Scottish Parliament Pàrlamaid na h-Alba
4th Parliament
50px
Type
Type	Unicameral
Leadership
Presiding Officer	Tricia Marwick MSP since 11 May 2011
Cabinet Secretary for Parliamentary Business and Government Strategy	Bruce Crawford MSP, SNP since 19 May 2011
Structure
Members	129
Political groups	Government      SNP (67) Opposition Parties      Lab (37)      Con (15)      Lib Dem (5)      Green (2)      Independent (2) Presiding Officer      PO (1)
Committees	16 Audit Equal Opportunities Europe and External Relations Finance Procedures Public Petitions Standards and Public Appointments Subordinate Legislation Economy, Energy and Tourism Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Health and Sport Justice Local Government and Communities Rural Affairs and Environment Scottish Parliamentary Pensions Scheme Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change
Elections
Voting system	Additional Member System
Last election	5 May 2011
Next election	5 May 2016
Meeting place
Scottish Parliament Building, Holyrood, Edinburgh
Website
www.scottish.parliament.uk

The Scottish Parliament (Scottish Gaelic: Pàrlamaid na h-Alba; Scots: The Scots Pairliament)^[1][2][3][4] is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood",^[5] is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Members are elected for four-year terms under the mixed member proportional representation system. As a result, 73 MSPs represent individual geographical constituencies elected by the plurality ("first past the post") system, with a further 56 returned from eight additional member regions, each electing seven MSPs.^[6] The most recent general election to the Parliament was held on 5 May 2011.

The original Parliament of Scotland (or "Estates of Scotland") was the national legislature of the independent Kingdom of Scotland, and existed from the early 13th century until the Kingdom of Scotland merged with the Kingdom of England under the Acts of Union 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.^[7] As a consequence, the Parliament of Scotland merged with the Parliament of England to form the Parliament of Great Britain, which sat at Westminster in London.^[7]

Following a referendum in 1997, in which the Scottish electorate gave their consent, the current Parliament was established by the Scotland Act 1998, which sets out its powers as a devolved legislature. The Act delineates the legislative competence of the Parliament – the areas in which it can make laws – by explicitly specifying powers that are "reserved" to the Parliament of the United Kingdom: all matters that are not explicitly reserved are automatically the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament.^[8] The British Parliament retains the ability to amend the terms of reference of the Scottish Parliament, and can extend or reduce the areas in which it can make laws.^[9] The first meeting of the new Parliament took place on 12 May 1999.^[10]

History[link]

Scotland

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Scotland

Government Cabinet First Minister Alex Salmond Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Civil Service Directorates Executive agencies Public bodies Parliament Acts Statutory Instruments Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick Shadow Cabinet Leader of the Opposition Johann Lamont Members (MSPs) 1999, 2003, 2007 , 2011 Elections 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 Constituencies and electoral regions Legislative Consent Motion Scots law Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Supreme Courts Sheriff Courts Land Courts Justice of the Peace Courts Lord Lyon Court Scotland in the UK Her Majesty's Government Scotland Office Secretary of State Michael Moore Under Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell Parliament of the United Kingdom Grand Committee Select Committee Reserved matters Elections Constituencies List of Scottish MPs Scotland in the EU European Parliament Elections European Parliament constituency Subdivisions Local government of Scotland Convention of Scottish Local Authorities

Other countries · Atlas British politics portal view talk edit

Before the Acts of Union 1707 that merged the Kingdom of Scotland with the Kingdom of England (to form the Kingdom of Great Britain), Scotland had an independent parliament with a legislature known as the Three Estates. Initial Scottish proposals in the negotiation over the Union suggested a devolved Parliament be retained in Scotland, but this was not accepted by the English negotiators.^[11]

