Scottish Government and Scottish Green Party Parliamentary Group: draft Cooperation Agreement

Co-operation and collaboration

This section sets out arrangements for co-operation and collaboration between the Scottish Government and the Green Group.

The purpose of these arrangements is to give the Green Group confidence about the delivery of the shared programme, and to set out arrangements that will enable the Government and Green Group to work together constructively on all other matters not excluded from this agreement.

Policy and legislation

The Scottish Government commits to consult the Green Group on its Programmes for Government.

The Scottish Government commits to consult the Green Group on its legislative programme.

The purpose of this is to give the Green Group confidence about the delivery of the shared programme, to provide early notice of other proposals for policy and legislation, to allow those proposals to be discussed by the Scottish Government and the Green Group, and to give the Green Group the opportunity to comment on and influence the direction and content of Programmes for Government and the legislative programme.

The use of these channels of co-operation, the processes for oversight in Shared oversight of this agreement, and the other elements of this agreement will enable the production of a legislative programme that both the Scottish Government and the Green Group will support, including in votes on Bills, on amendments to Bills, on secondary legislation, and on matters of legislative consent, except where legislation relates to an excluded matter.

The Scottish Government is not required to support any Members’ Bills introduced by Green MSPs, though they commit, through these channels of co-operation and recognising that a Minister who is a Green MSP will be a member of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Legislation, to consider in good faith any draft proposal for a Members’ Bill introduced by a Green MSP. The Green Group agrees to give the Scottish Government early notice of any draft proposal for a Members’ Bills proposed to be introduced by a Green MSP.

The Scottish Government commits to consult the Green Group on any Bill introduced outwith the legislative programme (for example, emergency Bills), and the Green Group, through these channels of co-operation and recognising that a Minister who is a Green MSP will be a member of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Legislation, will consider in good faith whether to support these Bills on a case-by-case basis.

Through these channels of co-operation, and recognising that a Minister who is a Green MSP will be a member of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Legislation, the Scottish Government commits to consult the Green Group on any Bill where the Scottish Cabinet is to consider whether Scottish Ministers should have a free vote. Where Cabinet decides to give Scottish Ministers a free vote, the Green Group will consider its position on these Bills on a case-by-case basis.

Other parliamentary business

The Scottish Government and the Green Group commit to a ‘no surprises’ approach to business in Parliament. This means consulting each other on proposals for parliamentary business, including on motions for debate and amendments to motions.

The Scottish Government and the Green Group commit to working together in a constructive and collaborative way to formulate an agreed position on such motions and amendments, except where they relate to an excluded matter.