Poor planning could see bills dropped or rushed through as Holyrood draws to a close
It is going to be a very busy week for MSPs - perhaps too busy for the legislation to be scrutinised properly.
You can tell folk do not really want to be in Holyrood anymore.
There are only two weeks left before parliament sits for the last time before the election in May.
Dozens of MSPs are standing down and already have one foot out the door. For others, they are itching to get out the door too - they would rather be out chapping doors and getting on with their election campaign.
Yet there is still an incredible amount of work to get through in the next fortnight.
The assisted dying bill, arguably the most important piece of legislation this parliament has ever had to grapple with, is quite rightly consuming MSPs’ days.
Yet many are asking the same question - why has this bill, which has been on the table for years, been squeezed into what little time remains right at the end of this session?
It has seen MSPs sitting until 10pm night after night. The lights went out once. They had to take the rare step of returning to the debating chamber on Friday to get through it all.
The final vote takes place on Tuesday. You would be forgiven for thinking that would be the end of the late night sittings, but no.
A whopping eight bills are to get a final vote next week. For those not familiar with how long these can take, each one takes up a colossal amount of time.
Decision time on Tuesday and Wednesday will once again be 10pm. MSPs can breathe a sigh of relief at the early finish on Thursday at just 9.05pm.
Apart from the fact this does not really work for those with caring responsibilities, there is a worry that sheer mental exhaustion will mean MSPs are not coming to these votes at their best.
My fear here is some of these bills will fall because MSPs do not feel enough time has been given to properly consider it, or the legislation will be rushed through.
Both are bad outcomes, and both are bad reflections on the state of the Scottish Parliament right now.
They have had five years to get through all of this. The majority of these bills are government bills, and officials should have put together a package of legislation that was doable in the amount of time they had.
I understand the beginning of this parliamentary session was right in the depths of the coronavirus pandemic, and so some leeway on timings needs to be given for that.
However, I do feel there has been a lot of time wasted in the past five years. We have gone long periods of time with no stage one or three debates on bills, and then having them all clogged up at the end of the term instead.
There have been self-congratulatory debates, time given to issues outside Holyrood’s devolved competency, bills that have ended up going nowhere because they are too undefined or not realistic.
Whoever forms the next government, and whoever the new MSPs are who want to bring forward their own member’s bill, should look to this as a lesson for the future.
Earlier this week, I asked the Scottish Government why this is, and they said it is so proper scrutiny can be given. I argued that is not going to happen when eight bills are scheduled within three days.
These bills might not be getting the scrutiny they deserve, and the way to avoid this in the future is to plan ahead properly right from the very beginning. Hopefully, we can avoid chaotic scenes like I fear we will see next week if the next government takes this on board.
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