For the next three hundred years, Scotland was directly governed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, at Westminster, and the lack of a Scottish Parliament remained an important element in Scottish national identity.^[12] Suggestions for a 'devolved' Parliament were made before 1914, but were shelved due to the outbreak of the First World War.^[12] A sharp rise in nationalism in Scotland during the late 1960s fuelled demands for some form of home rule or complete independence, and prompted the incumbent Labour Government of Harold Wilson to set up the Kilbrandon Commission to consider the UK Constitution in 1969.^[12] One of the principal objectives of the commission was to examine ways of enabling more self-government for Scotland, within the unitary state of the United Kingdom.^[12] Kilbrandon published his report in 1973 recommending the establishment of a directly elected Scottish Assembly to legislate for the majority of domestic Scottish affairs.^[13]

During this time, the discovery of oil in the North Sea and the following "It's Scotland's oil" campaign of the Scottish National Party (SNP) resulted in rising support for Scottish independence, as well as the SNP. The party argued that the revenues from the oil were not benefitting Scotland as much as they should.^[12] The combined effect of these events led to Prime Minister Wilson committing his government to some form of devolved legislature in 1974.^[12] However, it was not until 1978 that final legislative proposals for a Scottish Assembly were passed by the United Kingdom Parliament.

Under the terms of the Scotland Act 1978, an elected assembly would be set up in Edinburgh provided that the majority of the Scottish electorate voted for it in a referendum to be held on 1 March 1979 that represented at least 40% of the total electorate. The 1979 Scottish devolution referendum to establish a devolved Scottish Assembly failed. Although the vote was 51.6% in favour of a Scottish Assembly, this figure did not equal the 40% of the total electorate threshold deemed necessary to pass the measure, as 32.9% of the eligible voting population did not, or had been unable to, vote.^[14]

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, demand for a Scottish Parliament grew, in part because the government of the United Kingdom was controlled by the Conservative Party, while Scotland itself elected relatively few Conservative MPs.^[12] In the aftermath of the 1979 referendum defeat, the Campaign for a Scottish Assembly was initiated as a pressure group, leading to the 1989 Scottish Constitutional Convention with various organisations such as Scottish churches, political parties and representatives of industry taking part. Publishing its blueprint for devolution in 1995, the Convention provided much of the basis for the structure of the Parliament.^[15]

Devolution became part of the platform of the Labour Party which, in May 1997, took power under Tony Blair.^[12] In September 1997, the 1997 Scottish devolution referendum was put to the Scottish electorate and secured a majority in favour of the establishment of a new devolved Scottish Parliament, with tax-varying powers, in Edinburgh.^[16] An election was held on 6 May 1999, and on 1 July of that year power was transferred from Westminster to the new Parliament.^[17]

Building[link]

The public entrance of the distinctive Scottish Parliament building, opened in October 2004

Since September 2004, the official home of the Scottish Parliament has been a new Scottish Parliament Building, in the Holyrood area of Edinburgh. Designed by Catalan architect Enric Miralles, some of the principal features of the complex include leaf-shaped buildings, a grass-roofed branch merging into adjacent parkland and gabion walls formed from the stones of previous buildings. Throughout the building there are many repeated motifs, such as shapes based on Raeburn's Skating Minister.^[18] Crow-stepped gables and the upturned boat skylights of the Garden Lobby, complete the unique^[19] architecture. Queen Elizabeth II opened the new building on 9 October 2004.

In March 2006, one of the Holyrood building's roof beams slipped out of its support and was left dangling above the back benches during a debate.^[20] The debating chamber was subsequently closed, and MSPs moved to The Hub for one week, whilst inspections were carried out.^[21] During repairs, all chamber business was conducted in the Parliament's committee room two.

Temporary accommodation 1999–2004[link]

Whilst the permanent building at Holyrood was being constructed, the Parliament's temporary home was the General Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.^[22] Official photographs and television interviews were held in the courtyard adjoining the Assembly Hall, which is part of the School of Divinity of the University of Edinburgh. This building was vacated twice to allow for the meeting of the Church's General Assembly. In May 2000, the Parliament was temporarily relocated to the former Strathclyde Regional Council debating chamber in Glasgow, and to the University of Aberdeen in May 2002.^[23]

In addition to the General Assembly Hall, the Parliament also used buildings rented from the City of Edinburgh Council. The former administrative building of Lothian Regional Council on George IV Bridge was used for the MSP's offices. Following the move to Holyrood in 2004 this building was demolished. The former Midlothian County Buildings facing Parliament Square, High Street and George IV Bridge in Edinburgh (originally built as the headquarters of the pre-1975 Midlothian County Council) housed the Parliament's visitors' centre and shop, whilst the main hall was used as the Parliament's principal committee room.

