| Main Hall |
The Main Hall is located just beyond the public entrance and houses the exhibition area and the Visitor Information Desk. |
| mandatory committee |
A committee of the Scottish Parliament which the Standing Orders require to be established. There are 8 such committees: Audit, Equal Opportunities, European and External Relations, Finance, Procedures, Public Petitions, Subordinate Legislation and Standards and Public Appointments. Mandatory committees are established for the whole session of the Parliament. |
| mandatory consultees |
Persons or bodies with special rights to be consulted prior to the introduction of a Private Bill and to comment during the Bill’s passage on the adequacy of that consultation. |
| manuscript amendment |
An amendment to a bill lodged after the normal time limit set down in the Standing Orders. A manuscript amendment may be moved only with the agreement of the relevent committee convener (at Stage 2) or the Presiding Officer (at Stage 3) |
| marshalled list |
A document prepared for each day during the amending stage of a bill showing all the admissible amendments lodged for the stage and not so far disposed of, in the order in which they will be considered. |
| Media Relations Office |
The office within the Access and Information Directorate that provides information about the work of the Parliament to press and broadcast journalists. It also provides official comment on behalf of the Presiding Officers, the SPCB and the committees. |
| Media Tower |
The Media Tower is located at the corner of Horse Wynd and the Canongate, adjacent to the Debating Chamber. It provides office accommodation to journalists at the Parliament. |
| meeting of the Parliament |
A meeting of the whole Parliament in the Debating Chamber (or elsewhere). A meeting of the Parliament is chaired by the Presiding Officer or one of the Deputy Presiding Officers, except in certain circumstances (detailed in rule 2.4). Each day’s Chamber business is normally a separate meeting of the Parliament. |
| member in charge |
The MSP who introduces a public bill and who has certain duties and rights during the bill’s passage. This member may also designate (under Rule 9.2A) an additional member in charge – for an Executive bill, this must be a junior Scottish Minister; for a member’s bill, it may be any other MSP; and for a committee bill it must be another member of the committee. |
| member of the Scottish Executive |
The First Minister, the two Scottish Law Officers (the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General for Scotland), and the Ministers appointed by the First Minister under section 47 of the Scotland Act 1998 are all members of the Scottish Executive as it is defined in section 44 of the Act. Collectively, for statutory purposes, members of the Scottish Executive are referred to as ‘the Scottish Ministers’. Junior Scottish Ministers are not members of the Scottish Executive. |
| member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) |
People elected at a general election for a constituency or region or at a by-election for a constituency vacancy, and people who fill a regional vacancy, are returned as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). There are 129 MSPs, 73 of whom represent individual constituencies and 56 of whom represent 1 of 8 regions. Their term of office begins on the day on which the member is declared to be returned and ends with the dissolution of the Parliament, or, if earlier, that member’s death or resignation. |
| member's business |
Any item of business, other than a member’s bill, proposed by a member who is not a member of the Scottish Executive or a junior Scottish Minister. A period of up to 45 minutes is set aside for such business at the end of each meeting of the Parliament, following Decision Time. By convention, the debate is on a motion, but the motion is not moved and the debate ends without any question being put. The Parliamentary Bureau selects motions to be debated. The motion to be debated normally has cross-party support and raises an issue affecting a particular locality or commemorating an anniversary or special event. Another aspect to the criteria is that motions will not call on anybody to undertake specific actions or to take or reverse particular decisions. |
| members allowances scheme |
The current scheme for allowances for MSPs to enable them to carry out their parliamentary duties which was agreed by the Parliament on 21 June 2001. |
| members bill |
A public bill, other than a committee bill, introduced by an MSP who is not a member of the Scottish Executive. |
| members support allowance |
An allowance to enable MSPs to run offices, employ staff, meet constituents and to reimburse qualified travel and overnight expenses. |
| members travel allowance |
MSPs can be reimbursed through this allowance for travel expenses incurred in performing their parliamentary duties. There are set rates for particular forms of transport such as motor vehicles, motorcycles and pedal cycles. |
| Minister |
A member of the government. The senior Ministers in the Scottish Government are known as ‘members of the Scottish Executive’ or ‘the Scottish Ministers’, and together they form the Scottish Cabinet (the Lord Advocate is not formally a member of the Cabinet but attends its meetings to provide advice on legal matters). There are also junior Scottish Ministers who assist the members of the Scottish Executive. With the exception of the Scottish Law Officers, all Ministers must also be MSPs. An MSP cannot hold a ministerial post in both the Scottish government and the UK government at the same time. The current government calls the Senior Ministers Cabinet Secretaries and the junior Ministers, Ministers |
| Minister of the Crown |
A holder of a ministerial office in the UK Government (which, for the purposes of the Scotland Act 1998, includes the Treasury). Ministers in the devolved Scottish Administration are not Ministers of the Crown. |
| ministerial parliamentary aide (MPA) |
A person appointed by the First Minister on a recommendation from Cabinet Ministers. A ministerial parliamentary aide assists the Minister in discharging their duties. MPAs are unpaid and are not part of the Executive. Their role and the arrangements for their appointment are set out in paragraphs 4.6 - 4.13 of the Scottish ministerial code. The functions of MPAs are broadly similar to those of parliamentary private secretaries at Westminster. |
| ministerial statement |
An oral statement to the Parliament by a member of the Scottish Executive or junior Scottish Minister. Rule 13.2 provides procedures for the inclusion of such statements (including those ‘of an urgent nature’, sometimes described as ‘emergency statements’) in the Parliament’s business. The First Minister may also make statements to the Parliament setting out the Executive’s policies and legislative programme for any parliamentary year. |
| Ministers |
See Scottish Executive.
See junior Scottish Ministers. |
| Minutes of Proceedings |
Drawn up by the Clerk for each meeting of the Parliament, the Minutes of Proceedings formally record all items of business taken and the results of any decisions, divisions and elections which took place. The Minutes of Proceedings are published and are also on the Parliament’s website. Minutes are also prepared for each meeting of each committee. See also Journal of the Scottish Parliament. |
| motion |
A proposition considered and decided upon by the Parliament or a committee. Particular examples are business motions, procedural motions, motions of no confidence, motions for a tax-varying resolution and motions of the First Minister. A motion that is agreed to becomes a resolution. Motions (and amendments to motions) are covered in chapter 8 of the Parliament’s Standing Orders. |
| motion of no confidence |
A motion that the Parliament no longer has confidence in the Scottish Executive, one of the Scottish Ministers or one of the junior Scottish Ministers. If the Parliament approves a motion that it no longer has confidence in the Scottish Executive, then all the Ministers of the government (members of the Scottish Executive and junior Scottish Ministers) are required to resign. If the Parliament passes such a motion against an individual Minister, then that Minister would be expected to resign. There are special procedures in the Standing Orders for the handling of motions of no confidence (rule 8.12). They must be debated if supported by at least 25 members. |
| MP |
Member of (UK) Parliament, normally applied only to members of the House of Commons. |
| MSP building |
The building that accommodates the MSP offices at Holyrood. |
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