Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Scottish Parliament shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Scottish Parliament offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Scottish Parliament at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Scottish Parliament? Wrong! If the Scottish Parliament is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Scottish Parliament then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Scottish Parliament? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Scottish Parliament and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Scottish Parliament wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Scottish Parliament then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Scottish Parliament site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Scottish Parliament, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Scottish Parliament, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

{{Infobox Scottish Parliament| logo = | name = Scottish Parliament| image_1 = Edinburgh Scottish Parliament01 2006-04-29.jpg| image_title_1 = Scottish Parliament Building| established| presiding officer =| deputy presiding officers =| parties = | members = [Members of the 3rd Scottish Parliament| committees = | election = European Parliament election, 2004 (Member of the European Parliament)| location = Holyrood, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Scotland: Pàrlamaid na h-Alba; [Scots language: Scottish PairlamentThe Scots language for Scottish is in fact Scots.) is the national, unicameralism legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh area of the capital Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood" (cf. "Parliament of the United Kingdom"), is a democracy elected body comprising 129 members who are known as Member of the Scottish Parliament, or MSPs. Members are elected for four-year terms under the mixed member proportional representation system. As a result, 73 MSPs represent individual geographical Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions elected by the plurality voting system ("first past the post") system, with a further 56 returned from eight Additional Member System regions, each electing seven MSPs. A Scottish Parliament general election, 2007 to the Parliament was held on 3 May 2007.

The original Parliament of Scotland (or "The States of Scotland") was the national legislature of the independent Kingdom of Scotland, and existed from the early 13th century until the Kingdom of Scotland merged with the Kingdom of England under the Acts of Union 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. As a consequence, the Parliament of Scotland merged with the Parliament of England to form the Parliament of Great Britain, which sat at Westminster in London.

Following a Scottish devolution referendum, 1997 in which the Scottish people gave their consent, the current Parliament was established by the Scotland Act 1998, which sets out its powers as a devolution legislature. The Act delineates the legislative competence of the Parliament — the areas in which it can make Scots law — by explicitly specifying powers that are "reserved matters" to the Parliament of the United Kingdom: all matters that are not explicitly reserved are automatically the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament.{{cite web ] 1999.{{cite web |url=http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-99/or010104.htm#Col7 |title=Scottish Parliament Official Report - 12 May 1999 |publisher=Scottish Parliament |accessdate=2006-11-05-->

History Before the Act of Union 1707, Scotland had an independence parliament with a Parliament of Scotland known as the Estates of the realm. Initial Scottish proposals in the negotiation over the Union suggested a devolved Parliament be retained in Scotland, but this was not accepted by the Kingdom of England negotiators.

For the next three hundred years, Scotland was directly governed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, at Westminster, and the lack of a Scottish Parliament remained an important element in Scottish national identity. Suggestions for a 'devolved' Parliament were made before 1914, but were shelved due to the outbreak of the World War I. A sharp rise in nationalism in Scotland during the late 1960s fueled demands for some form of devolution or complete Scottish independence, and prompted the incumbent Labour Party (UK) Government of Harold Wilson to set up the Royal Commission on the Constitution (United Kingdom) on the Constitution of the United Kingdom in 1969. One of the principal objectives of the commission was to examine ways of enabling more self-government for Scotland, within the unitary state of the United Kingdom. Kilbrandon published his report in 1973 recommending the establishment of a directly elected Scottish Assembly to legislate for the majority of domestic Scottish affairs.

During this time, the discovery of North Sea oil in the North Sea and the following "It's Scotland's oil" campaign of the Scottish National Party (SNP) resulted in rising support for Scottish independence, as well as the SNP. The party argued that the revenues from the oil were not benefiting Scotland as much as they should be. The combined effect of these events led to Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Wilson committing his government to some form of devolved legislature in 1974. However, it was not until 1978 that final legislative proposals for a Scottish Assembly were passed by the United Kingdom Parliament. Under the terms of the Scotland Act 1978, an elected assembly would be set up in Edinburgh provided that the majority of the Scottish electorate voted for it in a referendum to be held on 1 March 1979. The 1979 Scottish devolution referendum, 1979 to establish a devolved Scottish Assembly failed. Although the vote was 52% in favour of a Scottish Assembly, this figure did not equal the 40% of the total electorate threshold deemed necessary to pass the measure, as 32.9% of the eligible voting population had abstained from voting.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, demands for a Scottish Parliament grew, in part because the government of the United Kingdom was controlled by the Conservative Party (UK), while Scotland itself elected very few Tory MPs. In the aftermath of the 1979 referendum defeat, the Campaign for a Scottish Assembly was initiated as a pressure group, leading to the 1989 Scottish Constitutional Convention with various organisations, List of political parties in Scotland and representatives of industry taking part. Publishing its blueprint for devolution in 1995, the convention provided much of the basis for the structure of the Parliament.

Devolution became part of the platform of the Labour Party which, in May 1997, took power under Tony Blair. In September 1997, a referendum of the Scottish electorate secured a majority in favour of the establishment of a new devolved Scottish Parliament with tax-varying powers in Edinburgh. An election was held on 6 May 1999, and on 1 July of that year power was transferred from Westminster to the new Parliament.

Building

Since September 2004 the official home of the Scottish Parliament has been a new Scottish Parliament Building, in the Holyrood area of Edinburgh. Designed by Catalan people architect Enric Miralles, some of the principal features of the complex include leaf-shaped buildings, a grass-roofed branch merging into adjacent parkland and gabion walls formed from the stones of previous buildings. Throughout the building there are many repeated motifs, such as shapes based on Henry Raeburn's The Skating Minister.{{cite web |url=http://www.architecturetoday.co.uk/Articles/view.php?id=23084|title=Identity parade: Miralles and the Scottish parliament: On the architectural territories of the EMBT/RMJM parliament building |publisher=Architecture Today no.154 p.32–44 |date= January 2005 |author=Charles Jencks |accessdate=2007-01-07--> Stepped gables, and the upturned boat skylights of the Garden Lobby, complete the unique architecture. Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom opened the new building on 9 October 2004.

Whilst the building was being constructed, the Parliament's temporary home was the General Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland of the Church of Scotland on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.{{cite web ] of the University of Edinburgh. This building was vacated twice to allow for the meeting of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. In May 2000, the Parliament was temporarily relocated to the former Strathclyde Regional Council debating chamber in Glasgow, and to the University of Aberdeen in May 2002.{{cite web ] back benches during a debate. The debating chamber was subsequently closed, and MSPs moved to The Hub (Edinburgh) for one week, while inspections were carried out. During repairs, all chamber business was conducted in the Parliament's committee room two.

Officials After each election to the Scottish Parliament, at the beginning of each parliamentary session, Parliament elects one MSP to serve as Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, the equivalent of the Speaker (politics) (currently Alex Fergusson (Scottish politician)), and two MSPs to serve as deputies (currently Trish Godman and Alasdair Morgan). The Presiding Officer and deputies are elected by a secret ballot of the 129 MSPs, which is the only secret ballot conducted in the Scottish Parliament. Principally, the role of the Presiding Officer is to chair chamber proceedings and the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. When chairing meetings of the Parliament, the Presiding Officer and his deputies must be politically impartial. During debates, the Presiding Officer (or his deputy) is assisted by the parliamentary clerks, who give advice on how to interpret the standing orders that govern the proceedings of meetings. A vote clerk sits in front of the Presiding Officer and operates the electronic voting equipment and chamber clocks.

As a member of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, the Presiding Officer is responsible for ensuring that the Parliament functions effectively and has the staff, property and resources it requires to operate. Convening the parliamentary bureau, which allocates time in the chamber, is another of the roles of the Presiding Officer. The bureau consists of representatives of each of the parties and agrees the timetable of business in the chamber. The Presiding Officer also represents the Scottish Parliament at home and abroad in an official capacity.

