Chapter 9 of the Parliament’s Standing Orders sets out the rules that govern the Parliament’s scrutiny of Public Bills. This Guidance aims to explain those rules and how they are applied in practice.
The Guidance takes account of changes to the Standing Orders, and the development of practice and precedent, since the second version of the Session 5 edition was published in March 2018. It is intended to be a reference resource for members, staff of the Parliament and Scottish Government, and anyone else with an interest in the legislative process.
The rules and practices explained in the Guidance are accurate as at February 2022. Procedures and practices continue to develop, and further versions of this Guidance will be published as appropriate.
Standing Orders use the terms “member of the Scottish Government”, “junior Scottish Ministers” and “the Scottish Ministers”. The members of the Scottish Government are the First Minister, the Law Officers (the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General) and Ministers appointed under section 47 of the Scotland Act 1998. These office-holders are also collectively known as “the Scottish Ministers”. “Junior Scottish Ministers” are appointed under section 49 of that Act to assist the Scottish Ministers in the exercise of their functions. The current administration uses the terms “Cabinet Secretary” and “Minister” to refer, respectively, to Ministers appointed under section 47 and junior Scottish Ministers. In this Guidance we use the terms used in the 1998 Act and Standing Orders.
The Guidance was prepared by the Legislation Team in the Parliament’s Chamber Office. Comments or queries on this Guidance, or on Public Bill procedure generally, are welcome. The Legislation Team clerks can advise on any aspect of the Guidance and Standing Orders, and can be contacted at:
Legislation Team
The Scottish Parliament
Edinburgh
EH99 1SP
LegislationTeam@parliament.scot
For information in languages other than English or in alternative formats (for example Braille, large print or audio), please send your enquiry to:
Public Information
The Scottish Parliament
Edinburgh
EH99 1SP
You can also contact Public Information by telephone on 0800 092 7500 or 0131 348 5000. Alternatively, you can email info@parliament.scot, or text 07786 209888. Written correspondence in any language is welcomed.
In addition, Scottish Parliament teams can be contacted using the Text Relay service or in British Sign Language (BSL) through contactSCOTLAND-BSL.