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The next item of business is consideration of motion S6M-16585, on suspension of standing orders. I ask Jamie Hepburn, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, to move the motion.
Motion moved,
That the Parliament agrees that, for the purposes of consideration of the third supplementary legislative consent memorandum on the Great British Energy Bill, Rule 9B.3.5 of Standing Orders is suspended.—[Jamie Hepburn]
14:05
Members of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee support the motion, but with reluctance and with more than some frustration. When we debated the second legislative consent motion on the Great British Energy Bill, five short days ago, I talked about the committee literally rushing through the motions for the sake of standing orders in order to produce a report that could say almost nothing. The present motion would prevent us from having to go through that again, in even more extreme circumstances, and in that sense it is welcome.
However, any objective observer can see that this is not the way in which our legislative consent process is meant to work. This is the third time that I have stood here to talk about the bill. The first time round, I had some strong words for the Scottish Government, after the committee had been made to wait for months for a substantive legislative consent memorandum, and I hope that it listened.
The present case concerns an amendment with devolved elements, which was tabled and agreed late in the day at Westminster. That was not the Scottish Government’s doing, and I accept that, like death and taxes, late amendments will always be with us. However, it seems that there cannot be a mechanism to hit the pause button at Westminster whenever that happens. Why not? It would buy us a little more time to consider such amendments. That is not an unreasonable ask, and the committee thinks that the Scottish Parliament should explore it further. The late amendment in question looks unobjectionable, but that is a matter of chance and might not always be the case.
Although the committee supports the motion, it feels that we should actively explore, with our counterparts, ways to ensure that we do not have to go through this rather futile process again.
14:07
I thank Mr Mountain for raising his concerns. He is clearly right to do so, if those concerns have been expressed by the committee that he convenes.
I make it clear that the Government absolutely recognises the importance of the Parliament’s role in considering legislative consent motions effectively. We share many of the concerns that the committee has raised. However, as Mr Mountain recognised, there is a limit to our ability to determine timings.
The legislative consent motion relates to an amendment to the Great British Energy Bill that is going through the United Kingdom Parliament. The amendment was tabled at Westminster on 17 February and the bill was amended on 20 February. Under our current processes, we have to lodge any legislative consent memorandum within two weeks, so we lodged such a memorandum on 24 February. In the meantime, the bill will have its third reading in the House of Lords today, so it is very near the end of its parliamentary passage.
We are asking the Scottish Parliament to suspend standing orders so that the motion can be considered later this afternoon. I will not go into the detail of what the amendment sets out, because that is publicly available for members to consider, but it enables any review of the effectiveness of GB Energy to be laid before the Scottish Parliament, in parallel with its being laid before Westminster. Clearly, that enhances this Parliament’s role to some extent, which should be welcomed, notwithstanding the challenges involved in the process that we are having to go through now.
Will the minister give way?
Presiding Officer, do I have time to give way briefly?
I call Douglas Lumsden.
Will the minister go back to his counterpart in the UK Government to say that the Scottish Government is not happy with the process that is being followed and to try to improve things going forward?
We have already communicated that. I assure Mr Lumsden that we recognise that we have arrived at a regrettable set of circumstances. I recall that, last week, Alasdair Allan spoke to the previous legislative consent motion that concerns the bill. I recognise Mr Lumsden’s point that we have debated the issue quite a lot in the past few weeks. We have emphasised to the UK Government the importance of ensuring that the Scottish Parliament has enough time to consider such matters.
Mr Mountain’s suggestion about the ability to pause processes at Westminster is an innovative one. I am happy to reflect on that and to see whether we can explore it. It is not for me to suggest what any committee might want to do, but of course any committee of this Parliament is well equipped to write to the UK Government to make suggestions to it, just as committees make suggestions to the Scottish Government. My expectation would be that the UK Government would respond timeously.
I assure members that we understand the concerns and we continue to press them but, unfortunately, we are where we are, so I urge Parliament to support the motion in my name.
The question is, that motion S6M-16585, in the name of Jamie Hepburn, on suspension of standing orders, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
Members: No.
There will be a division.
There will be a short suspension to allow members to access the digital voting system.
