Kenneth Macintosh
Labour
The first question is, that Amendment S5M-22004.1, in the name of Pauline McNeill, which seeks to amend motion S5M-22004, in the name of Christina McKelvie, on showing solidarity with anti-racism, be agreed to.
Amendment agreed to.
The Presiding Officer:
The next question is, that Amendment S5M-22004.2, in the name of Patrick Harvie, which seeks to amend motion S5M-22004, in the name of Christina McKelvie, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
Members:
No.
There will be a Division.
Bob Doris
Scottish National Party
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Not all the consoles are working, so the votes are not going to be recorded.
Just before decision time, there was a flashing light on several of the consoles; they do not appear to be working, so how can we record—
The Presiding Officer:
Mr Doris, your microphone is not on. Will you pause for a second?
For the record, Mr Doris just expressed concern that we are not confident that all the terminals are working. The vote that has been recorded shows a Majority for the Amendment, by 50 votes to 11. We will have a short pause while I consult the clerks and decide whether to carry on.
Bob Doris
Scottish National Party
Presiding Officer—
Bob Doris
Scottish National Party
I apologise, Presiding Officer. My microphone is not working. I have tried three consoles and none of them is working, so I cannot raise a point of order.
Bob Doris
Scottish National Party
I appreciate the complexities—[
Inaudible.
] I wanted to express my support for the Amendment, but I was unable to do that. I tried three different consoles, each of which informed me that I was already logged into three consoles. I cannot explain that, Presiding Officer, and neither can you—I do not expect you to be able to explain it, but I expect my vote in support of the amendment to be registered in the Parliament.
The Presiding Officer:
Indeed.
For members’ information, my console is showing the members who are present. Only four votes were not registered, but it is important that members who make the effort to come to the Parliament and want to signal their support for motions or Bills get the chance to do so.
Therefore, I will run the vote again. The question is—
Clare Adamson
Scottish National Party
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. The consoles have not cleared; they are still showing the previous vote.
The Presiding Officer:
Okay. We will pause while the consoles are cleared, and we will run the vote again.
I believe that, when we run the vote again, the consoles will clear and members will be able to cast their votes. If the consoles do not clear, we will examine the proceedings.
I ask members to cast their votes now on Amendment S5M-22004.2, in the name of Patrick Harvie, which seeks to amend motion S5M-22004, in the name of Christina McKelvie.
Division number 1
Decision Time
The Presiding Officer:
The result of the Division is: For 52, Against 0, Abstentions 11.
Amendment agreed to.
The names of all those who voted will be available in the business team office—the chamber desk—several minutes after decision time. If members are concerned that their vote was not registered, I ask them to contact me by email later this evening. However, for the record, it is noted that Mr Doris cast his vote for the amendment.
The next question is, that motion S5M-22004, in the name of Christina McKelvie, on showing solidarity with anti-racism, as amended, be agreed to.
Motion, as amended, agreed to,
That the Parliament understands and shares the deep concern and horror that many feel about racism and racial injustice and police brutality across the world; expresses and shares the sympathy, grief and anger of so many at the death of George Floyd; stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and considers that the UK Government must immediately suspend all export licences for tear gas, rubber bullets and riot gear to the US; recognises that public protest should be conducted safely in the current public health crisis; encourages people to continue to find safe ways to lend their voice to protest against racism in all its forms; believes that there is a responsibility on us all to identify and dismantle barriers of structural racism that exist in our society and institutions; agrees that it is up to all in society to tackle racism and advance race equality; agrees that Scotland should establish a slavery museum to address our historic links to the slave trade; regrets the fact that so many monuments and street names still celebrate the perpetrators and profiteers of slavery; calls on all levels of government to work to address this toxic legacy; believes that racism is a societal evil that we must all stand united against, and work to eradicate; welcomes the establishment of the Scottish Government expert advisory group on COVID-19 and the impact on ethnic minority communities, and calls for action now to best support black and minority ethnic (BAME) workers and their families as the health and economic crisis unfolds and for the collection of detailed data through Public Health Scotland on the impact of COVID-19 on BAME groups, to assist in identifying the reasons for differential impacts.