The Presiding Officer controls debates by calling on members to speak. If a member believes that a rule (or standing order) has been breached, he or she may raise a "point of order", on which the Presiding Officer makes a ruling that is not subject to any debate or appeal. The Presiding Officer may also discipline members who fail to observe the rules of the Parliament.

The member of the Scottish Government whose duty it is to steer Executive business through Parliament is the Minister for Parliamentary Business (currently Bruce Crawford). The minister is appointed by the First Minister of Scotland and is a Junior Minister in the Scottish Government, who does not attend List of Scottish Executives.

Parliamentary chamber

Unlike Westminster, the debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament has seating arranged in a semicircle, which reflects the desire to encourage consensus amongst elected members. There are 131 seats in the debating chamber. Of the total 131 seats, 129 are occupied by the Parliament's elected MSPs and 2 are seats for the Scottish Law Officers - the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General for Scotland, who are not elected members of the Parliament but are members of the Scottish Government. Members are able to sit anywhere in the debating chamber, but typically sit in their party groupings. The First Minister, Scottish List of Scottish Executive ministerial teams and Law officers sit in the front row, in the middle section of the chamber. The largest party in the Parliament sits in the middle of the semicircle, with opposing parties on either side. The Presiding Officer, parliamentary clerks and officials sit opposite members at the front of the debating chamber.

In front of the Presiding Officers' desk is the parliamentary ceremonial mace, which is made from silver and inlay with gold panned from Scottish rivers and inscribed with the words: Wisdom, Compassion, Justice and Integrity. The words - There shall be a Scottish Parliament, which are the first words of the Scotland Act, are inscribed around the head of the mace. The mace has a formal ceremonial role in the meetings of Parliament, reinforcing the authority of the Parliament in its ability to make laws. Presented to the Scottish Parliament by the Queen upon its official opening in July 1999, the mace is displayed in a glass case suspended from the lid. At the beginning of each sitting in the chamber, the lid of the case is rotated so that the mace is above the glass, to symbolise that a full meeting of the Parliament is taking place.

Proceedings

Parliament sits from Monday through to Thursday from early January through to late June and from early September through to mid December, with 2-week recesses in April and October. Full plenary meetings in the debating chamber usually take place on Wednesday afternoons from 2pm to 6pm and on Thursday from 9.15am to 6pm. Chamber debates and committee meetings are open to the public. Entry is free, but booking in advance is recommended due to limited space. Meetings are broadcast on the Parliament's own channel Holyrood.tv{{cite web| title = Holyrood.tv | work = [BBC News | publisher = Scottish Parliament | date = | url = http://holyrood.tv | accessdate = 2006-10-11 --> and on the BBC's parliamentary channel BBC Parliament. Proceedings are also recorded, in text form, in print and online in the Official Report, which is the substantially verbatim{{cite web| title = Official Report terms of Reference | work = Parliamentary Business - Official Report | publisher = Scottish Parliament | date = 19 May [ | url = http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/terms.htm | accessdate = 2006-10-11 --> transcript of parliamentary debates.

"Time for Reflection" is normally the first item of business on Wednesdays. A speaker addresses the meeting for up to four minutes to share their perspectives on issues of faith. This contrasts with the formal style of "Prayers", which is the first item of business in meetings of the British House of Commons. Speakers are drawn from Religion in Scotland across Scotland. Invitations to address Parliament in this manner are determined by the Presiding Officer on the advice of the parliamentary bureau. Different faith groups can make direct representations to the Presiding Officer in nominating speakers. The pattern of speakers represents the balance of religious beliefs in Scotland according to the Census in the United Kingdom.

The Presiding Officer (or Deputy Presiding Officer) decides who speaks in chamber debates and the amount of time for which they are allowed to speak. Normally the Presiding Officer tries to achieve a balance between different viewpoints and political parties when selecting members to speak. Typically Ministers or party leaders open debates, with opening speakers given between 5 and 20 minutes, and succeeding speakers allocated less time. The Presiding Officer can reduce speaking times if a high volume of members wish to participate in the debate. Debate is much more informal than in some parliamentary systems.Burrows, N (1999) pp241–260 Members may call each other directly by name, rather than by constituency or cabinet position, and hand clapping is allowed in the chamber. Speeches to the chamber are normally delivered in English language, but members may use Scots language, Scottish Gaelic, or any other language with the agreement of the Presiding Officer. The Scottish Parliament has conducted debates in the Gaelic language.

Each sitting day, normally at 5pm, MSPs decide on all the motion (democracy) and amendments that have been moved that day; this is known as "Decision Time", and is heralded by the sounding of the division bell, which is heard throughout the Parliamentary campus and alerts MSPs who are not in the chamber to return and vote. At Decision Time, the Presiding Officer puts questions on the motions and amendments by reading out the name of the motion or amendment as well as the proposer and asking "Are we all agreed?", to which the chamber first votes orally. If there is audible dissent, the Presiding Officer announces "There will be a division" and members proceed to an electronic vote by means of electronic consoles on their desks. Each MSP has a unique access card with integrated circuit which, when inserted into the console, identifies them and allows them to vote. As a result, the outcome of each division is known in seconds.

The outcome of most votes is largely known beforehand, since political parties normally instruct members on how to vote. A party entrusts some MSPs, known as whip (politics), with the task of ensuring that all party members vote as desired. MSPs do not tend to vote against such instructions, since those who do so are unlikely to reach higher political ranks in their parties.Kingdom, J (1999) p373 Errant members can be deselected as official party candidates during future elections, and, in serious cases, may be expelled from their parties outright.Kingdom, J (1999) p374 Thus, as with many Parliaments, the independence of Members of the Scottish Parliament tends to be extremely low, and "backbench rebellions" by members discontent with their party's policies are rare.Kingdom, J (1999) p374 In some circumstances, however, parties announce "free votes", allowing Members to vote as they please. This is done on morality issues.Kingdom, J (1999) p375

Immediately after Decision Time a "Members Debate" is held, which lasts for 45 minutes. Members Business is a debate on a motion proposed by an MSP who is not a Scottish Executive. Such motions are on issues which may be of interest to a particular area (such as the members' own constituency), an upcoming or past event or any other item which would otherwise not be accorded official parliamentary time. As well as the proposer, other members normally contribute to the debate. The relevant minister, whose department the debate and motion relate to, "winds-up" the debate by speaking after all other participants.

Committees infrastructure projects - such as the underground extensions to the National Gallery of Scotland in 2003.Much of the work of the Scottish Parliament is done in committee. The role of committees is stronger in the Scottish Parliament than in other parliamentary systems, partly as a means of strengthening the role of backbenchers in their scrutiny of the governmentDardanelli (2005) p185 and partly to compensate for the fact that there is no revising chamber. The principal role of committees in the Scottish Parliament is to conduct inquiries, scrutinise legislation and hold the government to account. Committee meetings take place in the Parliament's committee rooms all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning when Parliament is sitting. Committees can also meet at other locations throughout Scotland.

Committees comprise a small number of MSPs, with membership reflecting the balance of parties across Parliament. There are different committees with their functions set out in different ways. Mandatory Committees are committees which are set down under the Scottish Parliament's standing orders, which govern their remits and proceedings. The current Mandatory Committees of the Scottish Parliament are: Audit; Equal Opportunities; Politics of Europe and External Relations; Finance; Procedures; Public Petitions; Standards and Public Appointments; and Subordinate Legislation.

Subject Committees are established at the beginning of each parliamentary session, and again the balance of members on each committee reflects the balance of parties across Parliament. Typically each committee corresponds with one (or more) of the departments (or ministries) of the Scottish Government. The current Subject Committees are: Economy, Energy and Tourism; Education in Scotland; NHS Scotland; Scots Law; Local government in Scotland; Rural Affairs and Environment; Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme; and Transport in Scotland.

