Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament explained

Post:Presiding Officer
of the Scottish Parliament
Native Name:Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Oifigear Riaghlaidh Pàrlamaid na h-Alba
Scots: Preses o the Scots Pairlament
Insignia:Scottish_Parliament_logo_purple_vertical.png
Insigniasize:150px
Insigniacaption:Logo used to represent the Scottish Parliament
Incumbent:Alison Johnstone
Incumbentsince:13 May 2021
Termlength:Elected by the Scottish Parliament at the start of each session, and upon a vacancy
Formation:1999
Seat:Queensberry House, Edinburgh
Nominator:Scottish Parliament
(through secret exhaustive ballot voting)
Appointer:Scottish Parliament
(elected by)
Deputy:Annabelle Ewing and
Liam McArthur[1]
Salary:£118,511 per annum [2]
(including £67,662 MSP salary)
Inaugural:David Steel
Department:Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body
Scottish Parliament
Website:Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament

The presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament (Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Oifigear-Riaghlaidh, Scots: Preses[3]) is the presiding officer and speaker of the Scottish Parliament. The office of presiding officer was established by the Scotland Act 1998, and the elected presiding officer is a member of the Scottish Parliament who is elected by the Scottish Parliament by means of an exhaustive ballot, and is ex officio the head of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The presiding officer is considered a figurehead of the Scottish Parliament and has an office in Queensberry House.

Appointments to the Privy Council are made by the monarch, although in practice they are made only on the advice of the UK government. To date all presiding officers have been appointed members of the Privy Council, and therefore entitled to use the style 'Right Honourable'.

The current presiding officer is Alison Johnstone, who was elected on 13 May 2021, following the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. A member of the Scottish Greens, she was sworn in as presiding officer at the opening of the 6th session of the Scottish Parliament and is the second woman to hold the office and the first former member of the Scottish Greens to do so.

Responsibilities of office

Parliamentary responsibilities

The presiding officer presides over the Parliament's debates, determining which members may speak, and maintains order during debate.[4] The presiding officer is expected to be strictly non-partisan, with some similarities in this respect to the tradition of the Speaker of the House of Commons. For this reason, they renounce all affiliation with their former political party for the duration of their term.[5] They do not take part in debate, or vote except to break ties. Even then, the convention is that when the presiding officer uses their tie-breaking vote, they do so in favour of advancing debate, but on final ballots, retaining the status quo. The presiding officer is also assisted in their duties by 2 deputies. They have the same powers as the presiding officer; they keep their party affiliation but remain impartial when presiding.

In 2006 the St Andrews Fund for Scots Heraldry commemorated the hosting of the Heraldic & Genealogical Congress in Scotland by commissioning a ceremonial robe for the presiding officer to wear, however as of May 2017, it appears no presiding officer has worn the robe.[6]

Governmental responsibilities

As well as being the presiding officer and speaker of the Scottish Parliament, the Presiding Officer represents Scotland and the Scottish Government and parliament within Scotland and during international visits. The Presiding Officer welcomes dignitaries from other national parliaments to study policy issues of the Scottish Government, share information on ways of working as well as exchanging ideas and knowledge. The Presiding Officer, along with other members of the Scottish Parliament, may visit other national parliaments in order to improve understanding on shared interests and developing and strengthening good working relationships.[7]

Legal responsibilities

The overall responsibilities and functions of the office of the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament were detailed in the passing of the Scotland Act 1998. The act set out the responsibilities of the office in four areas; Purpose and Effect, General, Parliamentary Consideration and Details of Provisions. [8]

Purpose and effect

The purpose and effect section under Section 19 of the Scotland Act 1998 provides for the election of a Presiding Officer to the Scottish Parliament and requires two deputies to preside over the parliament. It outlines the details for the term of office of the Presiding Officer and deputies; the exercise of the Presiding Officer's functions by a deputy if the Presiding Officer is unable to act or the office of Presiding Officer is vacant, the delegation of the Presiding Officer’s functions to a deputy and participation of the Presiding Officer and deputies in proceedings of the Parliament.[9]

General

The General section of Section 19 of the Scotland Act 1998 highlight the general functions and responsibilities of the office of Presiding Officer. The Scotland Act 1998 highlights the general responsibilities of the Presiding Officer as being:[10]

