Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at 7:45 pm on 20 January 2026.
Willie Rennie
Liberal Democrat
7:45,
20 January 2026
The Minister has made me blush, not because of what he said, but because I have sunk even lower than Stephen Kerr in this debate.
Amendment 113 is about post-legislative scrutiny. It seeks to make sure that, if it is passed, the bill as enacted is reviewed after one year or as soon as is reasonable after that period, and again after five years. That is important in the context of the bill, because of the deep-seated concerns that exist among the business community and employers, which we have rehearsed this evening, about the value of making the proposed change.
It is therefore my hope and desire that amendment 113 will enable the post-legislative scrutiny that should be available for all pieces of legislation. It should not be tokenistic. It should be a meaningful process to make sure that we have got the legislation right and that the apprenticeship landscape is fully and properly integrated with the rest of education and training in Scotland—in other words, that we have the one-stop shop that the minister seeks.
I hope that amendment 113 will result in meaningful reviews after one and five years, and a proper review of what we are debating this evening.
Amendment 71 agreed to.
Amendments 72 and 73 moved—[Ben Macpherson]—and agreed to.
After section 17A
Amendments 6 to 8 not moved.
Before section 18
Amendment 9 not moved.
After section 20
Amendment 113 moved—[Willie Rennie]—and agreed to.
Long Title
Amendment 74 moved—[Ben Macpherson]—and agreed to.
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.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