A further type of committee is normally set up to scrutinise private bills submitted to the Scottish Parliament by an outside party or promoter who is not a member of the Scottish Parliament or Scottish Government. Private bills normally relate to large-scale development projects such as infrastructure projects that require the use of land or property.{{cite web ], the Glasgow Airport Rail Link, the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link and extensions to the National Gallery of Scotland.{{cite web |url=http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/bills/privateBills.htm |title=Private Bill Committees |publisher=Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) |accessdate=2006-11-22-->

Legislative functions Constitution and powers The Scotland Act 1998, which was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and given Royal Assent by Queen Elizabeth II on 19 November 1998, governs the functions and role of the Scottish Parliament and delimits its legislative competence. For the purposes of parliamentary sovereignty, the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster continues to constitute the supreme legislature of Scotland, but under the terms of the Scotland Act, Westminster agreed to devolve some of its responsibilities over the domestic policy of Scotland to a new directly elected Scottish Parliament. Such matters are known as "devolved matters" and include education, health, Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department and justice. The Scotland Act enabled the Scottish Parliament to pass Acts of parliament on these issues. A degree of domestic authority, and all Foreign relations of the United Kingdom, remains at present with the UK Parliament in Westminster. The Scottish Parliament has the power to pass laws and has limited tax-varying capability. Another of the roles of the Parliament is to hold the Scottish Government to account.

The specific devolved matters are all subjects which are not explicitly stated in Section 5 of the Scotland Act as reserved matters. All matters that are not specifically reserved are automatically devolved to the Scottish Parliament. Most importantly, this includes agriculture, fisheries and forestry, Economy of Scotland, education, environment, food standards, health, home affairs, Scots law — Courts in Scotland, police and fire services, local government, Sport in Scotland and the arts, transport, training, Tourism in Scotland, research and statistics and social work. The Scottish Parliament has the ability to alter income tax in Scotland by up to 3 penny in the pound sterling.

Reserved matters are subjects that are outside the legislative competence of the Scotland Parliament. The Scottish Parliament is unable to legislate on such issues that are reserved to, and dealt with at, Westminster (and where Ministerial functions usually lie with UK Government ministers). These include Abortion in the United Kingdom, Media of the United Kingdom policy, British Civil Service, common markets for UK goods and services, Constitution of the United Kingdom, Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom, coal, oil, gas, Nuclear power in the United Kingdom, Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) and national security, Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, employment, foreign policy and relations with Europe, most aspects of Transport in the United Kingdom safety and regulation, National Lottery, protection of borders, National Insurance and stability of UK's fiscal, Economy of the United Kingdom and Banknotes of the pound sterling system.

Members of the public take part in Parliament in two ways that are not the case at Westminster: a public petitioning system, and cross-party groups on policy topics which the interested public join and attend meetings of, alongside MSPs. The Parliament is able to debate any issue (including those reserved to Westminster) but is unable to make laws on issues that are outside its legislative competence.

Bills has passed through all legislative stages, it becomes an Act of the Scottish Parliament.

As the Scottish Parliament is able to make laws on the areas constitutionally devolved to it, the legislative process begins with bill (proposed law) (draft laws) which are presented to Parliament.

Bills can be introduced to Parliament in a number of ways; the Scottish Government can introduce new laws or amendments to existing laws as a bill; a committee of the Parliament can present a bill in one of the areas under its remit; a member of the Scottish Parliament can introduce a bill as a private member; or a private bill can be submitted to Parliament by an outside proposer. Most draft laws are government bills introduced by ministers in the governing party. Bills pass through Parliament in a number of stages:

Stage 1 is the first, or introductory stage of the bill, where the minister or member in charge of the bill will formally introduce it to Parliament together with its accompanying documents - Explanatory Notes, a Policy Memorandum setting out the policy underlying the bill, and a Financial Memorandum setting out the costs and savings associated with it. Statements from the Presiding Officer and the member in charge of the bill are also lodged indicating whether the bill is within the legislative competence of the Parliament. Stage 1 usually takes place, initially, in the relevant committee or committees and is then submitted to the whole Parliament for a full debate in the chamber on the general principles of the bill. If the whole Parliament agrees in a vote to the general principles of the bill, it then proceeds to Stage 2.

Stage 2 is normally conducted entirely in the relevant committee, where amendments to the bill are proposed by committee members. At this stage, the bill is considered in substantial detail. Some bills and all emergency bills are considered in detail by a committee of the whole Parliament, in the debating chamber. The Presiding Officer acts as convener of the committee in such circumstances.{{cite web ]. However he cannot do so until a 4-week period has elapsed, during which the Law Officers of the Scottish Government or Her Majesty's Government can refer the bill to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council for a ruling on whether it is within the powers of the Parliament.{{cite web ]. Instead they begin with a phrase that reads: "The Bill for this Act of the Scottish Parliament was passed by the Parliament on and received Royal Assent on ".

Scrutiny of government being declared at the Scottish Parliament election, 2007. Ordinary general elections for the Scottish Parliament are held on the first Thursday in May every four years.

The party or parties that hold the majority of seats in the Parliament forms the Scottish Government. In contrast to many other parliamentary systems, Parliament elects a First Minister of Scotland from a number of candidates at the beginning of each parliamentary term (after a Elections in Scotland). Any member can put their name forward to be First Minister, and a vote is taken by all members of Parliament. Normally the leader of the largest party is returned as First Minister, and head of the Scottish Government. Theoretically Parliament also elects the Scottish Ministers who form the government of Scotland and sit in the Scottish cabinet, but such ministers are, in practice, appointed to their roles by the First Minister. Junior ministers, who do not attend cabinet, are also appointed to assist Scottish ministers in their departments. Most ministers and their juniors are drawn from amongst the elected MSPs, with the exception of Scotland's Chief Law Officers: the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General. Whilst the First Minister chooses the ministers, and may decide to remove them at any time; the formal appointment or dismissal, however, is made by the Sovereign.

Under the Scotland Act 1998, ordinary general elections for the Scottish Parliament are held on the first Thursday in May every four years (Scottish Parliament election, 1999, Scottish Parliament election, 2003, Scottish Parliament election, 2007 and so on). The date of the poll may be varied by up to one month either way by the Queen on the proposal of the Presiding Officer. If the Parliament itself resolves that it should be dissolved (with at least two-thirds of the Members voting in favour), or if the Parliament fails to nominate one of its members to be First Minister within 28 days of a General Election or of the position becoming vacant, the Presiding Officer proposes a date for an extraordinary general election and the Parliament is dissolved by the Queen by royal proclamation. Extraordinary general elections are in addition to ordinary general elections, unless held less than six months before the due date of an ordinary general election, in which case they supplant it. The following ordinary election reverts to the first Thursday in May, a multiple of four years after 1999 (i.e., 5 May 2011, 7 May 2015, etc).

Several procedures enable the Scottish Parliament to scrutinise the government. The First Minister or members of his cabinet can deliver statements to Parliament upon which MSPs are invited to question them. For example, at the beginning of each parliamentary year, the First Minister delivers a statement to the chamber setting out the government's legislative programme for the forthcoming year. After the statement has been delivered, the leaders of the opposition parties and other MSPs question the First Minister on issues related to the substance of the statement.{{cite web ] takes place. This gives members an opportunity to question the First Minister directly on issues under his jurisdiction. Opposition leaders ask a general question of the First Minister and then supplementary questions. Such a practice enables a "lead-in" to the questioner, who then uses their supplementary question to ask the First Minister any issue. The three general questions available to opposition leaders are:

Members who wish to ask general or themed questions, or questions of the First Minister, must lodge their questions with parliamentary clerks beforehand and questioners are then selected by the Presiding Officer. Written questions can also be submitted by members to ministers, for answer. Written questions and answers are published in the Official Report.

