Scottish Parliament (Recall and Removal of Members) Bill Call for Views

Overview

The Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee is looking at the Scottish Parliament (Recall and Removal of Members) Bill and wants to hear your views.  

What is the Scottish Parliament (Recall and Removal of Members) Bill?

The Bill proposes measures for the recall and removal of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) from that office.

Scottish Parliament (Recall and Removal of Members) Bill | The Scottish Parliament

Recall

Part 1 of the Bill would introduce a process for the recall of an MSP by constituents in the MSP’s constituency or region.   

The Bill proposes that a recall process should be triggered if.  

• an MSP is excluded from the Parliament for a period of 10 sitting days (usually this would be equivalent to 14 calendar days) or   
• they are convicted of an offence anywhere in the UK and, as a result, receive a prison sentence of less than 6 months.  

When one of these conditions is met, constituents in the constituency or region that the MSP represents would 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 proposes that a constituency election or a regional poll would take place to fill the vacant seat.  

Removal

Part 2 of the Bill concerns the removal of MSPs.  

Under section 15 of the Scotland Act 1998, MSPs automatically cease to be an MSP if they receive a prison sentence of 12 months or more.  

The Bill proposes new grounds for the removal of MSPs. It proposes that an MSP could be removed from holding that office if they:  

• are convicted of an offence anywhere in the British Islands or the Republic of Ireland and receive a prison sentence of 6 months to 1 year as a result; or  
• do not attend Parliament in person for 180 days (six months) and do not have a good reason for their non-attendance.  

How to submit your views

Please submit your views using the online submission form, linked to below.

We welcome written views in English, Gaelic, Scots or any other language. 

The call for views closes at 23:59 on Friday 4 April 2025.

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).