– in the Scottish Parliament at on 9 March 2021.
Kenneth Macintosh
Labour
The next item of business is stage 3 proceedings on the Budget (Scotland) (No 5) Bill. In dealing with the amendments, members should have with them the bill as amended, the marshalled list and the grouping of amendments. If there is a Division this afternoon, I will suspend proceedings for five minutes to call members to the chamber and allow all members to access the voting app. I encourage any member who wishes to speak on any of the amendments to press their request-to-speak button as soon as I call the first group.
Kate Forbes
Scottish National Party
I am pleased to advise that all seven amendments that I am moving today relate to a successful, cross-party approach that reflects agreement with both the Scottish Greens and the Scottish Liberal Democrats.
Amendment 1 increases the overall cash authorisation for the Scottish Administration by £142 million, which reflects the respective portfolio amendments in this group.
Amendment 2 increases the education and skills authorisation by £69.75 million of resource, which comprises £49.75 million for the phased roll-out of free school meals and £20 million for a pupil equity fund premium for next year.
Amendment 3 increases the transport infrastructure and connectivity authorisation by £42.25 million—£17.25 million of resource for additional funding to extend the concessionary fares scheme beyond the under-19s to the under-22s, and £25 million of capital, which comprises £15 million for active travel and £10 million for energy efficiency.
Amendment 4 increases the environment, climate change and land reform authorisation by £10 million of capital for a nature restoration fund.
Amendment 5 increases the rural economy and tourism authorisation by £5 million of capital for agri-environment support.
Amendment 6 increases the economy, fair work and culture authorisation by £15 million for skills and training specifically in the north-east.
Amendment 7 increases the overall total amount of resources for the Scottish Administration by £142 million. That includes £102 million of resource and £40 million of capital. Again, that reflects the respective portfolio amendments in this group.
I move amendment 1.
The Presiding Officer:
I do not believe that any other member wishes to speak on the amendments; I think that members are saving their comments for the debate.
Amendment 1 agreed to.
The Presiding Officer:
As members will be aware, at this point in the proceedings, I am required under standing orders to decide whether, in my view, any provision of the bill relates to a protected subject matter—that is, whether it modifies the electoral system and franchise for Scottish parliamentary elections. In my view, the Budget (Scotland) (No 5) Bill does no such thing, so it does not require a supermajority to be passed at stage 3.
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.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
