Holyrood scrubbed as MSPs numbers reduced to pass emergency law

Only 79 MSPs will be in Holyrood to debate the coronavirus emergency bill.

Only 79 MSPs, rather than the full 129, will be able to sit in the Scottish Parliament’s chamber at any one time, to discuss and vote on the new Bill which seeks to bar evictions of tenants from their homes during the pandemic and ensure the justice system continues to operate despite many trials having been suspended.

However, the parliamentary authorities have said if more politicians want to attend, it could still be accommodated, by allowing members to enter and leave the chamber to ensure social distancing is maintained.

Holyrood has been suspended for business since March 24, when it was decided the Parliament should close to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Since then a programme of wider cleaning has been ongoing, focusing on sanitising touch surfaces. A parliamentary source said the building would be given “a core clean overnight” tonight, with “an emphasis on touch surfaces such as door handles and hand rails”.

Regular cleaning of the same surfaces will take place during the day when MSPs are in Holyrood, particularly in communal areas.

Presiding Office Ken Macintosh previously said that chairs within the debating chamber had been removed to make sure that MSPs were sitting a safe distance apart. There had been concerns raised that MSPs were not practising the two metre rule which was in place for the rest of society.