On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I would like to raise a concern about the admissibility of amendments that were lodged ahead of today’s stage 3 proceedings on the Social Security (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill. Amendments 21 and 22, on winter heating assistance, which were lodged by Paul O’Kane on behalf of the Labour Party in Scotland, would make a significant demand on the Scottish budget by seeking to extend, by statute, winter heating assistance to some individuals of pensionable age. That would require the Scottish Government to cover the costs of the United Kingdom Government’s cut to the winter fuel payment.
My concern is that the amendments were deemed admissible but without giving any regard to the financial memorandum that was published to support scrutiny of the bill. I therefore seek your guidance on how we can better assess the financial impact that such blatantly political amendments may have on legislation, giving due regard to how they interact with financial memoranda.
The Parliament has agreed a financial resolution for the bill. The fact that individual amendments have cost implications of that nature does not prevent them from being considered during stage 3 proceedings if they meet the admissibility criteria for amendments, as provided for by standing orders, which those amendments did.
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