Parliament at Work

Contents

The Chamber

The Chamber is the focal point for the Scottish Parliament's business, including debates on a wide range of political issues, policy proposals and legislation. Each week at Question Time, the Chamber also hosts lively sessions when MSPs can probe the First Minister and other Scottish Ministers on topical issues.

Schedules for meetings of the Parliament are proposed by the Parliamentary Bureau on a business motion. Once approved, this forms a rolling programme of business for the following two weeks. The membership of the bureau includes the Presiding Officer, who chairs the meetings, and representatives from each of the main political parties and the Independents' Group.

The Hub
During the week of 17 May 2004, the Parliament met in The Hub in Edinburgh, while the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland returned to the Parliament's temporary home at the Assembly Hall on the Mound. Debates on Scotland's marine environment; skills and continued learning; major events and festivals in Scotland, and the Children's Hearings review, together with the usual Question Time slots, were held during three full days of parliamentary business.

Debates
During the past year the Executive led debates in the Chamber entitled:

• skills and continued learning
• tackling drugs misuse
• a celebration of volunteering
• ambitious, excellent schools
• improving family law in Scotland
• fisheries
• making the most of Scotland's forests
• towards a green jobs strategy

and other topics across a wide range of social, political and economic issues.

Debating time is also allocated to non-Executive political parties on the basis of the proportion of seats held. Debates led by the other political parties have included the following subjects:

• school meals
• the centralisation of health services
• ID cards
• Iraq
• firearms legislation
• energy policy
• supermarkets and the Scottish food chain
• the right to protest at the G8 Summit in Gleneagles.

On 11 April 2005, MSP seats in the new Chamber were for the first time occupied by members of the public, health providers, professionals and campaign groups who took part in a public debate on the future of the National Health Service. The debate, sponsored by the Health Committee, was chaired by the Deputy Presiding Officers and followed a similar style to parliamentary debates.

The Chamber also played host to the first Independents' Group debate on 13 April 2005, on meeting the needs and aspirations of people in Scotland. The purpose of the debate was to allow MSPs to speak on as wide a range of topics as possible.

Committee Debates
Parliamentary committees are also allocated debating time to allow them to bring issues to the attention of a wider audience. In the past year there have been 12 committee debates in the Chamber, covering such diverse
issues as:

• the relocation of public sector jobs
• renewable energy
• dental health services
• past institutional child abuse
• replacing the Members' Interest Order
• new procedures for Member’s Bills.

Ministerial Statements
Ministerial Statements normally consist of a 10-minute statement followed by 20 minutes for questions from members. There have been 22 Ministerial Statements on a wide range of topics, including:

• the local government finance review
• future arrangements for cross-border students
• creating safer communities
• smoking
• institutional child abuse
• a sexual health strategy
• the Tsunami disaster
• dentistry.

Members' Business
Members' Business is held at the end of each meeting of the Parliament and allows individual members from any party or group to highlight an issue that may not receive prominence in other proceedings. It is often used to raise a particular constituency or regional matter or to highlight an awareness-raising event. The member whose motion has been selected opens the debate and a minister responds, following contributions by other members. Examples of such debates include:

• the Argyll and Clyde Clinical Review
• National Construction Week
• affordable housing in North-east Fife
• stamping out racism in football
• Citizens Advice Week
• the future of Clydeside shipyards
• Commonwealth Week: Year of Africa
• responsible deer management.

Time for Reflection
Business in the Chamber begins each week with Time for Reflection, giving people of different faiths and beliefs the chance to share their thoughts with the Parliament. Representatives from a wide range of religious groups and faiths and those of no faith have taken part in Time for Reflection. These include:

• The Dalai Lama
• Dr Alison Elliot, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
• Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh
• Christine Riddoch, Diocesan Youth Officer, Diocese of Paisley
• Imam Habib Ur Rahman Rauf, Central Mosque, Glasgow
• Very Reverend Graham Forbes, Provost of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh
• Mr Graeme Sinclair, Deaf Action
• Laura Anne Teece, pupil from John Ogilvie High School, Hamilton
• Miss Irene Jovaras, Joint Co-ordinator of the Focolare Movement in Scotland.

Legislation
Bills are the main type of legislation dealt with by the Parliament. A bill is a draft law, and can be either public – seeking to change the general law – or private – seeking powers for a particular individual or organisation that are in excess of or in conflict with the general law.

A total of 21 bills have been introduced since 7 May 2004. Bills are normally only passed after full public consultation and debate in the Parliament, both in committee and in the Chamber. Some examples of bills that became acts during the past year are:

• the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Bill, which sought to address disruptive, antisocial conduct in communities
• the Local Governance (Scotland) Bill, which introduced a proportional representation system for local government elections
• the Breastfeeding etc. (Scotland) Bill, a Member's Bill that makes it an offence to prohibit breastfeeding in public places
• a private bill which allows for the re-opening of a railway between Stirling, Alloa and Kincardine.

Parliamentary Questions
Question Time gives members the opportunity to question the Executive on topical issues and is often a highlight of the parliamentary week. In March 2005 the management of Question Time was changed. Members now submit their names for random selection, instead of submitting questions as in the previous system. Only the 30 members whose names are selected submit questions.

The proceedings for First Minister's Question Time remain unchanged, with six topical questions from party leaders and backbench MSPs being selected by the Presiding Officer for answer by the First Minister.

Any question not reached during any of the question times receives a written answer, which appears in the weekly Written Answers Report. This report contains all the answers to written parliamentary questions, which are also published daily on the Parliament's website.

Motions
A motion is one of the means by which members can initiate debate or propose a particular course of action. Any MSP can lodge a motion and all motions lodged are published in the Business Bulletin the following day.

Motions for debate are lodged in accordance with the business programme agreed by the Parliament. Amendments to these motions can also be lodged and the Presiding Officer selects which amendments will be debated.

The majority of motions are not intended for debate. These motions are lodged for a variety of reasons, such as drawing attention to a particular topic, seeking support for a cause or highlighting a particular event.

A wide variety of motions were lodged this year on a range of topics. Some of those lodged, but not debated, include:

• action on skin disease
• national police memorial
• centenary of Barnardos
• World Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Day 2004
• launch of osteoporosis mobile scanner in Coatbridge.

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The Conveners’ Group