Scottish Parliament (Recall and Removal of Members) Bill: Financial Memorandum

Overview

About the Bill

The Bill as introduced sets out that an MSP could be recalled:

• if they receive a sanction excluding them from Parliament for a certain period of time;
• if they receive a prison sentence of less than 6 months.

When an MSP is recalled, people in the constituency or region that the MSP represents will be able to sign a petition calling for the MSP to lose their seat. If the petition is successful, the MSP will lose their seat.

The Bill also establishes that an MSP could be removed if:

• they receive a prison sentence of 6 months to 1 year (at the moment an MSP is only removed if they receive a prison sentence of more than 1 year);
• they do not attend Parliament in person for 6 months and do not have a good reason for their non-attendance.

Current Status of the Bill 

This Bill was introduced in the Scottish Parliament by Graham Simpson MSP on 17 December 2024.

Read and find out more about the Bill: Scottish Parliament (Recall and Removal of Members) Bill.

Stage 1 

The Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee has been designated as the lead Committee for the Bill. A separate call for views on the Bill’s policy provisions will be issued by the lead Committee in due course and published on this consultation platform.

Financial Memorandum 

As with all Bills, the Finance and Public Administration Committee invites written evidence on the estimated financial implications of the Bill as set out in its accompanying Financial Memorandum (FM). 

Read the FM published alongside this Bill.

Making a Submission

Before making a submission, please read our Privacy Notice about submitting your views to a Committee. This tells you about how we process personal data. 

Please note that in most cases your submission will be published on the Scottish Parliament's website and may be quoted in the Committee's report or in Committee meetings (which are public and broadcast). 

Please use the Questionnaire provided for your submission:

1. Did you take part in any consultation exercise preceding the Bill and, if so, did you comment on the financial assumptions made?  

2. If applicable, do you believe your comments on the financial assumptions have been accurately reflected in the FM?  

3. Did you have sufficient time to contribute to the consultation exercise?

4. If the Bill has any financial implications for you or your organisation, do you believe that they have been accurately reflected in the FM? If not, please provide details. 

5. Do you consider that the estimated costs and savings set out in the FM are reasonable and accurate?  

6. If applicable, are you content that your organisation can meet any financial costs that it might incur as a result of the Bill? If not, how do you think these costs should be met?  

7. Does the FM accurately reflect the margins of uncertainty associated with the Bill’s estimated costs and with the timescales over which they would be expected to arise? 

The deadline to submit your views is: Friday 4 April 2025.

We welcome written views in English, Gaelic, Scots or any other language. Due to the time required to process and analyse evidence, late submissions will only be accepted with the agreement of the Committee Clerk.