Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Official Report 932KB pdf

Point of Order

On a point of order, Presiding Officer.

I seek your guidance on how the Scottish Parliament can support the journalistic freedom of our independent media. Yesterday, BBC Scotland was forced to issue a statement in defence of a story that it published that highlighted the fears of NHS Scotland leaders about the future of our health service. The story revealed details of official minutes of a meeting involving national health service leaders that suggested that NHS management has been given the green light to consider a range of drastic reforms. Those included introducing a two-tier system in our NHS that would charge wealthier patients for care—

If I may have your attention for a moment, Ms White, I point out that the standing orders confirm, of course, that a member may, in any proceedings of Parliament, question whether proper procedures have been or are being followed in the conduct of parliamentary business. Will you confirm that the point that you are making relates to such matters?

Presiding Officer, I would welcome any guidance that you can offer on how the Scottish Parliament can play a role in tackling misinformation online and defending the journalistic freedoms of our independent media outlets.

It is not clear that the issue that you raise relates to parliamentary procedures, which are the subject of the standing orders. On that basis, that is not a point of order on which I can rule.