Two bills given unopposed stage 1 passage

The bills setting the length of the next Scottish Parliament, and regulating lobbying at Holyrood, each passed stage 1 in the Scottish Parliament yesterday without a vote.

The Scottish Elections (Dates) Bill sets the length of the next Parliament, to be elected in May this year, at five years, to avoid a clash of elections with the Westminster general election due in 2020. During the debate it was pointed out that a limited power to deal with this matter had been devolved by order under s 30 of the Scotland Act 1998, but that the current Scotland Bill will confer a general power on Holyrood to set the length of future Parliaments.

Questions were also raised over whether four years or five is the better interval between elections, and whether it is necessary to avoid having different elections in the same year – matters which are likely to be debated in the new Parliament when it considers future election dates.

As regards the Lobbying (Scotland) Bill, the main issue discussed was whether it is right to confine its scope to face-to-face meetings involving paid lobbyists. Minister for Parliamentary Business, Joe Fitzpatrick, defended the Government's position by arguing that the bill should complement rather than duplicate current transparency measures; and that the new arrangements needed to be proportionate, to be simple in their operation and to command broad support both within and outwith Parliament: "we must ensure that we do not unwittingly erode legitimate engagement between the public and their elected representatives".

Other members however renewed calls for the definition of lobbying to be extended to include phone, email and other forms of communication, arguing that the bill would otherwise be ineffective. Stewart Stevenson, convener of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee, asked for further consideration to be given to the point. Mr Fitzpatrick said that ministers were still open to representations.