Good morning. The first item of business is general questions, but before I move to question 1, I will, as I indicated, respond to Douglas Ross’s point in relation to points that he made about the public gallery being cleared for a time during proceedings on Tuesday evening.
I have looked into the matter and understand that the chamber was suspended when the points were made. As a consequence, the chamber system was not live while Douglas Ross was making his points. Consequently, there is no recording of his comments and we are unable to replicate them in the Official Report. However, his subsequent points of order are, of course, a matter of record, as will be my response. Members will be aware that the public gallery was reopened following the resumption of business.
I will also, as I indicated, respond to Alexander Burnett’s point in relation to the distribution of vote results. I have looked into the matter and can advise members that vote results during stage 3 were circulated in accordance with long-standing practice, including being made available to the media during proceedings. However, I have listened to the point that Mr Burnett made and will review the practice for future stage 3 proceedings. We will discuss that with business managers.