Members, constituencies and voting systems

Elections for the Scottish Parliament were amongst the first in the United Kingdom to use a mixed member proportional representation (MMS) system. The system is a form of the Additional Member System method of proportional representation (PR), and is better known as such in the United Kingdom. However, there are additional member systems, elsewhere in the world, which are not designed to produce proportional representation.

Of the 129 MSPs, 73 are elected to represent plurality voting system Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions and are known as "Constituency MSPs". Voters choose one member to represent the constituency, and the member with most votes is returned as a constituency MSP. The 73 Scottish Parliament constituencies shared the same boundaries as the United Kingdom constituencies in Scotland, prior to the 2005 reduction in the number of Scottish MPs, with the exception of Orkney and Shetland which each return their own constituency MSP. Currently, the average Scottish Parliament constituency comprises 55,000 electors. Given the geographical distribution of Demographics of Scotland, this results in constituencies of a smaller area in the Central Lowlands, where the bulk of Scotland's population live, and much larger constituency areas in the north and west of the country, which have a low population density. The island archipelagos of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles (Scottish Parliament constituency) comprise a much smaller number of electors, due to their disparate population and distance from the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. If a Constituency MSP resigns from Parliament, this triggers a by-election in his or her constituency, where a replacement MSP is returned from one of the parties by the plurality system.

The remaining 56 MSPs are elected by the additional member system. In each Scottish Parliament election, electors have a second vote, where they vote for a party instead of a constituency representative. These 56 are elected in eight different Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions#Regions, of which constituencies are sub-divisions. Each region returns seven additional member MSPs. The eight regions are: Highlands and Islands (Scottish Parliament electoral region); North East Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region); Mid Scotland and Fife (Scottish Parliament electoral region); West of Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region); Glasgow (Scottish Parliament electoral region); Central Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region); South of Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region); and Lothians (Scottish Parliament electoral region). Each political party draws up a list on candidates standing in each electoral region. The total number of seats in the Parliament are allocated to parties proportionally to the number of votes the party received in the second vote of the ballot, calculated by dividing the number of "list" votes cast for a party by the a number calculated from the number of constituency seats won in that region, plus the number of already-allocated "list" seats won in that region, plus one (to prevent division by zero), and the party with the largest number of votes remaining is allocated the first "list" seat. This is repeated Iterated function until all available "list" seats are allocated. The number of seats remaining allocated to that party are filled using members from the party's list. These members are called "List MSPs". If a List MSP resigns from the Scottish Parliament, he or she is replaced by the next member on the party list.

As in the House of Commons, a number of qualifications apply to being an MSP. Such qualifications were introduced under the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 and the British Nationality Act 1981. Specifically, members must be over the age of 18{{cite web ], the Republic of Ireland, one of the countries in the Commonwealth of Nations or a citizen of a British overseas territory. Members of the police and the armed forces are disqualified from sitting in the Scottish Parliament as elected MSPs, and similarly, civil servants and members of foreign legislatures are disqualified. An individual may not sit in the Scottish Parliament if they are judged to be insane under the terms of the Mental Health Act 1983; if they are subject to a Bankruptcy in the United Kingdom (in England and Wales only) or if his or her estate is sequestration (in Scotland).

Elections , Union Flag and Flag of the European Union flags flying outside the Parliament.There have been three elections to the Parliament, in Scottish Parliament election, 1999, Scottish Parliament election, 2003 and Scottish Parliament election, 2007.

The next election is due to be held on May 5 2011, unless more than two thirds of elected MSPs vote for a dissolution of Parliament, resulting in fresh elections, before that time. Citizens of other European_Union_member_states are entitled to vote in Scottish Parliament elections.

Results in 2007 {{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Scottish National Party |votes = 664,227 |votes % = 32.9 |votes net = +9.1 |seats = 21 |seats net = +12 |AMS votes = 633,401 |AMS votes % = 31.0 |AMS votes net = +10.2 |AMS seats = 26 |AMS seats net = +8 |Seats total = '''47''' |Seats net = +20 |Seats % = 37.0 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Scottish Labour Party |votes = 648,374 |votes % = 32.2 |votes net = -2.5 |seats = 37 |seats net = −9 |AMS votes = 595,415 |AMS votes % = 29.2 |AMS votes net = -0.1 |AMS seats = 9 |AMS seats net = +5 |Seats total = '''46''' |Seats net = −4 |Seats % = 36.2 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Scottish Conservative Party |votes = 334,743 |votes % = 16.6 |votes net = 0 |seats = 4 |seats net = +1 |AMS votes = 284,005 |AMS votes % = 13.9 |AMS votes net = -1.6 |AMS seats = 13 |AMS seats net = −2 |Seats total = '''17''' |Seats net = −1 |Seats % = 13.4 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Scottish Liberal Democrats |votes = 326,232 |votes % = 16.2 |votes net = +0.9 |seats = 11 |seats net = −2 |AMS votes = 230,671 |AMS votes % = 11.3 |AMS votes net = -0.5 |AMS seats = 5 |AMS seats net = +1 |Seats total = '''16''' |Seats net = −1 |Seats % = 12.6 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Scottish Green Party |votes = 2,971 |votes % = 0.2 |votes net = +0.2 |seats = 0 |seats net = - |AMS votes = 82,584 |AMS votes % = 4.0 |AMS votes net = -2.8 |AMS seats = 2 |AMS seats net = −5 |Seats total = '''2''' |Seats net = −5 |Seats % = 1.6 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party |votes = 1,702 |votes % = 0.1 |votes net = +0 |seats = 0 |seats net = - |AMS votes = 38,743 |AMS votes % = 1.9 |AMS votes net = +0.4 |AMS seats = 0 |AMS seats net = −1 |Seats total = 0 |Seats net = −1 |Seats % = 0 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Solidarity (Scotland) |votes = - |votes % = - |votes net = - |seats = - |seats net = - |AMS votes = 31,066 |AMS votes % = 1.5 |AMS votes net = +1.5 |AMS seats = 0 |AMS seats net = 0 |Seats total = 0 |Seats net = 0 |Seats % = 0 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Scottish Christian Party |votes = 4,586 |votes % = 0.2 |votes net = +0.2 |seats = 0 |seats net = 0 |AMS votes = 26,575 |AMS votes % = 1.3 |AMS votes net = +1.3 |AMS seats = 0 |AMS seats net = 0 |Seats total = 0 |Seats net = 0 |Seats % = 0 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = British National Party |votes = - |votes % = - |votes net = - |seats = - |seats net = - |AMS votes = 24,616 |AMS votes % = 1.2 |AMS votes net = +1.1 |AMS seats = 0 |AMS seats net = 0 |Seats total = 0 |Seats net = 0 |Seats % = 0 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Christian Peoples Alliance |votes = - |votes % = - |votes net = - |seats = - |seats net = - |AMS votes = 14,745 |AMS votes % = 0.7 |AMS votes net = +0.7 |AMS seats = 0 |AMS seats net = 0 |Seats total = 0 |Seats net = 0 |Seats % = 0 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Socialist Labour Party (UK) |votes = - |votes % = - |votes net = - |seats = - |seats net = - |AMS votes = 14,244 |AMS votes % = 0.7 |AMS votes net = -0.4 |AMS seats = 0 |AMS seats net = 0 |Seats total = 0 |Seats net = 0 |Seats % = 0 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Scottish Socialist Party |votes = 525 |votes % = 0.0 |votes net = -6.2 |seats = 0 |seats net = - |AMS votes = 12,731 |AMS votes % = 0.6 |AMS votes net = -6.1 |AMS seats = 0 |AMS seats net = −6 |Seats total = 0 |Seats net = −6 |Seats % = 0 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = United Kingdom Independence Party |votes = - |votes % = - |votes net = - |seats = - |seats net = - |AMS votes = 8,197 |AMS votes % = 0.4 |AMS votes net = −0.2 |AMS seats = 0 |AMS seats net = 0 |Seats total = 0 |Seats net = 0 |Seats % = 0 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary||party = Others |votes = 33,618 |votes % = 1.7 |votes net = -1.2 |seats = 0 |seats net = −2 |AMS votes = 45,116 |AMS votes % = 2.2 |AMS votes net = -0.7 |AMS seats = 1 |AMS seats net = 1 |Seats total = '''1''' |Seats net = −2 |Seats % = 0.8 -->|-|   || Total || 2,016,978 || 100 || +2.5 || 73 ||   || 2,042,089 || 100 || || 56 ||   || 129 ||   || 100.0|}

