in the Scottish Executive may be convener of the committee. |
| Audit Office |
The office that provides advice on public sector audit, finance and corporate governance matters. |
| Audit Scotland |
The public sector audit service for Scotland, established by the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000. It includes the Auditor General for Scotland. Comparable, in some respects, to the UK National Audit Office. More information is available on Audit Scotland’s website (http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/). |
| Auditor General for Scotland (AGS) |
An officer appointed by the Queen on the Scottish Parliament’s nomination who acts independently of the Parliament and the Executive when carrying out his or her statutory functions in relation to financial control, accounting and audit. The Auditor General for Scotland is responsible for ensuring that bodies which spend public funds provide value for money and adhere to high standards of financial management. Bodies that fall within the remit of the Auditor General for Scotland include departments of the Scottish Executive, National Health Service boards and Scottish Water. The role of the AGS is comparable to that of the UK Comptroller and Auditor General. |
| Auditor General's report |
If a bill contains any provisions charging expenditure on the Scottish Consolidated Fund, one of the accompanying documents required is a report signed by the Auditor General for Scotland setting out his or her views on whether the charge is appropriate. |
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