Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Meeting date: Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Official Report 1362KB pdf

Business Motion

The next item of business is consideration of business motion S6M-20495, in the name of Graeme Dey, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, on changes to business. Any member who wishes to speak to the motion should press their request-to-speak button now.

Motion moved,

That the Parliament agrees to the following revisions to the programme of business for—

(a) Tuesday 20 January 2026—

delete

9.00 pm Decision Time

followed by Members’ Business

and insert

9.05 pm Decision Time

(b) Thursday 22 January 2026—

after

5.00 pm Decision Time

insert

followed by Members’ Business—[Graeme Dey].

I wonder whether the Minister for Parliamentary Business and Veterans will genuinely consider the point that I am about to make.

I submitted an urgent question to the Presiding Officer outwith the time limit. I will raise this in a point of order after topical questions if I have to, but we are being asked to agree a change of business today.

My urgent question was to ask Government ministers to present to Parliament the written case that they have now presented to court about the transgender prisoner policy. We became aware of that at 9.46 am, when the Government issued a press release. That left 14 minutes for members of the Scottish Parliament to know about the press release, read the press release, read the written submission and get an urgent question in. I do not think that it is physically possible to do that.

To save me from having to make a point of order to ask for a suspension of standing orders, would the minister consider an addition to the business motion to allow a statement from Government ministers on the issue, given that it was of considerable cross-party importance at First Minister’s question time last week, when John Swinney himself said that it was right that all the information was in the public domain? Surely, therefore, it is also right for ministers to raise the issue.

I hope that the Minister for Parliamentary Business and Veterans could perhaps consider that we should have a ministerial statement on the issue today.

I understand the interest in the subject, but today’s business has been agreed by the Parliamentary Bureau and we will sit until 9 o’clock this evening. I point out to Mr Ross that there are other means through which to request a statement or an urgent question, or whatever he sees fit to pursue.

Motion agreed to.