Officials[link]

After each election to the Scottish Parliament, at the beginning of each parliamentary session, Parliament elects one MSP to serve as Presiding Officer, the equivalent of the speaker (currently Tricia Marwick), and two MSPs to serve as deputies (currently Elaine Smith and John Scott). The Presiding Officer and deputies are elected by a secret ballot of the 129 MSPs, which is the only secret ballot conducted in the Scottish Parliament. Principally, the role of the Presiding Officer is to chair chamber proceedings and the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body.^[24] When chairing meetings of the Parliament, the Presiding Officer and his deputies must be politically impartial.^[24] During debates, the Presiding Officer (or the deputy) is assisted by the parliamentary clerks, who give advice on how to interpret the standing orders that govern the proceedings of meetings. A vote clerk sits in front of the Presiding Officer and operates the electronic voting equipment and chamber clocks.^[25]

As a member of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, the Presiding Officer is responsible for ensuring that the Parliament functions effectively and has the staff, property and resources it requires to operate.^[26] Convening the Parliamentary Bureau, which allocates time and sets the work agenda in the chamber, is another of the roles of the Presiding Officer. Under the Standing Orders of the Parliament the Bureau consists of the Presiding Officer and one representative from each political parties with five or more seats in the Parliament. Amongst the duties of the Bureau are to agree the timetable of business in the chamber, establish the number, remit and membership of parliamentary committees and regulate the passage of legislation (bills) through the Parliament. The Presiding Officer also represents the Scottish Parliament at home and abroad in an official capacity.^[24]

The Presiding Officer controls debates by calling on members to speak. If a member believes that a rule (or standing order) has been breached, he or she may raise a "point of order", on which the Presiding Officer makes a ruling that is not subject to any debate or appeal. The Presiding Officer may also discipline members who fail to observe the rules of the Parliament.^[24]

The member of the Scottish Government whose duty it is to steer Executive business through Parliament is the Minister for Parliamentary Business (currently Bruce Crawford). The minister is appointed by the First Minister and is a Junior Minister in the Scottish Government, who does not attend cabinet.

Parliamentary chamber[link]

Seating in the Debating Chamber is arranged in a semicircle, with Ministers sitting in the front section of the semicircle, directly opposite the Presiding Officer and parliamentary clerks.

The debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament has seating arranged in a hemicycle, which reflects the desire to encourage consensus amongst elected members.^[25] There are 131 seats in the debating chamber. Of the total 131 seats, 129 are occupied by the Parliament's elected MSPs and 2 are seats for the Scottish Law Officers - the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General for Scotland, who are not elected members of the Parliament but are members of the Scottish Government. As such the Law Officers may attend and speak in the plenary meetings of the Parliament but, as they are not elected MSPs, cannot vote. Members are able to sit anywhere in the debating chamber, but typically sit in their party groupings.^[25] The First Minister, Scottish cabinet ministers and Law officers sit in the front row, in the middle section of the chamber. The largest party in the Parliament sits in the middle of the semicircle, with opposing parties on either side.^[25] The Presiding Officer, parliamentary clerks and officials sit opposite members at the front of the debating chamber.

In front of the Presiding Officers' desk is the parliamentary mace, which is made from silver and inlaid with gold panned from Scottish rivers and inscribed with the words: Wisdom, Compassion, Justice and Integrity. The words There shall be a Scottish Parliament, which are the first words of the Scotland Act, are inscribed around the head of the mace,^[25] which has a formal ceremonial role in the meetings of Parliament, reinforcing the authority of the Parliament in its ability to make laws.^[27] Presented to the Scottish Parliament by the Queen upon its official opening in July 1999, the mace is displayed in a glass case suspended from the lid. At the beginning of each sitting in the chamber, the lid of the case is rotated so that the mace is above the glass, to symbolise that a full meeting of the Parliament is taking place.^[25]

Proceedings[link]

The MSPs' desks contain all the electronic voting equipment which records the outcome of parliamentary votes. 'Decision Time' takes place on sitting days at 5pm.

