S4M-10244 EU Legislative Proposals: Review of Standing Orders

The Presiding Officer (Tricia Marwick): The second of these short debates is on motion S4M-10244, on the report by the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee on “EU Legislative Proposals: Review of Standing Orders”.

Mr Stevenson, I would be obliged if you would continue speaking until 5 o’clock.

16:57

Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP): In 2010, the Parliament agreed a new European strategy for its committees. That followed major changes that had been introduced by the treaty of Lisbon, which gave the Scottish Parliament, through the UK Government, a role in raising subsidiarity concerns.

The strategy was supported by standing order changes. At the time, the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee thought that they were sufficiently important to merit review in a couple of years—a review that the committee has undertaken.

The main concern that was raised with us by other committees was the very tight timescale for considering potential subsidiarity issues. Although that is largely beyond the Scottish Parliament’s control, we have proposed a couple of changes to make the rules more flexible.

Instead of requiring committees to consider issues that are referred to them, the changes will give committees discretion to decide whether they need to scrutinise a subsidiarity concern that has been raised with them, and whether they are able to do so in the available time. The changes also mean that committees can reach informal agreement on which is to be the lead committee, rather than having to await a Parliamentary Bureau designation.

I invite Parliament to agree the changes, which have been welcomed by committees.

I have pleasure in moving motion S4M-10244, which I will read. I move,

That the Parliament notes the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee’s 2nd Report 2014 (Session 4), EU Legislative Proposals: Review of Standing Orders (SP Paper 506), and agrees that the changes to Standing Orders set out in Annexe A of the report be made with effect from 27 June 2014.