Brian Monteith: The Parliament is not going away—that is an important statement for me to make, given my background before coming to here—but it requires reform. Politicians who do not raise the money that they spend suffer from complacency and arrogance in the selection of their priorities. Politicians who do not use the powers that they already have, but ask for more, show contempt for the electorate's...
Brian Monteith: I understand what the member is saying, but the real growth has been in the public sector. Whether it then engages the private sector in some cases is neither here nor there. It is my belief that, if public sector spending was not growing so much, the private sector would be growing far faster and would make up the difference. Indeed, the economic evidence points to that, even just comparing...
Brian Monteith: If the SNP is so committed to reducing business rates, why, on the two occasions on which I sought an annulment of the increase in business rates, did the SNP vote against those attempts?
Brian Monteith: On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Further to the point of order that Mike Rumbles raised last Wednesday about the Standards and Public Appointments Committee's conduct in respect of the right of members to have a hearing before it, I beg your brief indulgence by allowing me to raise a point of order that, due to my temporary suspension, I was unable to raise at that time. I seek further...
Brian Monteith: Three minutes? Thank you, Presiding Officer. I oppose the Standards and Public Appointments Committee motion for three reasons. First, I was denied natural justice in this process. Secondly, I did not disregard the Glasgow Airport Rail Link Bill Committee, as the standards commissioner and the Standards and Public Appointments Committee allege. Thirdly, the penalty that will be imposed,...
Brian Monteith: No, I will not.
Brian Monteith: I have worked in the media for 16 years. I understand what an embargo means. To give a member a statement that has an embargo on it means that the statement is in the public domain—the press have the information, but it should not be used. My third reason for opposing the motion is that the penalty for the alleged breach is disproportionate and should be rejected. If members read the...
Brian Monteith: I have another example of a situation in which teachers and head teachers welcome inspection reports. When a report identifies that a school building is letting the pupils down, the head teacher can use it to argue for greater investment in the school infrastructure from the local authority.
Brian Monteith: I know that the member takes a great interest in the affairs of Linlithgow. Can she tell me whether she is satisfied that seven primary schools were not inspected between 1983 and 1995?
Brian Monteith: Will the member give way?
Brian Monteith: Presiding Officer, will you clarify how long I have for my opening speech?
Brian Monteith: I am rather hopeful that this debate on schools will be better tempered than the previous debate, but one never knows. I was surprised to see that an amendment to my motion was lodged, as I had thought that the motion would allow members to contribute to the debate in a variety of ways while raising any concerns that they have. By applauding the work of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education...
Brian Monteith: I am just about to wind up, Presiding Officer. I propose that the inspectorate should come before the Education Committee annually to explain its annual report and all the good work that it does so that its policies can be examined. That is the sort of accountability that the Parliament is about. I hope that members will welcome my suggestion as a way of encouraging more discussion of...
Brian Monteith: To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the total rates bill has been for the commissions, ombudsmen and all other bodies funded by the SPCB in each of the last three years.
Brian Monteith: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will confirm that it would not constitute an offence, under the Smoking Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act and associated Scottish statutory instrument, to smoke a tobacco product in a public transport facility, such as a train halt, that is not wholly or substantially enclosed.
Brian Monteith: I am delighted to speak, if only to say that there are reasons to be anxious about the bill. Wendy Alexander is not anxious, but I am. I pay tribute to the good work of the committee, particularly the convener, the clerks and the bill team. It is a tribute to the committee that it managed to get the bill through in 10 months, including hearing from objectors and visiting Manchester for...
Brian Monteith: I seek clarification. Was the study that the minister described an independent study?
Brian Monteith: Will the member give way?
Brian Monteith: Will the member give way?
Brian Monteith: I hear what the member says about the SNP position. Has he consulted Sandra White?