Details of provision

Subsection (1) of Section 19 of the Scotland Act 1998 requires the Parliament following its first meeting after a general election to the Scottish Parliament has taken place, to elect from amongst its membership a Presiding Officer and two deputies. The elections have to take place after members take their oath of allegiance due to the fact that the members cannot take part in any proceedings until they have done so under section 84(2) of the Scotland Act 1998.[12]

Subsection (2) of the Section 19 of the Scotland Act 1998 provides for the office holder of either the Presiding Officer or Deputy Presiding Officer to hold office until:

In Law, the Presiding Officer and the deputies will not cease to hold the office of Presiding Officer merely because of the dissolution of the Parliament before a general election. The incumbent office holders will continue to serve office until such time as the new Parliament elects a Presiding Officer (and the deputies) under subsection (1).[13]

Subsection (3) requires members of the Scottish Parliament to elect a replacement for the Presiding Officer or a deputy who ceases to hold office for any reason before dissolution of the Parliament that may result in the Presiding Officer or a deputy leaving or being removed from the office. Subsection (4) highlights that the Presiding Officer’s functions may be exercised by a deputy if the office is vacant for whatever reason, or alternatively if the Presiding Officer is for any reason unable to act and fulfil the duties of office. Subsection (5) empowers the Presiding Officer, subject to standing orders, to authorise any deputy to exercise functions on their behalf.[14]

Subsection (6) gives the presiding officer the power through standing orders to regulate the participation of the Presiding Officer and deputies in proceedings of the Parliament. They may cover any constraints on the way in which the Presiding Officer and deputies may vote in proceedings which they chair. Subsection (7) provides that the validity of any act of the Presiding Officer or a deputy is not affected by any defect in the election.[15]

Future of the role

The Scottish National Party proposes that in the event of independence, the presiding officer's post be replaced with that of chancellor of Scotland. In addition to presiding over the Scottish Parliament, the chancellor would possess additional constitutional powers during the absence of the monarch from Scotland; chiefly, the chancellor should act in a role similar to a governor-general in the other Commonwealth realms.[16]

Office holders

List of Presiding Officers

No.PortraitName(birth and death)

Constituency/Region

Term of officeFormer party
1Sir David Steel(1938–)

MSP for Lothian

12 May 19997 May 2003Scottish Liberal Democrats
2George Reid(1939–)

MSP for Ochil

7 May 200314 May 2007Scottish National Party
3Alex Fergusson(1949–2018)

MSP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale

14 May 200711 May 2011Scottish Conservatives
4Tricia Marwick(1953–)

MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes

11 May 201112 May 2016Scottish National Party
5Ken Macintosh(1962–)

MSP for West Scotland

12 May 201613 May 2021Scottish Labour
6Alison Johnstone(1965–)

MSP for Lothian

13 May 2021IncumbentScottish Greens

List of deputy presiding officers

NamePartyConstituency / RegionNamePartyConstituency / Region
Patricia Ferguson 12 May 1999 – 27 November 2001Scottish LabourGlasgow MaryhillGeorge Reid
12 May 1999 – 7 May 2003
Scottish National PartyMid Scotland and Fife
Murray Tosh 29 November 2001 – 2 April 2007Scottish Conservatives
Trish Godman
7 May 2003 – 22 March 2011
Scottish LabourWest Renfrewshire
Alasdair Morgan 10 May 2007 – 22 March 2011Scottish National PartySouth of Scotland
John Scott 11 May 2011 – 12 May 2016Scottish ConservativesAyrElaine Smith 11 May 2011 – 12 May 2016Coatbridge and Chryston
Linda Fabiani 12 May 2016 – 12 May 2021Scottish National PartyEast KilbrideChristine Grahame 12 May 2016 – 12 May 2021 Scottish National PartyMidlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale
Lewis Macdonald (Interim) 1 April 2020 – 12 May 2021Scottish LabourNorth East Scotland
Annabelle Ewing 14 May 2021 -Scottish National PartyCowdenbeathLiam McArthur 14 May 2021 -Scottish Liberal DemocratsOrkney

Current presiding officer and deputy presiding officer

PositionCurrent holderTerm startedwidth=100PartyConstituency / Region
Presiding Officer of the Scottish ParliamentAlison Johnstone13 May 2021Scottish Greens
(Suspended during term as Presiding Officer)
Lothian
Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish ParliamentAnnabelle Ewing14 May 2021Scottish National PartyCowdenbeath
Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish ParliamentLiam McArthur14 May 2021Scottish Liberal DemocratsOrkney

