Meeting of the Parliament Wednesday 6 November 2019 Session 5 © Parliamentary copyright. Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Information on the Scottish Parliament’s copyright policy can be found on the website - www.parliament.scot or by contacting Public Information on 0131 348 5000 Wednesday 6 November 2019 CONTENTS Col. WORLD DAY AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY ....................................................................................................... 1 Motion debated—[Bill Kidd]. Bill Kidd (Glasgow Anniesland) (SNP).......................................................................................................... 1 Ruth Maguire (Cunninghame South) (SNP) ................................................................................................. 4 Maurice Corry (West Scotland) (Con) .......................................................................................................... 5 Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP) .......................................................................... 6 Alex Rowley (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) .................................................................................................. 8 Joan McAlpine (South Scotland) (SNP) ....................................................................................................... 9 John Finnie (Highlands and Islands) (Green) ............................................................................................. 11 John Mason (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP) ................................................................................................. 12 Gil Paterson (Clydebank and Milngavie) (SNP) ......................................................................................... 13 The Minister for Older People and Equalities (Christina McKelvie) ........................................................... 14 PORTFOLIO QUESTION TIME ............................................................................................................................. 18 FINANCE, ECONOMY AND FAIR WORK ............................................................................................................... 18 United Kingdom Budget (Cancellation) ...................................................................................................... 18 Michelin Site (Dundee) ............................................................................................................................... 20 Independence (Economic Impact) .............................................................................................................. 21 Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Financial Powers) ..................................................................... 23 Scottish Growth Scheme ............................................................................................................................ 25 ENVIRONMENT, CLIMATE CHANGE AND LAND REFORM ...................................................................................... 26 Non-native Invasive Species ...................................................................................................................... 26 Shell and Forestry and Land Scotland Partnership (Carbon Credits) ........................................................ 27 Flood Resilience Plans ............................................................................................................................... 28 Pollution Management (Tarbolton) ............................................................................................................. 30 Farms (Emissions and Carbon Sequestration Data) .................................................................................. 31 Geese and Stoat Population Management (Orkney) ................................................................................. 32 Community Recycling (Glasgow) ............................................................................................................... 33 FERRIES .......................................................................................................................................................... 35 Motion moved—[Jamie Greene]. Amendment moved—[Paul Wheelhouse]. Amendment moved—[Colin Smyth]. Jamie Greene (West Scotland) (Con) ........................................................................................................ 35 The Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands (Paul Wheelhouse) ............................................... 38 Colin Smyth (South Scotland) (Lab) ........................................................................................................... 41 John Finnie (Highlands and Islands) (Green) ............................................................................................. 43 Liam McArthur (Orkney Islands) (LD) ......................................................................................................... 44 Liam Kerr (North East Scotland) (Con)....................................................................................................... 46 Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP) ........................................................................................... 48 Jamie Halcro Johnston (Highlands and Islands) (Con) .............................................................................. 50 Stuart McMillan (Greenock and Inverclyde) (SNP) .................................................................................... 51 Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab) ............................................................................................... 53 Dr Alasdair Allan (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP) ......................................................................................... 55 Colin Smyth ................................................................................................................................................ 56 Paul Wheelhouse........................................................................................................................................ 58 Donald Cameron (Highlands and Islands) (Con) ....................................................................................... 61 CURRICULUM FOR EXCELLENCE ....................................................................................................................... 67 Motion moved—[Liz Smith]. Amendment moved—[John Swinney]. Amendment moved—[Iain Gray]. Liz Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) .................................................................................................... 67 The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (John Swinney) ...................... 70 Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab) .................................................................................................................... 73 Ross Greer (West Scotland) (Green) ......................................................................................................... 74 Beatrice Wishart (Shetland Islands) (LD) ................................................................................................... 76 Alison Harris (Central Scotland) (Con) ....................................................................................................... 78 Clare Adamson (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP) ...................................................................................... 79 Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab) .............................................................................................. 80 Rona Mackay (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP) ..................................................................................... 82 Brian Whittle (South Scotland) (Con) ......................................................................................................... 84 Fulton MacGregor (Coatbridge and Chryston) (SNP) ................................................................................ 85 Iain Gray ..................................................................................................................................................... 87 John Swinney ............................................................................................................................................. 89 Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) .............................................................................................. 90 BUSINESS MOTIONS ......................................................................................................................................... 93 Motions moved—[Graeme Dey]—and agreed to. PARLIAMENTARY BUREAU MOTIONS ................................................................................................................. 96 Motions moved—[Graeme Dey]. DECISION TIME ................................................................................................................................................ 97 UN YEAR OF INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES AND EUROPEAN DAY OF LANGUAGES .................................................. 106 Motion debated—[Angus MacDonald]. Angus MacDonald (Falkirk East) (SNP) ................................................................................................... 107 Donald Cameron (Highlands and Islands) (Con) ..................................................................................... 110 Dr Alasdair Allan (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP) ......................................................................................