Scotland Bill

David Mundell Excerpts

Monday 14th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Chairman of Ways and Means (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Now, then.

Clause 32 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 33

Maximum penalties which may be specified in subordinate legislation

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell)]

I beg to move amendment 31, page 25, line 31, leave out ‘the amount specified as’.

[The Chairman of Ways and Means (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

With this it will be convenient to discuss Government amendment 32.

[David Mundell]

The Government have identified the need for these minor technical amendments to clause 33, which updates the maximum penalties that can be applied to criminal offences created in subordinate legislation made under the Scotland Act 1998. The amendments are sensible additions that will ensure consistency across the different legal systems within the UK. The first amendment is a minor technical amendment to ensure consistency in the terminology used to refer to fine limits for different jurisdictions, which are provided for in the amendments to section 113 of the Scotland Act made by clause 33.

The second amendment ensures that the correct terminology is used in relation to fine limits in section 113 for either-way offences created in relation to the law of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, with the statutory maximum rather than level 5 on the standard scale on summary conviction. Level 5 has meaning only in relation to summary-only offences by virtue of the definition in the Interpretation Act 1978. Clause 33, as introduced, makes this terminology change in relation to fine limits for Scots law offences, and the amendment makes the same change for offences that form part of the law of England and Wales and Northern Ireland.

The amendments will ensure consistency in the terminology used to describe the fine limits for offences created in the Scotland Act orders for each of the legal jurisdictions in the UK.

Amendment 31 agreed to.

Amendment made: 32, page 26, line 2, leave out from second ‘exceeding’ to end of line 3 and insert—

(i) in the case of a summary offence, level 5 on the standard scale,

(ii) in the case of an offence triable either way, the statutory maximum,’.—

(David Mundell.)

Clause 33, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 34 to 37 ordered to stand part of the Bill.



Clause 38

Commencement

Amendments made: 65, page 28, line 5, leave out ‘made by statutory instrument’.

Amendment 66, page 28, line 9, leave out ‘made by statutory instrument’.—(David Mundell.)

Clause 38, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 39 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

New Clause 18

Orders

‘Any power to make an order conferred by this Act is exercisable by statutory instrument.’.—(David Mundell.)

Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.

New Clause 1

Abolition of regional members of Scottish Parliament

‘(1) The Scotland Act 1998 is amended as follows.

(2) In section 1—

(a) in subsection (2) “Two members” is substituted for “One member”; and at the end there is inserted “save for those identified in paragraph 1(a) to (c) of Schedule 1, each of which shall return one member,”;

(b) subsection (3) is omitted.

(3) In section 5, subsections (1) and (3) to (9) are omitted.

(4) Sections 6, 7, 8 and 10 are omitted.

(5) In section 11, subsection (2) is substituted by—

“(2) A person is not entitled to vote as an elector in more than one constituency at a general election, and may cast no more than two votes at a poll for the return of constituency members.”.

(6) In section 12—

(a) in subsection (2), paragraphs (e) and (f) are omitted;

(b) subsection (3) is omitted;

(c) after subsection (4) the following subsection is inserted—

“(4A) The provision to be made under subsection (1) must include provision for—

(a) each elector to cast one or two votes of equal value, with no more than one vote to be given to any one candidate, in constituencies returning two members;

(b) the two candidates with the most valid votes to be elected in such constituencies.”.

(7) In Schedule 1—

(a) for paragraph 1 there is substituted—

“(1) The constituencies are—

(a) the Orkney Islands,

(b) the Shetland Islands

(c) the Western Isles [Na h-Eileanan An Iar], and

(d) the parliamentary constituencies in Scotland at the time of an ordinary or extraordinary general election for the Scottish Parliament, except the constituencies of Orkney and Shetland and Na h-Eileanan An Iar”;

(b) paragraphs 3 to 14 are omitted.’.—(Mr Donohoe.)

Brought up, and read the First time.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Donohoe]

I am sure the hon. Gentleman knows that there are varying views on the subject, as there are on many subjects. As far as my constituents are concerned, however, there is no doubt: to a person, they support the argument that I am making tonight that there should be a fundamental change to how we elect our MSPs. There was immense resistance to the fact that the person who came fourth under first past the post was eventually elected to the Scottish Parliament. That seems to me to be wrong.

[David Mundell]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Mr Donohoe]

Oh, go on then.

[David Mundell]

The hon. Gentleman has been very consistent on this issue, and I respect his views even though I do not necessarily agree with him. However, I am confused about the Labour party position. For many years, those of us who were list MSPs heard the arguments that he is making about how the list was an assisted places scheme for people who failed to be directly elected under first past the post. Now I find that Labour party first-past-the-post candidates are on the list, and some of them are even topping lists when there is a fear that they will lose in the first-past-the-post constituency. How does he feel about that?

[Mr Donohoe]

I had the greatest respect for Phil Gallie, the former MP for Ayr, who was also a list MSP. He hated every minute of his time in the Scottish Parliament, because he knew that as a list Member, he had absolutely no powers. I will develop that argument later in my speech, but even Tory MSPs were opposed to the concept of the list system.