Overall turnout - 51.8%

Composition following the 2007 election.
█ Scottish National Party (47)
█ Scottish Labour Party (46)
█ Scottish Conservative Party (16)1
█ Scottish Liberal Democrats (16)
█ Scottish Green Party (2)
█ Independent (politician) (1)
1 Was 17, but the Presiding Officer, currently Alex Fergusson (Scottish politician), elected as a Conservative, voluntarily accepts suspension from his or her party.

The Election of May 2007, resulted in the Scottish National Party (SNP) winning 47 seats, an increase of 20 seats from the Scottish Parliament election, 2003. The Scottish Labour Party gained 46 seats, a reduction of 4 seats from 2003. The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party and Scottish Liberal Democrats gained 17 and 16 seats respectively, a reduction of 1 each. In terms of the minor parties, the Scottish Green Party was returned with 2 seats, a reduction of 5 from the 2003 election and Margo MacDonald, the independent List MSP for the Lothians (Scottish Parliament electoral region), also retained her seat.

Parties which were represented in the Members of the 2nd Scottish Parliament, such as the Scottish Socialist Party, Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party and Solidarity (Scotland) lost their seats, as did the independents Campbell Martin and Jean Turner.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6622335.stm |title=Timeline: Scottish elections 2007 |publisher=BBC |date=2007-05-04 |accessdate=2007-07-24--> The Independent MSPs, Brian Monteith and Dennis Canavan, both retired prior to the election.

The Conservatives were returned with 17 seats after the election, but the Conservative MSP Alex Fergusson (Scottish politician), member for the constituency of Galloway and Upper Nithsdale (Scottish Parliament constituency), was voted in as Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament on May 14, 2007. Given the strict political impartiality required for the role, the Presiding Officer accepts voluntary suspension from his or her party for the duration of their period in office. This led to the Conservative representation in Parliament being reduced to 16 members.

As a result of the proportional representation system used to elect Members, no one party gained an overall majority of seats in the Parliament. The SNP emerged as the largest party in the Parliament, one seat ahead of Labour, but were unable to negotiate a coalition deal with any other of the parties and consequently govern as a minority government, with support from the 2 members of the Scottish Green Party.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/11_05_07_agreement.pdf |title=Scottish National Party and Scottish Green Party Co-operation agreement |publisher=BBC |date=2007-05-11 |accessdate=2007-07-24--> The leader of the SNP, Alex Salmond was elected First Minister of Scotland, i {{Infobox Scottish Parliament| logo = | name = Scottish Parliament| image_1 = Edinburgh Scottish Parliament01 2006-04-29.jpg| image_title_1 = Scottish Parliament Building| established| presiding officer =| deputy presiding officers =| parties = | members = [Members of the 3rd Scottish Parliament| committees = | election = European Parliament election, 2004 (Member of the European Parliament)| location = Holyrood, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Scotland: Pàrlamaid na h-Alba; [Scots language: Scottish PairlamentThe Scots language for Scottish is in fact Scots.) is the national, unicameralism legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh area of the capital Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood" (cf. "Parliament of the United Kingdom"), is a democracy elected body comprising 129 members who are known as Member of the Scottish Parliament, or MSPs. Members are elected for four-year terms under the mixed member proportional representation system. As a result, 73 MSPs represent individual geographical Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions elected by the plurality voting system ("first past the post") system, with a further 56 returned from eight Additional Member System regions, each electing seven MSPs. A Scottish Parliament general election, 2007 to the Parliament was held on 3 May 2007.

The original Parliament of Scotland (or "The States of Scotland") was the national legislature of the independent Kingdom of Scotland, and existed from the early 13th century until the Kingdom of Scotland merged with the Kingdom of England under the Acts of Union 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. As a consequence, the Parliament of Scotland merged with the Parliament of England to form the Parliament of Great Britain, which sat at Westminster in London.

Following a Scottish devolution referendum, 1997 in which the Scottish people gave their consent, the current Parliament was established by the Scotland Act 1998, which sets out its powers as a devolution legislature. The Act delineates the legislative competence of the Parliament — the areas in which it can make Scots law — by explicitly specifying powers that are "reserved matters" to the Parliament of the United Kingdom: all matters that are not explicitly reserved are automatically the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament.{{cite web ] 1999.{{cite web |url=http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-99/or010104.htm#Col7 |title=Scottish Parliament Official Report - 12 May 1999 |publisher=Scottish Parliament |accessdate=2006-11-05-->

History Before the Act of Union 1707, Scotland had an independence parliament with a Parliament of Scotland known as the Estates of the realm. Initial Scottish proposals in the negotiation over the Union suggested a devolved Parliament be retained in Scotland, but this was not accepted by the Kingdom of England negotiators.

For the next three hundred years, Scotland was directly governed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, at Westminster, and the lack of a Scottish Parliament remained an important element in Scottish national identity. Suggestions for a 'devolved' Parliament were made before 1914, but were shelved due to the outbreak of the World War I. A sharp rise in nationalism in Scotland during the late 1960s fueled demands for some form of devolution or complete Scottish independence, and prompted the incumbent Labour Party (UK) Government of Harold Wilson to set up the Royal Commission on the Constitution (United Kingdom) on the Constitution of the United Kingdom in 1969. One of the principal objectives of the commission was to examine ways of enabling more self-government for Scotland, within the unitary state of the United Kingdom. Kilbrandon published his report in 1973 recommending the establishment of a directly elected Scottish Assembly to legislate for the majority of domestic Scottish affairs.

During this time, the discovery of North Sea oil in the North Sea and the following "It's Scotland's oil" campaign of the Scottish National Party (SNP) resulted in rising support for Scottish independence, as well as the SNP. The party argued that the revenues from the oil were not benefiting Scotland as much as they should be. The combined effect of these events led to Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Wilson committing his government to some form of devolved legislature in 1974. However, it was not until 1978 that final legislative proposals for a Scottish Assembly were passed by the United Kingdom Parliament. Under the terms of the Scotland Act 1978, an elected assembly would be set up in Edinburgh provided that the majority of the Scottish electorate voted for it in a referendum to be held on 1 March 1979. The 1979 Scottish devolution referendum, 1979 to establish a devolved Scottish Assembly failed. Although the vote was 52% in favour of a Scottish Assembly, this figure did not equal the 40% of the total electorate threshold deemed necessary to pass the measure, as 32.9% of the eligible voting population had abstained from voting.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, demands for a Scottish Parliament grew, in part because the government of the United Kingdom was controlled by the Conservative Party (UK), while Scotland itself elected very few Tory MPs. In the aftermath of the 1979 referendum defeat, the Campaign for a Scottish Assembly was initiated as a pressure group, leading to the 1989 Scottish Constitutional Convention with various organisations, List of political parties in Scotland and representatives of industry taking part. Publishing its blueprint for devolution in 1995, the convention provided much of the basis for the structure of the Parliament.