The fourth question is, that motion S5M-21976, in the name of Maree Todd, on the Disclosure (Scotland) Bill at stage 3, be agreed to. As the motion concerns legislation, members should cast their votes now.
Division number 2
Decision Time
The Presiding Officer:
The result of the Division is: For 63, Against 0, Abstentions 0.
Motion agreed to,
That the Parliament agrees that the Disclosure (Scotland) Bill be passed.
The motion has been agreed to, and the Disclosure (Scotland) Bill is passed.
[
Applause
.]
The next question is, that motions S5M-22000 to S5M-22003 inclusive, in the name of Graeme Dey, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, be agreed to.
Motions agreed to,
That the Parliament agrees that the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee be designated as the lead committee in consideration of the Welfare of Dogs (Scotland) Bill at stage 1.
That the Parliament agrees that the Local Government and Communities Committee be designated as the lead committee in consideration of the Travelling Funfairs (Licensing) (Scotland) Bill at stage 1.
That the Parliament agrees that the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 3) Regulations 2020 (SSI 2020/164) be approved.
That the Parliament agrees that the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission Regulations 2020 [draft] be approved.
Meeting closed at 19:12.
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
The House of Commons votes by dividing. Those voting Aye (yes) to any proposition walk through the division lobby to the right of the Speaker and those voting no through the lobby to the left. In each of the lobbies there are desks occupied by Clerks who tick Members' names off division lists as they pass through. Then at the exit doors the Members are counted by two Members acting as tellers. The Speaker calls for a vote by announcing "Clear the Lobbies". In the House of Lords "Clear the Bar" is called. Division Bells ring throughout the building and the police direct all Strangers to leave the vicinity of the Members’ Lobby. They also walk through the public rooms of the House shouting "division". MPs have eight minutes to get to the Division Lobby before the doors are closed. Members make their way to the Chamber, where Whips are on hand to remind the uncertain which way, if any, their party is voting. Meanwhile the Clerks who will take the names of those voting have taken their place at the high tables with the alphabetical lists of MPs' names on which ticks are made to record the vote. When the tellers are ready the counting process begins - the recording of names by the Clerk and the counting of heads by the tellers. When both lobbies have been counted and the figures entered on a card this is given to the Speaker who reads the figures and announces "So the Ayes [or Noes] have it". In the House of Lords the process is the same except that the Lobbies are called the Contents Lobby and the Not Contents Lobby. Unlike many other legislatures, the House of Commons and the House of Lords have not adopted a mechanical or electronic means of voting. This was considered in 1998 but rejected. Divisions rarely take less than ten minutes and those where most Members are voting usually take about fifteen. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P9 at the UK Parliament site.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
A proposal for new legislation that is debated by Parliament.
The House of Commons votes by dividing. Those voting Aye (yes) to any proposition walk through the division lobby to the right of the Speaker and those voting no through the lobby to the left. In each of the lobbies there are desks occupied by Clerks who tick Members' names off division lists as they pass through. Then at the exit doors the Members are counted by two Members acting as tellers. The Speaker calls for a vote by announcing "Clear the Lobbies". In the House of Lords "Clear the Bar" is called. Division Bells ring throughout the building and the police direct all Strangers to leave the vicinity of the Members’ Lobby. They also walk through the public rooms of the House shouting "division". MPs have eight minutes to get to the Division Lobby before the doors are closed. Members make their way to the Chamber, where Whips are on hand to remind the uncertain which way, if any, their party is voting. Meanwhile the Clerks who will take the names of those voting have taken their place at the high tables with the alphabetical lists of MPs' names on which ticks are made to record the vote. When the tellers are ready the counting process begins - the recording of names by the Clerk and the counting of heads by the tellers. When both lobbies have been counted and the figures entered on a card this is given to the Speaker who reads the figures and announces "So the Ayes [or Noes] have it". In the House of Lords the process is the same except that the Lobbies are called the Contents Lobby and the Not Contents Lobby. Unlike many other legislatures, the House of Commons and the House of Lords have not adopted a mechanical or electronic means of voting. This was considered in 1998 but rejected. Divisions rarely take less than ten minutes and those where most Members are voting usually take about fifteen. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P9 at the UK Parliament site.
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
