Seòmar agus comataidhean

Amendment 22, in the name of Jeremy Balfour, is grouped with amendment 23.

I invite Jeremy Balfour to wind up and to press or withdraw amendment 22.

I invite Jeremy Balfour to wind up and to press or withdraw amendment 21.

Amendment 2, in the name of the cabinet secretary, is in a group on its own.

Amendment 13, in the name of the cabinet secretary, is in a group on its own. Cabinet secretary, I invite you to move and speak to amendment 13.

You withdrew amendment 22.

As no members wish to contribute to the debate at this point, I ask the cabinet secretary to wind up and to press or withdraw amendment 13.

Good morning, and welcome to the 14th meeting in 2023 of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee. The only item of business on our agenda today is the committee’s consideration of the Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Bill at stage 2. The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Shirley-Anne Somerville, joins us for the item. The cabinet secretary is accompanied by her officials, but they cannot take part in the debate and will not be named in the Official Report.

All members should have a copy of the bill as introduced, the marshalled list of amendments, which was published on 25 May, and the groupings of amendments, which sets out the amendments in the order in which they will be debated. There will be one debate on each group of amendments. I will call the member who lodged the first amendment in that group to speak to and move that amendment and to speak to all the other amendments in the group.

If members who have not lodged amendments in the group wish to speak, they should indicate that by catching my attention if they are in the room or by typing R in the BlueJeans chat box if they are online.

I will conclude the debate on the group by inviting the member who moved the first amendment in the group to wind up. Standing orders give any Scottish minister a right to speak on any amendment. I will, therefore, invite the cabinet secretary to contribute to the debate just before the winding-up speech.

Following debate on each group, I will check whether the member who moved the first amendment in the group wishes to press it to a vote or to withdraw it. If they wish to press it to a vote, I will put the question on that amendment. If a member wishes to withdraw their amendment after it has been moved, they must seek the committee’s agreement to do so. If any committee member objects, we will immediately move to the vote on the amendment.

If a member does not want to move their amendment when called, they should say, “Not moved”. Please note that any other member may move the amendment. If no one moves the amendment, I will immediately call the next amendment on the marshalled list.

Only committee members are allowed to vote. Voting in any division is by show of hands. It is important that members keep their hands clearly raised until the clerk has recorded the vote. I ask members joining us online to make sure that their hand is clearly visible on the screen.

The convener has a personal vote as a committee member and a casting vote in the event of a tie. How I, as convener, use my casting vote is entirely at my discretion; there are no agreed conventions on this point. However, if my casting vote is to be used, I will indicate the basis on which I will use my casting vote immediately before doing so.

The committee is required to indicate formally that it has considered and agreed to each bill section and schedule, so I will put a question on each section at the appropriate point.

We will now consider the amendments.

Section 1 agreed to.

Section 2—Inclusion of names of charity trustees on the Scottish Charity Register

Amendment 1, in the name of the cabinet secretary, is in a group on its own.

Amendment 18, in the name of the cabinet secretary, is in a group on its own.