MEETING OF THE PARLIAMENT Tuesday 5 February 2013 Session 4 © Parliamentary copyright. Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Information on the Scottish Parliament’s copyright policy can be found on the website - www.scottish.parliament.uk or by contacting Public Information on 0131 348 5000 Tuesday 5 February 2013 CONTENTS Col. TIME FOR REFLECTION ............................................................................................................................... 16353 POINT OF ORDER ....................................................................................................................................... 16355 TOPICAL QUESTION TIME ........................................................................................................................... 16357 Infrastructure Projects (Progress)......................................................................................................... 16357 Police Service of Scotland (Headquarters) .......................................................................................... 16361 HIGH HEDGES (SCOTLAND) BILL: STAGE 1 ................................................................................................. 16363 Motion moved—[Mark McDonald]. Mark McDonald (North East Scotland) (SNP) ...................................................................................... 16363 Kevin Stewart (Aberdeen Central) (SNP) ............................................................................................. 16368 The Minister for Local Government and Planning (Derek Mackay) ..................................................... 16370 Sarah Boyack (Lothian) (Lab) ............................................................................................................... 16372 Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con) .......................................................................................... 16375 Graeme Dey (Angus South) (SNP) ...................................................................................................... 16377 Anne McTaggart (Glasgow) (Lab) ........................................................................................................ 16378 Christine Grahame (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP) ........................................ 16380 Colin Keir (Edinburgh Western) (SNP) ................................................................................................. 16381 Helen Eadie (Cowdenbeath) (Lab) ....................................................................................................... 16382 Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP) .................................................................. 16384 Stuart McMillan (West Scotland) (SNP) ............................................................................................... 16386 Margaret Mitchell .................................................................................................................................. 16387 Sarah Boyack ....................................................................................................................................... 16388 Derek Mackay ....................................................................................................................................... 16390 Mark McDonald..................................................................................................................................... 16393 HUMAN RIGHTS ......................................................................................................................................... 16397 Motion moved—[Roseanna Cunningham]. Amendment moved—[Jenny Marra]. The Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs (Roseanna Cunningham) ................................ 16397 Jenny Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab) ............................................................................................. 16401 Annabel Goldie (West Scotland) (Con) ................................................................................................ 16403 Christina McKelvie (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse) (SNP) ......................................................... 16405 Graeme Pearson (South Scotland) (Lab) ............................................................................................. 16407 Jim Eadie (Edinburgh Southern) (SNP) ............................................................................................... 16409 David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab) ....................................................................................... 16411 Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP) .................................................................. 16412 Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD) .......................................................................................... 16414 Linda Fabiani (East Kilbride) (SNP)...................................................................................................... 16415 John Finnie (Highlands and Islands) (Ind) ............................................................................................ 16417 Gil Paterson (Clydebank and Milngavie) (SNP) ................................................................................... 16418 Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab) .............................................................................................................. 16420 Roderick Campbell (North East Fife) (SNP) ......................................................................................... 16421 Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green) ........................................................................................................ 16423 Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) ........................................................................................ 16424 Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn) (Lab) ............................................................... 16426 The Minister for External Affairs and International Development (Humza Yousaf) .............................. 16429 SCOTTISH PARLIAMENTARY CORPORATE BODY MOTIONS ........................................................................... 16433 Motions moved—[David Stewart]. David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab) ....................................................................................... 16433 DECISION TIME .......................................................................................................................................... 16436 PROPERTY MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS (COLD CALLING) .......................................................................... 16438 Motion debated—[Dave Thompson]. Dave Thompson (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP) ................................................................... 16438 Fiona McLeod (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP) .............................................................................. 16440 Helen Eadie (Cowdenbeath) (Lab) ....................................................................................................... 16442 David Torrance (Kirkcaldy) (SNP) ........................................................................................................ 16443 Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con) ....................................................................................... 16445 Nigel Don (Angus North and Mearns) (SNP) ....................................................................................... 16446 Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab) ......................................................................................................... 16447 Graeme Dey (Angus South) (SNP) ...................................................................................................... 16449 The Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs (Roseanna Cunningham) ................................ 16450 16353 5 FEBRUARY 2013 16354 Abraham Lincoln, on being rebuked that he Scottish Parliament should destroy his enemies and not be so polite to them, answered wisely, “Do I not destroy my Tuesday 5 February 2013 enemy when I make him my friend?” [The Presiding Officer opened the meeting at It is not about giving up or lessening your 14:00] convictions or being less passionate in holding those convictions. It is about still loving through Time for Reflection those convictions. What a wonderful world that would be. The Presiding Officer (Tricia Marwick): Good afternoon. It is good to be back. The first item of business this afternoon is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader is the Rev Graeme Atkinson, the minister of Sandyhills parish church in Glasgow. The Rev Graeme Atkinson (Sandyhills Parish Church, Glasgow): One of the most quoted phrases of Jesus is the command for us to love our enemies. As well as being often quoted, it is often overlooked, as it goes against our nature. When we try it, we find that we frequently fail. The reason why so many in the world fail is that we misunderstand the nature of love. We confuse love with approval or endorsement. They are not the same. We love our children, but we certainly do not always approve of their choices, opinions, tastes or attitudes. Our love is not conditional on our level of approval. We tolerate the things that we do not like because we love our children and our love takes priority. Jesus is telling us to take that approach and apply it to the person whom you like the least in the world. He is saying that you can disagree on politics,