Annabelle Ewing
Scottish National Party
There are three questions to be put as a result of today’s business. The first question is, that Amendment S6M-10703.1, in the name of Donald Cameron, which seeks to amend motion S6M-10703, in the name of Jamie Hepburn, on protection of Scottish Parliament powers, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
There will be a Division. There will be a short suspension to allow members to access the digital voting.
17:02 Meeting suspended.
17:05 On resuming—
Siobhian Brown
Scottish National Party
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app is frozen but I would have voted no.
Tess White
Conservative
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app would not work. I would have voted yes.
Division number 1
Decision Time
The Presiding Officer:
The result of the Division is: For 29, Against 83, Abstentions 0.
Amendment disagreed to.
The next question is, that amendment S6M-10703.3, in the name of Neil Bibby, which seeks to amend motion S6M-10703, in the name of Jamie Hepburn, on protection of Scottish Parliament powers, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
The Presiding Officer:
There will be a Division. Members should cast their votes now.
The vote is closed.
Tess White
Conservative
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app did not work. I would have voted no.
Division number 2
Decision Time
The Presiding Officer:
The result of the Division is: For 83, Against 29, Abstentions 0.
Amendment agreed to.
The final question is, that motion S6M-10703, in the name of Jamie Hepburn, as amended, on protection of Scottish Parliament powers, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
Tess White
Conservative
On a point of order, Presiding Officer.
My app would not work. I would have voted no.
Division number 3
Decision Time
The Presiding Officer:
The result of the Division is: For 83, Against 29, Abstentions 0.
Motion, as amended, agreed to,
That the Parliament notes that both the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Parliament refused to give consent to the Internal Market Act because of concerns over its potential to undermine democratic decisions of the devolved legislatures; agrees that those fears have been realised to the detriment of the people of Scotland, and that the devolution settlement has been fundamentally rolled back by the Act; calls for the repeal of the Internal Market Act and for the UK Government to stop taking back control to the UK Parliament of policy decisions that should be made in Scotland; agrees that the people of Scotland are best served by both the UK and Scottish governments working together cooperatively, and calls on the UK Government to develop a more consensual means of preserving common standards and safeguards across the UK that does not undermine devolution in any part of the UK.
That concludes decision time.
Members’ business will be published tomorrow, Wednesday 4 October 2023, as soon as the text is available.
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 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.
Alison Johnstone
Green