Devolution became part of the platform of the Labour Party which, in May 1997, took power under Tony Blair. In September 1997, a referendum of the Scottish electorate secured a majority in favour of the establishment of a new devolved Scottish Parliament with tax-varying powers in Edinburgh. An election was held on 6 May 1999, and on 1 July of that year power was transferred from Westminster to the new Parliament.

Building

Since September 2004 the official home of the Scottish Parliament has been a new Scottish Parliament Building, in the Holyrood area of Edinburgh. Designed by Catalan people architect Enric Miralles, some of the principal features of the complex include leaf-shaped buildings, a grass-roofed branch merging into adjacent parkland and gabion walls formed from the stones of previous buildings. Throughout the building there are many repeated motifs, such as shapes based on Henry Raeburn's The Skating Minister.{{cite web |url=http://www.architecturetoday.co.uk/Articles/view.php?id=23084|title=Identity parade: Miralles and the Scottish parliament: On the architectural territories of the EMBT/RMJM parliament building |publisher=Architecture Today no.154 p.32–44 |date= January 2005 |author=Charles Jencks |accessdate=2007-01-07--> Stepped gables, and the upturned boat skylights of the Garden Lobby, complete the unique architecture. Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom opened the new building on 9 October 2004.

Whilst the building was being constructed, the Parliament's temporary home was the General Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland of the Church of Scotland on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.{{cite web ] of the University of Edinburgh. This building was vacated twice to allow for the meeting of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. In May 2000, the Parliament was temporarily relocated to the former Strathclyde Regional Council debating chamber in Glasgow, and to the University of Aberdeen in May 2002.{{cite web ] back benches during a debate. The debating chamber was subsequently closed, and MSPs moved to The Hub (Edinburgh) for one week, while inspections were carried out. During repairs, all chamber business was conducted in the Parliament's committee room two.

Officials After each election to the Scottish Parliament, at the beginning of each parliamentary session, Parliament elects one MSP to serve as Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, the equivalent of the Speaker (politics) (currently Alex Fergusson (Scottish politician)), and two MSPs to serve as deputies (currently Trish Godman and Alasdair Morgan). The Presiding Officer and deputies are elected by a secret ballot of the 129 MSPs, which is the only secret ballot conducted in the Scottish Parliament. Principally, the role of the Presiding Officer is to chair chamber proceedings and the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. When chairing meetings of the Parliament, the Presiding Officer and his deputies must be politically impartial. During debates, the Presiding Officer (or his deputy) is assisted by the parliamentary clerks, who give advice on how to interpret the standing orders that govern the proceedings of meetings. A vote clerk sits in front of the Presiding Officer and operates the electronic voting equipment and chamber clocks.

As a member of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, the Presiding Officer is responsible for ensuring that the Parliament functions effectively and has the staff, property and resources it requires to operate. Convening the parliamentary bureau, which allocates time in the chamber, is another of the roles of the Presiding Officer. The bureau consists of representatives of each of the parties and agrees the timetable of business in the chamber. The Presiding Officer also represents the Scottish Parliament at home and abroad in an official capacity.

The Presiding Officer controls debates by calling on members to speak. If a member believes that a rule (or standing order) has been breached, he or she may raise a "point of order", on which the Presiding Officer makes a ruling that is not subject to any debate or appeal. The Presiding Officer may also discipline members who fail to observe the rules of the Parliament.

The member of the Scottish Government whose duty it is to steer Executive business through Parliament is the Minister for Parliamentary Business (currently Bruce Crawford). The minister is appointed by the First Minister of Scotland and is a Junior Minister in the Scottish Government, who does not attend List of Scottish Executives.

Parliamentary chamber

Unlike Westminster, the debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament has seating arranged in a semicircle, which reflects the desire to encourage consensus amongst elected members. There are 131 seats in the debating chamber. Of the total 131 seats, 129 are occupied by the Parliament's elected MSPs and 2 are seats for the Scottish Law Officers - the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General for Scotland, who are not elected members of the Parliament but are members of the Scottish Government. Members are able to sit anywhere in the debating chamber, but typically sit in their party groupings. The First Minister, Scottish List of Scottish Executive ministerial teams and Law officers sit in the front row, in the middle section of the chamber. The largest party in the Parliament sits in the middle of the semicircle, with opposing parties on either side. The Presiding Officer, parliamentary clerks and officials sit opposite members at the front of the debating chamber.

In front of the Presiding Officers' desk is the parliamentary ceremonial mace, which is made from silver and inlay with gold panned from Scottish rivers and inscribed with the words: Wisdom, Compassion, Justice and Integrity. The words - There shall be a Scottish Parliament, which are the first words of the Scotland Act, are inscribed around the head of the mace. The mace has a formal ceremonial role in the meetings of Parliament, reinforcing the authority of the Parliament in its ability to make laws. Presented to the Scottish Parliament by the Queen upon its official opening in July 1999, the mace is displayed in a glass case suspended from the lid. At the beginning of each sitting in the chamber, the lid of the case is rotated so that the mace is above the glass, to symbolise that a full meeting of the Parliament is taking place.

Proceedings

Parliament sits from Monday through to Thursday from early January through to late June and from early September through to mid December, with 2-week recesses in April and October. Full plenary meetings in the debating chamber usually take place on Wednesday afternoons from 2pm to 6pm and on Thursday from 9.15am to 6pm. Chamber debates and committee meetings are open to the public. Entry is free, but booking in advance is recommended due to limited space. Meetings are broadcast on the Parliament's own channel Holyrood.tv{{cite web| title = Holyrood.tv | work = [BBC News | publisher = Scottish Parliament | date = | url = http://holyrood.tv | accessdate = 2006-10-11 --> and on the BBC's parliamentary channel BBC Parliament. Proceedings are also recorded, in text form, in print and online in the Official Report, which is the substantially verbatim{{cite web| title = Official Report terms of Reference | work = Parliamentary Business - Official Report | publisher = Scottish Parliament | date = 19 May [ | url = http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/terms.htm | accessdate = 2006-10-11 --> transcript of parliamentary debates.

"Time for Reflection" is normally the first item of business on Wednesdays. A speaker addresses the meeting for up to four minutes to share their perspectives on issues of faith. This contrasts with the formal style of "Prayers", which is the first item of business in meetings of the British House of Commons. Speakers are drawn from Religion in Scotland across Scotland. Invitations to address Parliament in this manner are determined by the Presiding Officer on the advice of the parliamentary bureau. Different faith groups can make direct representations to the Presiding Officer in nominating speakers. The pattern of speakers represents the balance of religious beliefs in Scotland according to the Census in the United Kingdom.

The Presiding Officer (or Deputy Presiding Officer) decides who speaks in chamber debates and the amount of time for which they are allowed to speak. Normally the Presiding Officer tries to achieve a balance between different viewpoints and political parties when selecting members to speak. Typically Ministers or party leaders open debates, with opening speakers given between 5 and 20 minutes, and succeeding speakers allocated less time. The Presiding Officer can reduce speaking times if a high volume of members wish to participate in the debate. Debate is much more informal than in some parliamentary systems.Burrows, N (1999) pp241–260 Members may call each other directly by name, rather than by constituency or cabinet position, and hand clapping is allowed in the chamber. Speeches to the chamber are normally delivered in English language, but members may use Scots language, Scottish Gaelic, or any other language with the agreement of the Presiding Officer. The Scottish Parliament has conducted debates in the Gaelic language.

Each sitting day, normally at 5pm, MSPs decide on all the motion (democracy) and amendments that have been moved that day; this is known as "Decision Time", and is heralded by the sounding of the division bell, which is heard throughout the Parliamentary campus and alerts MSPs who are not in the chamber to return and vote. At Decision Time, the Presiding Officer puts questions on the motions and amendments by reading out the name of the motion or amendment as well as the proposer and asking "Are we all agreed?", to which the chamber first votes orally. If there is audible dissent, the Presiding Officer announces "There will be a division" and members proceed to an electronic vote by means of electronic consoles on their desks. Each MSP has a unique access card with integrated circuit which, when inserted into the console, identifies them and allows them to vote. As a result, the outcome of each division is known in seconds.