Parliament typically sits Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from early January to late June and from early September to mid December, with two-week recesses in April and October.^[28] Plenary meetings in the debating chamber usually take place on Wednesday afternoons from 2 pm to 6 pm and on Thursdays from 9:15 am to 6 pm.^[28] Chamber debates and committee meetings are open to the public. Entry is free, but booking in advance is recommended due to limited space. Meetings are broadcast on the Parliament's own channel Holyrood.tv^[29] and on the BBC's parliamentary channel BBC Parliament. Proceedings are also recorded in text form, in print and online, in the Official Report, which is the substantially verbatim^[30] transcript of parliamentary debates.

The first item of business on Wednesdays is usually Time for Reflection,^[31] at which a speaker addresses members for up to four minutes, sharing a perspective on issues of faith. This contrasts with the formal style of "Prayers", which is the first item of business in meetings of the House of Commons. Speakers are drawn from across Scotland and are chosen to represent the balance of religious beliefs according to the Scottish census.^[31] Invitations to address Parliament in this manner are determined by the Presiding Officer on the advice of the parliamentary bureau. Faith groups can make direct representations to the Presiding Officer to nominate speakers.

The Presiding Officer (or Deputy Presiding Officer) decides who speaks in chamber debates and the amount of time for which they are allowed to speak.^[24] Normally, the Presiding Officer tries to achieve a balance between different viewpoints and political parties when selecting members to speak.^[25] Typically, ministers or party leaders open debates, with opening speakers given between 5 and 20 minutes, and succeeding speakers allocated less time.^[25] The Presiding Officer can reduce speaking time if a large number of members wish to participate in the debate. Debate is more informal than in some parliamentary systems.^[32] Members may call each other directly by name, rather than by constituency or cabinet position, and hand clapping is allowed.^[33] Speeches to the chamber are normally delivered in English, but members may use Scots, Gaelic, or any other language with the agreement of the Presiding Officer.^[34] The Scottish Parliament has conducted debates in the Gaelic language.^[35]

Each sitting day, normally at 5 pm, MSPs decide on all the motions and amendments that have been moved that day. This "Decision Time" is heralded by the sounding of the division bell, which is heard throughout the Parliamentary campus and alerts MSPs who are not in the chamber to return and vote.^[25] At Decision Time, the Presiding Officer puts questions on the motions and amendments by reading out the name of the motion or amendment as well as the proposer and asking "Are we all agreed?", to which the chamber first votes orally. If there is audible dissent, the Presiding Officer announces "There will be a division" and members vote by means of electronic consoles on their desks. Each MSP has a unique access card with a microchip which, when inserted into the console, identifies them and allows them to vote.^[25] As a result, the outcome of each division is known in seconds.

The outcome of most votes can be predicted beforehand since political parties normally instruct members which way to vote. Parties entrust some MSPs, known as whips, with the task of ensuring that party members vote according to the party line.^[36] MSPs do not tend to vote against such instructions, since those who do are unlikely to reach higher political ranks in their parties.^[37] Errant members can be deselected as official party candidates during future elections, and, in serious cases, may be expelled from their parties outright.^[38] Thus, as with many Parliaments, the independence of Members of the Scottish Parliament tends to be low, and backbench rebellions by members who are discontent with their party's policies are rare.^[38] In some circumstances, however, parties announce "free votes", which allows Members to vote as they please. This is typically done on moral issues.^[39]

Immediately after Decision Time a "Members Debate" is held, which lasts for 45 minutes.^[25] Members Business is a debate on a motion proposed by an MSP who is not a Scottish minister. Such motions are on issues which may be of interest to a particular area such as a member's own constituency, an upcoming or past event or any other item which would otherwise not be accorded official parliamentary time. As well as the proposer, other members normally contribute to the debate. The relevant minister, whose department the debate and motion relate to "winds up" the debate by speaking after all other participants.

