15:28
The next item of business is on my proposals for the parliamentary week.
Colleagues, as you know, I was elected on a mandate to shake up how we do things, make Government more accountable to Parliament, improve scrutiny and deliver more effectively for the people whom we represent. Parliament needs renewal and re-engagement with independent, innovative and open-minded leadership. That is of critical importance, and it is exactly what I will provide.
The collegiate working that was anticipated in the 1990s, prior to devolution, has not fully transpired. The status quo is not an option, and I am keen to push at the boundaries of what is possible within my remit.
We need to declutter and simplify how we work and make Parliament more efficient, topical and effective for the people we all represent. It is crucial to examine what we do and why we do it, and to consider whether we need to do it better, if at all.
I want to say how chamber working will be different going forward. From next week, time taken for interventions during speeches will automatically be added, to protect the time of speakers who most engage. I believe that that will encourage, embolden and build confidence and experience in members. Although time will be built into debates, it might mean that, on occasion, we run over by a few minutes.
Interventions should be short and sharp, of course, and not mini-speeches in themselves. I urge parties to be flexible in how their debating time is used, with the number of minutes that each speaker is given varying according to the interests and experience of individual members, rather than back benchers being shoehorned into identically sized time slots.
I quite enjoy a boisterous chamber, within reason, but courtesy does not have to be thrown out the window, and I have little patience for heckling a minister while they are responding to a question that one has asked.
From now on, no First Minister’s questions will be published in advance, and all will be taken from the floor. Next Thursday’s FMQs will be 45 minutes long, with questions from party leaders followed by back benchers. We will have three questions each from Labour, Reform and the Greens respectively, and two each from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.
Leader FMQs, debates and statements will have Labour and Reform alternate each week as to which party leads from the Opposition. For devilment, and to freshen things up, I might occasionally reverse the order with the Liberal Democrats opening, followed by the Conservatives and so on—we shall see.
The week after next will have 30 minutes of FMQs on a Tuesday from back benchers and 30 minutes on a Thursday from party leaders. If back benchers let me know what questions they wish to ask in advance, I will be able to select more impactful questions, regardless of the lists submitted by whips. Some FMQs will still be chosen randomly from members who press their buttons.
Once we are in our stride, in the week beginning 8 June, Parliament will meet from 2 pm to 5.30 pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and from 1.30 pm to 5 pm on Thursdays. The later start on a Thursday is to free up Thursday mornings fully for committees.
General questions will increase from eight to 18 per week. There will be eight in a 25-minute session on Tuesdays, after time for reflection and before back bencher FMQs, and 10 in 30 minutes on Thursdays before leader FMQs.
Portfolio questions will cover two topics in 30-minute sessions of 10 questions, each back to back, from 2 pm on Wednesdays, beginning the week after next. If members are selected for a portfolio question but do not consider that topic a priority, they can swap with any other member across the chamber.
The total number of non-First Minister’s questions increasing from 32 to 38 per week, plus supplementaries, will enable greater scrutiny of ministers and, of course, a greater opportunity for ministers to shine.
Members’ business will be debated each day after decision time. The need to have cross-party support for a debate will reduce from having members from three parties out of five, as in the previous session of Parliament, to two out of six in this one. I am keen that events and meetings of cross-party groups can take place during members’ business debates. When plenary is delayed, it is wrong to have people who might have travelled from across Scotland or beyond waiting at visitor services for ages because perhaps a dozen members are involved in a members’ business debate. This is a Parliament for all Scotland, after all, and visitors need to be considered.
Finally, I want to touch on points of order. Under rule 8.17 of standing orders, any member may
“question whether proper procedures have been or are being followed by making a point of order.”
I and my deputies expect members to identify the relevant procedure that is of concern at the beginning of any point of order. We will not allow valuable chamber time to be used up on matters that are clearly not points of order.
Colleagues, many issues have still to be deliberated over, agreed and brought forward, and in that I seek the help of all members. We want this Parliament to be more impactful and effective, so please feel free to discuss with me or my deputies your ideas, as some members have already done.
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Business Motion