The outcome of most votes is largely known beforehand, since political parties normally instruct members on how to vote. A party entrusts some MSPs, known as whip (politics), with the task of ensuring that all party members vote as desired. MSPs do not tend to vote against such instructions, since those who do so are unlikely to reach higher political ranks in their parties.Kingdom, J (1999) p373 Errant members can be deselected as official party candidates during future elections, and, in serious cases, may be expelled from their parties outright.Kingdom, J (1999) p374 Thus, as with many Parliaments, the independence of Members of the Scottish Parliament tends to be extremely low, and "backbench rebellions" by members discontent with their party's policies are rare.Kingdom, J (1999) p374 In some circumstances, however, parties announce "free votes", allowing Members to vote as they please. This is done on morality issues.Kingdom, J (1999) p375

Immediately after Decision Time a "Members Debate" is held, which lasts for 45 minutes. Members Business is a debate on a motion proposed by an MSP who is not a Scottish Executive. Such motions are on issues which may be of interest to a particular area (such as the members' own constituency), an upcoming or past event or any other item which would otherwise not be accorded official parliamentary time. As well as the proposer, other members normally contribute to the debate. The relevant minister, whose department the debate and motion relate to, "winds-up" the debate by speaking after all other participants.

Committees infrastructure projects - such as the underground extensions to the National Gallery of Scotland in 2003.Much of the work of the Scottish Parliament is done in committee. The role of committees is stronger in the Scottish Parliament than in other parliamentary systems, partly as a means of strengthening the role of backbenchers in their scrutiny of the governmentDardanelli (2005) p185 and partly to compensate for the fact that there is no revising chamber. The principal role of committees in the Scottish Parliament is to conduct inquiries, scrutinise legislation and hold the government to account. Committee meetings take place in the Parliament's committee rooms all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning when Parliament is sitting. Committees can also meet at other locations throughout Scotland.

Committees comprise a small number of MSPs, with membership reflecting the balance of parties across Parliament. There are different committees with their functions set out in different ways. Mandatory Committees are committees which are set down under the Scottish Parliament's standing orders, which govern their remits and proceedings. The current Mandatory Committees of the Scottish Parliament are: Audit; Equal Opportunities; Politics of Europe and External Relations; Finance; Procedures; Public Petitions; Standards and Public Appointments; and Subordinate Legislation.

Subject Committees are established at the beginning of each parliamentary session, and again the balance of members on each committee reflects the balance of parties across Parliament. Typically each committee corresponds with one (or more) of the departments (or ministries) of the Scottish Government. The current Subject Committees are: Economy, Energy and Tourism; Education in Scotland; NHS Scotland; Scots Law; Local government in Scotland; Rural Affairs and Environment; Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme; and Transport in Scotland.

A further type of committee is normally set up to scrutinise private bills submitted to the Scottish Parliament by an outside party or promoter who is not a member of the Scottish Parliament or Scottish Government. Private bills normally relate to large-scale development projects such as infrastructure projects that require the use of land or property.{{cite web ], the Glasgow Airport Rail Link, the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link and extensions to the National Gallery of Scotland.{{cite web |url=http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/bills/privateBills.htm |title=Private Bill Committees |publisher=Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) |accessdate=2006-11-22-->

Legislative functions Constitution and powers The Scotland Act 1998, which was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and given Royal Assent by Queen Elizabeth II on 19 November 1998, governs the functions and role of the Scottish Parliament and delimits its legislative competence. For the purposes of parliamentary sovereignty, the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster continues to constitute the supreme legislature of Scotland, but under the terms of the Scotland Act, Westminster agreed to devolve some of its responsibilities over the domestic policy of Scotland to a new directly elected Scottish Parliament. Such matters are known as "devolved matters" and include education, health, Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department and justice. The Scotland Act enabled the Scottish Parliament to pass Acts of parliament on these issues. A degree of domestic authority, and all Foreign relations of the United Kingdom, remains at present with the UK Parliament in Westminster. The Scottish Parliament has the power to pass laws and has limited tax-varying capability. Another of the roles of the Parliament is to hold the Scottish Government to account.

The specific devolved matters are all subjects which are not explicitly stated in Section 5 of the Scotland Act as reserved matters. All matters that are not specifically reserved are automatically devolved to the Scottish Parliament. Most importantly, this includes agriculture, fisheries and forestry, Economy of Scotland, education, environment, food standards, health, home affairs, Scots law — Courts in Scotland, police and fire services, local government, Sport in Scotland and the arts, transport, training, Tourism in Scotland, research and statistics and social work. The Scottish Parliament has the ability to alter income tax in Scotland by up to 3 penny in the pound sterling.

Reserved matters are subjects that are outside the legislative competence of the Scotland Parliament. The Scottish Parliament is unable to legislate on such issues that are reserved to, and dealt with at, Westminster (and where Ministerial functions usually lie with UK Government ministers). These include Abortion in the United Kingdom, Media of the United Kingdom policy, British Civil Service, common markets for UK goods and services, Constitution of the United Kingdom, Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom, coal, oil, gas, Nuclear power in the United Kingdom, Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) and national security, Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, employment, foreign policy and relations with Europe, most aspects of Transport in the United Kingdom safety and regulation, National Lottery, protection of borders, National Insurance and stability of UK's fiscal, Economy of the United Kingdom and Banknotes of the pound sterling system.

Members of the public take part in Parliament in two ways that are not the case at Westminster: a public petitioning system, and cross-party groups on policy topics which the interested public join and attend meetings of, alongside MSPs. The Parliament is able to debate any issue (including those reserved to Westminster) but is unable to make laws on issues that are outside its legislative competence.

Bills has passed through all legislative stages, it becomes an Act of the Scottish Parliament.

As the Scottish Parliament is able to make laws on the areas constitutionally devolved to it, the legislative process begins with bill (proposed law) (draft laws) which are presented to Parliament.

Bills can be introduced to Parliament in a number of ways; the Scottish Government can introduce new laws or amendments to existing laws as a bill; a committee of the Parliament can present a bill in one of the areas under its remit; a member of the Scottish Parliament can introduce a bill as a private member; or a private bill can be submitted to Parliament by an outside proposer. Most draft laws are government bills introduced by ministers in the governing party. Bills pass through Parliament in a number of stages:

Stage 1 is the first, or introductory stage of the bill, where the minister or member in charge of the bill will formally introduce it to Parliament together with its accompanying documents - Explanatory Notes, a Policy Memorandum setting out the policy underlying the bill, and a Financial Memorandum setting out the costs and savings associated with it. Statements from the Presiding Officer and the member in charge of the bill are also lodged indicating whether the bill is within the legislative competence of the Parliament. Stage 1 usually takes place, initially, in the relevant committee or committees and is then submitted to the whole Parliament for a full debate in the chamber on the general principles of the bill. If the whole Parliament agrees in a vote to the general principles of the bill, it then proceeds to Stage 2.

Stage 2 is normally conducted entirely in the relevant committee, where amendments to the bill are proposed by committee members. At this stage, the bill is considered in substantial detail. Some bills and all emergency bills are considered in detail by a committee of the whole Parliament, in the debating chamber. The Presiding Officer acts as convener of the committee in such circumstances.{{cite web ]. However he cannot do so until a 4-week period has elapsed, during which the Law Officers of the Scottish Government or Her Majesty's Government can refer the bill to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council for a ruling on whether it is within the powers of the Parliament.{{cite web ]. Instead they begin with a phrase that reads: "The Bill for this Act of the Scottish Parliament was passed by the Parliament on and received Royal Assent on ".

