Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Thursday, November 16, 2023

Official Report 1141KB pdf

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Business Motion

The next item of business is consideration of business motion S6M-11310, in the name of George Adam, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, on a change to the business programme. Any member who wishes to speak against the motion should press their request-to-speak button now. I call George Adam to move the motion.

Motion moved,

That the Parliament agrees to the following revision to the programme of business for Thursday 16 November 2023—

delete

2.00 pm Portfolio Questions:
Education and Skills

and insert

followed by Personal Statement: Michael Matheson

followed by Portfolio Questions:
Education and Skills.—[George Adam]

I call Alexander Burnett to speak to and move amendment S6M-11310.1.

14:01  

Today’s business motion gives Michael Matheson the chance to outline his reasons for attempting to charge Scottish taxpayers around £11,000 for roaming charges while he was on holiday in Morocco. It has also allowed the First Minister, at First Minister’s questions today, to deflect and avoid questions from Douglas Ross on his understanding of the scandal, including whether he still backs claims that the expense claim was legitimate and for parliamentary purposes only.

The current proposal does not allow for any form of scrutiny of the content of Mr Matheson’s statement. At the end of First Minister’s questions, in response to Stephen Kerr’s point of order, both Mr Matheson and the First Minister intimated that Mr Matheson would be willing to answer questions following his statement. Therefore, the only option that the Parliament has open to it is to suspend standing orders rule 13.1.4 to allow for either questions or debate on the content of a statement.

Given that both the Government and the lead Opposition party have accepted that that should happen, there is a clear parliamentary majority for a suspension of standing orders to allow for that questioning to occur. It is only right and proper that the Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care is questioned following his statement, given the long and growing list of questions that have arisen over the past week, and which have become a distraction from his role as health secretary.

I hope that the Minister for Parliamentary Business heard the First Minister indicate his willingness for questions to be allowed and is able to support our amendment, without a division, to prevent any further delay to this afternoon’s proceedings.

I move amendment S6M-11310.1, to insert at end:

“(b) that the Parliament agrees that, for the purposes of consideration of the Personal Statement: Michael Matheson, Rule 13.1.4 of Standing Orders is suspended.”

I call George Adam to respond on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau.

14:03  

I will take a moment to go through some of the detail. Mr Matheson made a request to the Presiding Officer yesterday to make a personal statement and offered to take questions.

As members will know, and as the Presiding Officer reiterated during a point of order earlier, taking a statement is at the discretion of the Presiding Officer, who notifies the Parliamentary Bureau. The standing orders are clear that a personal statement must not be debated, so a variation to standing orders is required if members wish to debate the statement today. Therefore, if the Presiding Officer decides to suspend standing orders to allow for questions, I would have no issue with that whatsoever.

The first question is, that amendment S6M-11310.1, in the name of Alexander Burnett, which seeks to amend business motion S6M-11310, in the name of George Adam, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, on a change to the business programme, be agreed to.

Amendment agreed to.

The next question is, that business motion S6M-11310, in the name of George Adam, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, on a change to the business programme, as amended, be agreed to.

Motion, as amended, agreed to,

(a) That the Parliament agrees to the following revision to the programme of business for Thursday 16 November 2023—

delete

2.00 pm Portfolio Questions: Education and Skills

and insert

followed by Personal Statement: Michael Matheson

followed by Portfolio Questions:
Education and Skills

(b) that the Parliament agrees that, for the purposes of consideration of the Personal Statement: Michael Matheson, Rule 13.1.4 of Standing Orders is suspended.