14:10 Meeting suspended.
We come to the vote on motion S6M-16585, in the name of Jamie Hepburn, on suspension of standing orders. Members should cast their votes now.
The vote is closed.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. There was an issue with my app; I would have voted yes.
Thank you, Ms Gallacher. We will ensure that that is recorded.
Several members have indicated that they wish to make a point of order. I will reach each one of them, and I must ensure that our clerks have an opportunity to record the information.
Sarah Boyack has a point of order.
I apologise, Presiding Officer; I inadvertently pressed my request-to-speak button.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app is playing up; I would have voted yes.
Thank you, Mr Hoy. We will ensure that that is recorded.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app failed to connect; I would have voted yes.
Thank you, Ms Thomson. We will ensure that that is recorded.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app would not connect; I would have voted yes.
Thank you, Ms Tweed. We will ensure that that is recorded.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app would not connect; I would have voted yes.
Thank you, Mr Matheson. We will ensure that that is recorded.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Likewise—I could not get the app to connect; I would have voted yes.
Thank you, Ms Sturgeon. We will ensure that that is recorded.
For
Adam, George (Paisley) (SNP)
Adam, Karen (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP)
Adamson, Clare (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)
Allan, Alasdair (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP)
Arthur, Tom (Renfrewshire South) (SNP)
Baillie, Jackie (Dumbarton) (Lab)
Baker, Claire (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Balfour, Jeremy (Lothian) (Con)
Beattie, Colin (Midlothian North and Musselburgh) (SNP)
Boyack, Sarah (Lothian) (Lab)
Briggs, Miles (Lothian) (Con)
Brown, Keith (Clackmannanshire and Dunblane) (SNP)
Brown, Siobhian (Ayr) (SNP)
Carlaw, Jackson (Eastwood) (Con)
Carson, Finlay (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con)
Choudhury, Foysol (Lothian) (Lab)
Clark, Katy (West Scotland) (Lab)
Coffey, Willie (Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley) (SNP)
Cole-Hamilton, Alex (Edinburgh Western) (LD)
Constance, Angela (Almond Valley) (SNP)
Dey, Graeme (Angus South) (SNP)
Don-Innes, Natalie (Renfrewshire North and West) (SNP)
Doris, Bob (Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn) (SNP)
Dornan, James (Glasgow Cathcart) (SNP)
Dowey, Sharon (South Scotland) (Con)
Dunbar, Jackie (Aberdeen Donside) (SNP)
Duncan-Glancy, Pam (Glasgow) (Lab)
Eagle, Tim (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Ewing, Annabelle (Cowdenbeath) (SNP)
Ewing, Fergus (Inverness and Nairn) (SNP)
Fairlie, Jim (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP)
Findlay, Russell (West Scotland) (Con)
FitzPatrick, Joe (Dundee City West) (SNP)
Forbes, Kate (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP)
Gallacher, Meghan (Central Scotland) (Con)
Gibson, Kenneth (Cunninghame North) (SNP)
Gilruth, Jenny (Mid Fife and Glenrothes) (SNP)
Golden, Maurice (North East Scotland) (Con)
Gosal, Pam (West Scotland) (Con)
Gougeon, Mairi (Angus North and Mearns) (SNP)
Grahame, Christine (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP)
Grant, Rhoda (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Gray, Neil (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)
Greene, Jamie (West Scotland) (Con)
Griffin, Mark (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Gulhane, Sandesh (Glasgow) (Con)
Hamilton, Rachael (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con)
Harper, Emma (South Scotland) (SNP)
Haughey, Clare (Rutherglen) (SNP)
Hepburn, Jamie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (SNP)
Hoy, Craig (South Scotland) (Con)
Hyslop, Fiona (Linlithgow) (SNP)
Johnson, Daniel (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Halcro Johnston, Jamie (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Kerr, Liam (North East Scotland) (Con)
