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On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I make my point of order under rule 16.2.3. I have today written to you in light of the points of order that were raised today by Stephen Kerr and Neil Bibby. I did so after reviewing the Official Report of my statement on 14 November last year. In it, I was explicitly clear that not all meetings required to be minuted but that summary notes are often available and that notes would be available for the majority of the engagements that had been reported on.
I have also reviewed my answer that day to Mr Bibby. In it, I said that I believed that there was a note available for “all” meetings, but I was explicitly clear in saying that
“I will need to double check”.—[Official Report, 14 November 2024; c 53.]
I believe that both my formal statement to the chamber and my answer to Mr Bibby are unambiguous and accurate.
However, I have also reviewed my answer to Stephen Kerr. In it, in relation to the summaries of the meeting, I stated that
“those summaries will be available for all the engagements that I have been participating in.”—[Official Report, 14 November 2024; c 57.]
Despite being clear earlier in the session that I would need to check, I recognise that I asserted that there would be summaries available for all the engagements. It has since come to light that that is incorrect, and I am sorry for that inadvertent error.
Under rule 16.2 and the provisions of the guidance on correcting the record, members have 20 days to make any correction to the Official Report. Unfortunately, that time has passed, so I seek your guidance on how I can best make members aware of the position that I have set out today.
Thank you, cabinet secretary. As you have noted, a member can seek to correct any inaccuracy on their part within 20 days of the publication of the Official Report of the relevant proceedings. Clearly, that time has passed.
I have not yet had an opportunity to read the letter that the cabinet secretary has sent. However, the cabinet secretary has now put the matter on the record. In order to ensure that the correction is as widely known as possible, I encourage him and welcome his intention to write to me, and I ask that he also write to the business managers and to any members who are not represented on the Parliamentary Bureau and ensure that a copy rests with the Scottish Parliament information centre.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Further to the apology that we have now had from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, this is the second time, I think, that he has had to come to the chamber to apologise for his conduct on this matter.
As Stephen Kerr pointed out earlier today, the matter was the subject of a freedom of information request, which information the Government would have released to a Sunday newspaper, which was published last week. It is now Tuesday. Our standing orders are very clear that a member must correct the official record as quickly as possible. What discussion was there at the Parliamentary Bureau earlier today with the Minister for Parliamentary Business? Clearly, Scottish Government ministers knew about this when they released the FOI or, at the very latest, on Sunday, when the article appeared. Was there any notification to you that the health secretary would seek to apologise and correct the record not after two members made points of order but when the matter became very clear in the media at the weekend?
Thank you, Mr Ross. I confirm that there was no discussion of the matter at the Parliamentary Bureau today.
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