List of elections

Presiding Officer electionsVotes received
Parliamentary termDateCandidates1st Round2nd Round3rd Round
1st Parliament31 May 1999Sir David Steel82
George Reid44
2nd Parliament7 May 2003 [17] George Reid113
3rd Parliament14 May 2007Alex Fergusson108
Margo MacDonald20
4th Parliament11 May 2011[18] Tricia Marwick4973
Hugh Henry4556
Christine Grahame32ELIMINATED
5th Parliament12 May 2016[19] Ken Macintosh586071
Murdo Fraser232631
Johann Lamont232626
John Scott1715ELIMINATED
Elaine Smith7ELIMINATED
6th Parliament13 May 2021[20] Alison Johnstone97

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Davidson . Jenni . Scottish Parliament's deputy presiding officers elected after five-hour voting session . 17 May 2021 . . Edinburgh . 14 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210517003012/https://www.holyrood.com/news/view,scottish-parliaments-deputy-presiding-officers-elected-after-five-hour-voting-session . 17 May 2021.
  2. Web site: MSP salaries . parliament.scot . 5 April 2023 . The Scottish Parliament.
  3. Web site: Your Scots Pairlament . 9 . . www.parliament.scot . 12 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201112025203/http://www.parliament.scot/images/Parliament%20Publications/YSP_Scots_final.pdf . dead . sco.
  4. News: Q&A: Holyrood presiding officer . Andrew . Black . . . 14 May 2007 . 17 January 2015 . 26 August 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070826084447/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6651101.stm . live .
  5. News: Former Scottish Parliament Presiding Officers on the devolution years . . 13 July 2016 . 10 June 2021 . 10 June 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210610182132/https://www.holyrood.com/inside-politics/view,former-scottish-parliament-presiding-officers-on-the-devolution-years_12059.htm . live .
  6. Web site: The Presiding Officer's Gown andrewcusack.com. Cusack. Andrew. 3 June 2010. www.andrewcusack.com. 12 May 2017. 8 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170708065033/http://www.andrewcusack.com/2010/presiding-officers-gown/. live.
  7. Web site: International Connections . Scottish Parliament . 16 September 2023.
  8. Web site: Scotland Act 1998 Explanatory Notes : Section 19 PRESIDING OFFICER . Legislation.gov.uk . UK Government . 16 September 2023.
  9. Web site: Scotland Act 1998 Explanatory Notes : Section 19 PRESIDING OFFICER . Legislation.gov.uk . UK Government . 16 September 2023.
  10. Web site: Scotland Act 1998 Explanatory Notes : Section 19 PRESIDING OFFICER . Legislation.gov.uk . UK Government . 16 September 2023.
  11. Web site: Scotland Act 1998 Explanatory Notes : Section 19 PRESIDING OFFICER . Legislation.gov.uk . UK Government . 16 September 2023.
  12. Web site: Scotland Act 1998 Explanatory Notes : Section 19 PRESIDING OFFICER . Legislation.gov.uk . UK Government . 16 September 2023.
  13. Web site: Scotland Act 1998 Explanatory Notes : Section 19 PRESIDING OFFICER . Legislation.gov.uk . UK Government . 16 September 2023.
  14. Web site: Scotland Act 1998 Explanatory Notes : Section 19 PRESIDING OFFICER . Legislation.gov.uk . UK Government . 16 September 2023.
  15. Web site: Scotland Act 1998 Explanatory Notes : Section 19 PRESIDING OFFICER . Legislation.gov.uk . UK Government . 16 September 2023.
  16. http://www.constitutionalcommission.org/production/byre/images/assets/Principles%20of%20the%20Constitution.pdf Principles of the Constitution
  17. News: 2003-05-07 . Reid wins presiding officer role . en-GB . 2023-04-07.
  18. News: 2011-05-11 . SNP MSP Tricia Marwick elected presiding officer . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-04-07.
  19. News: 2016-05-12 . Ken Macintosh chosen as Holyrood presiding officer . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-04-07.
  20. Web site: News . S. T. V. . 2021-05-13 . Scottish Greens MSP elected as new Presiding Officer . 2023-04-07 . STV News . en-GB.