Kerr, Stephen (Central Scotland) (Con)
Kidd, Bill (Glasgow Anniesland) (SNP)
Leonard, Richard (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Lochhead, Richard (Moray) (SNP)
Lumsden, Douglas (North East Scotland) (Con)
MacDonald, Gordon (Edinburgh Pentlands) (SNP)
MacGregor, Fulton (Coatbridge and Chryston) (SNP)
Mackay, Rona (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP)
Macpherson, Ben (Edinburgh Northern and Leith) (SNP)
Maguire, Ruth (Cunninghame South) (SNP) [Proxy vote cast by Rona Mackay]
Marra, Michael (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Martin, Gillian (Aberdeenshire East) (SNP)
Mason, John (Glasgow Shettleston) (Ind)
Matheson, Michael (Falkirk West) (SNP)
McAllan, Màiri (Clydesdale) (SNP) [Proxy vote cast by Jamie Hepburn]
McArthur, Liam (Orkney Islands) (LD)
McCall, Roz (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
McKee, Ivan (Glasgow Provan) (SNP)
McKelvie, Christina (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse) (SNP) [Proxy vote cast by Jamie Hepburn]
McLennan, Paul (East Lothian) (SNP)
McMillan, Stuart (Greenock and Inverclyde) (SNP)
McNeill, Pauline (Glasgow) (Lab)
Minto, Jenni (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)
Mochan, Carol (South Scotland) (Lab)
Mountain, Edward (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Mundell, Oliver (Dumfriesshire) (Con)
Nicoll, Audrey (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP)
Rennie, Willie (North East Fife) (LD)
Robertson, Angus (Edinburgh Central) (SNP)
Robison, Shona (Dundee City East) (SNP)
Roddick, Emma (Highlands and Islands) (SNP)
Ross, Douglas (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Simpson, Graham (Central Scotland) (Con)
Smith, Liz (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Smyth, Colin (South Scotland) (Lab)
Somerville, Shirley-Anne (Dunfermline) (SNP)
Stevenson, Collette (East Kilbride) (SNP)
Stewart, Alexander (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Stewart, Kaukab (Glasgow Kelvin) (SNP)
Stewart, Kevin (Aberdeen Central) (SNP)
Sturgeon, Nicola (Glasgow Southside) (SNP)
Sweeney, Paul (Glasgow) (Lab)
Swinney, John (Perthshire North) (SNP)
Thomson, Michelle (Falkirk East) (SNP)
Todd, Maree (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP)
Tweed, Evelyn (Stirling) (SNP)
Villalba, Mercedes (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Webber, Sue (Lothian) (Con)
Wells, Annie (Glasgow) (Con)
White, Tess (North East Scotland) (Con)
Whitfield, Martin (South Scotland) (Lab)
Whitham, Elena (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (SNP)
Whittle, Brian (South Scotland) (Con)
Wishart, Beatrice (Shetland Islands) (LD)
Yousaf, Humza (Glasgow Pollok) (SNP)
Abstentions
Burgess, Ariane (Highlands and Islands) (Green)
Chapman, Maggie (North East Scotland) (Green)
Greer, Ross (West Scotland) (Green)
Harvie, Patrick (Glasgow) (Green)
Mackay, Gillian (Central Scotland) (Green)
Ruskell, Mark (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green)
Slater, Lorna (Lothian) (Green)
The result of the division on motion S6M-16585, in the name of Jamie Hepburn, on suspension of standing orders, is: For 110, Against 0, Abstentions 7.
Motion agreed to,
That the Parliament agrees that, for the purposes of consideration of the third supplementary legislative consent memorandum on the Great British Energy Bill, Rule 9B.3.5 of Standing Orders is suspended.
We come to consideration of business motion S6M-16586, in the name of Jamie Hepburn, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, on changes to business.
Motion moved,
That the Parliament agrees to the following revisions to the programme of business
for Tuesday 25 February 2025—
after
followed by Topical Questions (if selected)
insert
followed by Ministerial Statement: Response to Concerns Raised Regarding Care of Children at
Skye House
after
followed by Stage 3 Proceedings: Budget (Scotland) (No. 4) Bill
insert
followed by Legislative Consent Motion: Great British Energy Bill - UK Legislation
delete
5.00 pm Decision Time
and insert
5.30 pm Decision Time—[Jamie Hepburn.]
Motion agreed to.
Air ais
Time for ReflectionAir adhart
Topical Question Time