– in the Scottish Parliament at 5:26 pm on 15 May 2024.
Alison Johnstone
Green
5:26,
15 May 2024
There are seven questions to be put as a result of today’s business.
The first question is, that Amendment S6M-13196.3, in the name of Jenny Gilruth, which seeks to amend motion S6M-13196, in the name of Pam Duncan-Glancy, on standing up for teaching, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
Alison Johnstone
Green
There will be a vote. There will be a short suspension to allow members to access the digital voting system.
Alison Johnstone
Green
We come to the Division on Amendment S6M-13196.3, in the name of Jenny Gilruth, which seeks to amend motion S6M-13196, in the name of Pam Duncan-Glancy, on standing up for teaching. Members should cast their votes now.
Division number 1
Decision Time
Alison Johnstone
Green
5:34,
15 May 2024
The result of the Division on Amendment S6M-13196.3, in the name of Jenny Gilruth, is: For 62, Against 62, Abstentions 0.
The vote is tied. As is usual when the Parliament has not been able to reach a decision, I am obliged to exercise a casting vote. I will not make the decision for the Parliament. The established convention is to vote in favour of the status quo, because the chair is required to act impartially. Therefore, I cast my vote against the amendment, which is therefore not agreed to.
Amendment disagreed to.
Alison Johnstone
Green
The next question is, that Amendment S6M-13196.2, in the name of Liam Kerr, which seeks to amend motion S6M-13196, in the name of Pam Duncan-Glancy, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
Siobhian Brown
Scottish National Party
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I am sorry, but my app was not working. I would have voted no.
Alison Johnstone
Green
Thank you, Ms Brown. We will ensure that your vote is recorded.
Keith Brown
Scottish National Party
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I am not sure whether my vote was registered, but I would have voted yes—sorry, no. I would have voted no. [Laughter.]
Alison Johnstone
Green
I can confirm that your vote was recorded, Mr Brown.
Division number 2
Decision Time
Alison Johnstone
Green
The next question is, that motion S6M-13196, in the name of Pam Duncan-Glancy, on standing up for teaching, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
Alison Johnstone
Green
There will be a Division. Members should cast their votes now.
The vote is closed.
Neil Bibby
Labour
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I would have voted yes.
Alison Johnstone
Green
Thank you, Mr Bibby. We will ensure that your vote is recorded.
Division number 3
Decision Time
Alison Johnstone
Green
5:34,
15 May 2024
The result of the Division on motion S6M-13196, in the name of Pam Duncan-Glancy, is: For 62, Against 61, Abstentions 1.
Motion agreed to,
That the Parliament is concerned by reported plans to cut teacher posts in a number of local authorities, including Glasgow City Council, where 172 jobs are at risk in 2024, rising to 450 jobs that are to be cut over the next three years; recognises that teacher numbers have fallen, compared with 2007, and that these cuts will have the greatest impact on pupils in the most deprived communities; notes that the target numbers of student teachers in some subjects have not been met; considers that the increasing precarity of teaching as a profession makes it harder to attract and retain high-quality candidates; understands that local authorities require stability of funding to provide permanent teaching roles and drive up standards in education in Scotland, and calls on the Scottish Government to intervene to prevent job losses and publish a comprehensive plan to address gaps in the teaching and school staff workforce to inform future recruitment and retention.
Alison Johnstone
Green
The next question is, that Amendment S6M-13197.3, in the name of Paul McLennan, which seeks to amend motion S6M-13197, in the name of Mark Griffin, on Scotland’s housing emergency, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
Alison Johnstone
Green
There will be a Division.
Division number 4
Decision Time
Alison Johnstone
Green
The next question is, that Amendment S6M-13197.2, in the name of Miles Briggs, which seeks to amend motion S6M-13197, in the name of Mark Griffin, on Scotland’s housing emergency, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
Alison Johnstone
Green
There will be a Division.
The vote is closed.
Siobhian Brown
Scottish National Party
Apologies, Presiding Officer. I would have voted no, but my app was not working.
Alison Johnstone
Green
Thank you, Ms Brown. We will ensure that that is recorded.
Division number 5
Decision Time
Alison Johnstone
Green
The next question is, that motion S6M-13197, in the name of Mark Griffin, as amended, on Scotland’s housing emergency, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
Alison Johnstone
Green
There will be a Division.
Division number 6
Decision Time
Alison Johnstone
Green
5:34,
15 May 2024
The result of the Division on motion S6M-13197, in the name of Mark Griffin, as amended, is: For 95, Against 29, Abstentions 0.
Motion, as amended, agreed to,
That the Parliament believes that Scotland is in a housing emergency and that the housing emergency is more acutely felt in some parts of the country than others; acknowledges that the current situation is due to a combination of factors including those outwith the Scottish Government’s powers, including a decade of UK Government austerity, soaring inflation and an increasing cost of living, labour shortages linked to Brexit, and a freeze to local housing allowance (LHA) rates; calls on the UK Government to reverse the near 9% cut in Scotland’s capital funding settlement, commit to ensuring that LHA rates will permanently meet at least the 30th percentile of local rents, and provide adequate support to local authorities impacted by the increase in asylum support cessations; recognises the Scottish Government’s record on delivering affordable homes and action taken on rent rises; notes that in 2024-25, despite the UK Government imposing a cut to its capital budget, the Scottish Government will invest nearly £600 million in affordable housing and over £90 million for discretionary housing payments; welcomes the actions in the Housing (Scotland) Bill to tackle rising rent levels and the continued focus on the target of delivering 110,000 high-quality, energy efficient affordable homes; agrees that the Scottish Government, UK Government and local authorities must work together to deliver a housing system that meets the needs of the people of Scotland; notes that there are a record number of people in Scotland experiencing homelessness with almost 10,000 children stuck in temporary accommodation and 45 children becoming homeless in Scotland every day; calls on the Scottish Ministers to bring forward an urgent housing emergency action plan to tackle the issues raised by the Scottish Government’s own expert Homelessness Prevention Task and Finish Group, including actions that will reduce the number of children stuck in temporary accommodation by the end of this parliamentary session; recognises the need to improve capacity in local government to prevent more local homelessness services falling into systemic failure, and the need to improve delivery for those with specific supported living needs, and calls on the Scottish Ministers to review how national government, local authorities and third sector partners are working together on the shared ambition to end homelessness.
Alison Johnstone
Green
The final question is, that motion S6M-13220, in the name of Jamie Hepburn, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, on committee meeting times, be agreed to.
Motion agreed to,
That the Parliament agrees that, under Rule 12.3.3B of Standing Orders, the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee can meet, if necessary, at the same time as a meeting of the Parliament after Portfolio Questions on Thursday 16 May 2024.
Alison Johnstone
Green
That concludes decision time.
Members’ business will be published tomorrow, Thursday 16 May 2024, 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.