Committees[link]

Private Bill Committees are set up to deal with the legislation required for major public sector infrastructure projects - such as the underground extensions to the National Gallery of Scotland in 2003.

Much of the work of the Scottish Parliament is done in committee. The role of committees is stronger in the Scottish Parliament than in other parliamentary systems, partly as a means of strengthening the role of backbenchers in their scrutiny of the government^[40] and partly to compensate for the fact that there is no revising chamber. The principal role of committees in the Scottish Parliament is to conduct inquiries, scrutinise legislation and hold the government to account.^[41] Committee meetings take place all day Tuesday and on Wednesday morning when Parliament is sitting. Committees can also meet at other locations throughout Scotland.^[42]

Committees comprise a small number of MSPs, with membership reflecting the balance of parties across Parliament.^[41] There are different committees with their functions set out in different ways. Mandatory Committees are committees which are set down under the Scottish Parliament's standing orders, which govern their remits and proceedings. The current Mandatory Committees of the Scottish Parliament are: Public Audit; Equal Opportunities; European and External Relations; Finance; Public Petitions; Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments; and Subordinate Legislation.^[41]

Subject Committees are established at the beginning of each parliamentary session, and again the members on each committee reflect the balance of parties across Parliament. Typically each committee corresponds with one (or more) of the departments (or ministries) of the Scottish Government. The current Subject Committees are: Economy, Energy and Tourism; Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture; Health and Sport; Justice; Local Government and Communities; Rural Affairs and Environment; Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme; and Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change.^[41]

A further type of committee is normally set up to scrutinise private bills submitted to the Scottish Parliament by an outside party or promoter who is not a member of the Scottish Parliament or Scottish Government. Private bills normally relate to large-scale development projects such as infrastructure projects that require the use of land or property.^[43] Private Bill Committees have been set up to consider legislation on issues such as the development of the Edinburgh Tram Network, the Glasgow Airport Rail Link, the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link and extensions to the National Gallery of Scotland.^[44]

Legislative functions[link]

Constitution and powers[link]

The Scotland Act 1998, which was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and given Royal Assent by Queen Elizabeth II on 19 November 1998,^[45] governs the functions and role of the Scottish Parliament and delimits its legislative competence. For the purposes of parliamentary sovereignty, the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster continues to constitute the supreme legislature of Scotland,^[46] however, under the terms of the Scotland Act, Westminster agreed to devolve some of its responsibilities over the domestic policy of Scotland to a new directly elected Scottish Parliament.^[46] Such matters are known as "devolved matters" and include education, health, agriculture and justice.^[47] The Scotland Act enabled the Scottish Parliament to pass primary legislation on these issues. A degree of domestic authority, and all foreign policy, remain with the UK Parliament in Westminster.^[47] The Scottish Parliament has the power to pass laws and has limited tax-varying capability.^[48] Another of the roles of the Parliament is to hold the Scottish Government to account.

The specific devolved matters are all subjects which are not explicitly stated in Schedule 5 to the Scotland Act as reserved matters. All matters that are not specifically reserved are automatically devolved to the Scottish Parliament.^[47] Most importantly, this includes agriculture, fisheries and forestry, economic development, education, environment, food standards, health, home affairs, Scots law – courts, police and fire services, local government, sport and the arts, transport, training, tourism, research and statistics and social work.^[47] The Scottish Parliament has the ability to alter income tax in Scotland by up to 3 pence in the pound.^[48]

Reserved matters are subjects that are outside the legislative competence of the Scotland Parliament.^[48] The Scottish Parliament is unable to legislate on such issues that are reserved to, and dealt with at, Westminster (and where Ministerial functions usually lie with UK Government ministers). These include abortion, broadcasting policy, civil service, common markets for UK goods and services, constitution, electricity, coal, oil, gas, nuclear energy, defence and national security, drug policy, employment, foreign policy and relations with Europe, most aspects of transport safety and regulation, National Lottery, protection of borders, social security and stability of UK's fiscal, economic and monetary system.^[47]