Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Thursday, October 31, 2019

Official Report 1035KB pdf

Decision Time

The first question is, that amendment S5M-19631.4, in the name of Colin Smyth, which seeks to amend motion S5M-19631, in the name of Fergus Ewing, on the centenary of the Forestry Act 1919, be agreed to.

Amendment agreed to.

The next question is, that motion S5M-19631, in the name of Fergus Ewing, as amended, be agreed to.

Motion, as amended, agreed to,

That the Parliament welcomes the opportunity to mark 100 years since the Forestry Act 1919; notes the progress made since 1919 in increasing Scotland’s forest cover from 5% to nearly 19%; appreciates the contribution made by the men and women who have worked in forestry in Scotland, including those from Commonwealth countries who were members of forestry units in Scotland during and after the Second World War; acknowledges the importance of forests and woodland to the rural economy, to the health and wellbeing of communities and especially to the environment; recognises that forests and woodland are among Scotland’s most important natural assets in helping to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045; resolves to encourage everyone to get involved in planting more trees over the next 100 years; celebrates the contribution of the forestry sector trade unions; recognises the potential that sustainable management of diverse forest and woodland has in meeting biodiversity targets post 2020; notes the importance of planting taking place in appropriate areas; recognises the contribution that national parks make to protecting forestry and widening the natural environment, and therefore believes that new national parks should be designated.

I propose to ask a single question on the three legislative consent motions. The question is, that motions S5M-19629, S5M-19628 and S5M-19630 be agreed to.

Motions agreed to,

That the Parliament agrees that the relevant provisions of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games Bill, introduced in the House of Lords on 5 June 2019, relating to ticket touting, so far as these matters fall within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament, should be considered by the UK Parliament.

That the Parliament agrees that the relevant provisions of the Sentencing (Pre-consolidation Amendments) Bill, introduced in the House of Lords on 22 May 2019, relating to the transfer of community orders and suspended sentence orders imposed by courts in England and Wales to Scotland, so far as these matters fall within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament, should be considered by the UK Parliament.

That the Parliament agrees that the relevant provisions of the Domestic Abuse Bill, introduced in the House of Commons on 16 July 2019, relating to amendments to the law of Scotland concerning extra-territorial jurisdiction over certain offences committed outside the UK by a UK national or habitual resident of Scotland in order to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, so far as these matters fall within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament and alter the executive competence of the Scottish Ministers, should be considered by the UK Parliament.

The final question is, that motion S5M-19654, in the name of Graeme Dey, on the establishment of a private bill committee, be agreed to.

Motion agreed to,

That the Parliament shall establish a committee of the Parliament as follows:

Name of Committee: Solicitors in the Supreme Courts of Scotland (Amendment) Bill Committee.

Remit: To consider matters relating to the Solicitors in the Supreme Courts of Scotland (Amendment) Bill.

Duration: Until the Bill is passed or rejected, falls or is withdrawn.

Number of members: 4.

Convenership: The Convener will be a member of the Scottish National Party and the Deputy Convener will be a member of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.

Membership: Christine Grahame, John Mason, Bill Bowman, Monica Lennon.