Scrutiny of government being declared at the Scottish Parliament election, 2007. Ordinary general elections for the Scottish Parliament are held on the first Thursday in May every four years.

The party or parties that hold the majority of seats in the Parliament forms the Scottish Government. In contrast to many other parliamentary systems, Parliament elects a First Minister of Scotland from a number of candidates at the beginning of each parliamentary term (after a Elections in Scotland). Any member can put their name forward to be First Minister, and a vote is taken by all members of Parliament. Normally the leader of the largest party is returned as First Minister, and head of the Scottish Government. Theoretically Parliament also elects the Scottish Ministers who form the government of Scotland and sit in the Scottish cabinet, but such ministers are, in practice, appointed to their roles by the First Minister. Junior ministers, who do not attend cabinet, are also appointed to assist Scottish ministers in their departments. Most ministers and their juniors are drawn from amongst the elected MSPs, with the exception of Scotland's Chief Law Officers: the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General. Whilst the First Minister chooses the ministers, and may decide to remove them at any time; the formal appointment or dismissal, however, is made by the Sovereign.

Under the Scotland Act 1998, ordinary general elections for the Scottish Parliament are held on the first Thursday in May every four years (Scottish Parliament election, 1999, Scottish Parliament election, 2003, Scottish Parliament election, 2007 and so on). The date of the poll may be varied by up to one month either way by the Queen on the proposal of the Presiding Officer. If the Parliament itself resolves that it should be dissolved (with at least two-thirds of the Members voting in favour), or if the Parliament fails to nominate one of its members to be First Minister within 28 days of a General Election or of the position becoming vacant, the Presiding Officer proposes a date for an extraordinary general election and the Parliament is dissolved by the Queen by royal proclamation. Extraordinary general elections are in addition to ordinary general elections, unless held less than six months before the due date of an ordinary general election, in which case they supplant it. The following ordinary election reverts to the first Thursday in May, a multiple of four years after 1999 (i.e., 5 May 2011, 7 May 2015, etc).

Several procedures enable the Scottish Parliament to scrutinise the government. The First Minister or members of his cabinet can deliver statements to Parliament upon which MSPs are invited to question them. For example, at the beginning of each parliamentary year, the First Minister delivers a statement to the chamber setting out the government's legislative programme for the forthcoming year. After the statement has been delivered, the leaders of the opposition parties and other MSPs question the First Minister on issues related to the substance of the statement.{{cite web ] takes place. This gives members an opportunity to question the First Minister directly on issues under his jurisdiction. Opposition leaders ask a general question of the First Minister and then supplementary questions. Such a practice enables a "lead-in" to the questioner, who then uses their supplementary question to ask the First Minister any issue. The three general questions available to opposition leaders are:

Members who wish to ask general or themed questions, or questions of the First Minister, must lodge their questions with parliamentary clerks beforehand and questioners are then selected by the Presiding Officer. Written questions can also be submitted by members to ministers, for answer. Written questions and answers are published in the Official Report.

Members, constituencies and voting systems

Elections for the Scottish Parliament were amongst the first in the United Kingdom to use a mixed member proportional representation (MMS) system. The system is a form of the Additional Member System method of proportional representation (PR), and is better known as such in the United Kingdom. However, there are additional member systems, elsewhere in the world, which are not designed to produce proportional representation.

Of the 129 MSPs, 73 are elected to represent plurality voting system Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions and are known as "Constituency MSPs". Voters choose one member to represent the constituency, and the member with most votes is returned as a constituency MSP. The 73 Scottish Parliament constituencies shared the same boundaries as the United Kingdom constituencies in Scotland, prior to the 2005 reduction in the number of Scottish MPs, with the exception of Orkney and Shetland which each return their own constituency MSP. Currently, the average Scottish Parliament constituency comprises 55,000 electors. Given the geographical distribution of Demographics of Scotland, this results in constituencies of a smaller area in the Central Lowlands, where the bulk of Scotland's population live, and much larger constituency areas in the north and west of the country, which have a low population density. The island archipelagos of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles (Scottish Parliament constituency) comprise a much smaller number of electors, due to their disparate population and distance from the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. If a Constituency MSP resigns from Parliament, this triggers a by-election in his or her constituency, where a replacement MSP is returned from one of the parties by the plurality system.

The remaining 56 MSPs are elected by the additional member system. In each Scottish Parliament election, electors have a second vote, where they vote for a party instead of a constituency representative. These 56 are elected in eight different Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions#Regions, of which constituencies are sub-divisions. Each region returns seven additional member MSPs. The eight regions are: Highlands and Islands (Scottish Parliament electoral region); North East Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region); Mid Scotland and Fife (Scottish Parliament electoral region); West of Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region); Glasgow (Scottish Parliament electoral region); Central Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region); South of Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region); and Lothians (Scottish Parliament electoral region). Each political party draws up a list on candidates standing in each electoral region. The total number of seats in the Parliament are allocated to parties proportionally to the number of votes the party received in the second vote of the ballot, calculated by dividing the number of "list" votes cast for a party by the a number calculated from the number of constituency seats won in that region, plus the number of already-allocated "list" seats won in that region, plus one (to prevent division by zero), and the party with the largest number of votes remaining is allocated the first "list" seat. This is repeated Iterated function until all available "list" seats are allocated. The number of seats remaining allocated to that party are filled using members from the party's list. These members are called "List MSPs". If a List MSP resigns from the Scottish Parliament, he or she is replaced by the next member on the party list.

As in the House of Commons, a number of qualifications apply to being an MSP. Such qualifications were introduced under the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 and the British Nationality Act 1981. Specifically, members must be over the age of 18{{cite web ], the Republic of Ireland, one of the countries in the Commonwealth of Nations or a citizen of a British overseas territory. Members of the police and the armed forces are disqualified from sitting in the Scottish Parliament as elected MSPs, and similarly, civil servants and members of foreign legislatures are disqualified. An individual may not sit in the Scottish Parliament if they are judged to be insane under the terms of the Mental Health Act 1983; if they are subject to a Bankruptcy in the United Kingdom (in England and Wales only) or if his or her estate is sequestration (in Scotland).

Elections , Union Flag and Flag of the European Union flags flying outside the Parliament.There have been three elections to the Parliament, in Scottish Parliament election, 1999, Scottish Parliament election, 2003 and Scottish Parliament election, 2007.

The next election is due to be held on May 5 2011, unless more than two thirds of elected MSPs vote for a dissolution of Parliament, resulting in fresh elections, before that time. Citizens of other European_Union_member_states are entitled to vote in Scottish Parliament elections.

Results in 2007 {{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Scottish National Party |votes = 664,227 |votes % = 32.9 |votes net = +9.1 |seats = 21 |seats net = +12 |AMS votes = 633,401 |AMS votes % = 31.0 |AMS votes net = +10.2 |AMS seats = 26 |AMS seats net = +8 |Seats total = '''47''' |Seats net = +20 |Seats % = 37.0 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Scottish Labour Party |votes = 648,374 |votes % = 32.2 |votes net = -2.5 |seats = 37 |seats net = −9 |AMS votes = 595,415 |AMS votes % = 29.2 |AMS votes net = -0.1 |AMS seats = 9 |AMS seats net = +5 |Seats total = '''46''' |Seats net = −4 |Seats % = 36.2 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Scottish Conservative Party |votes = 334,743 |votes % = 16.6 |votes net = 0 |seats = 4 |seats net = +1 |AMS votes = 284,005 |AMS votes % = 13.9 |AMS votes net = -1.6 |AMS seats = 13 |AMS seats net = −2 |Seats total = '''17''' |Seats net = −1 |Seats % = 13.4 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Scottish Liberal Democrats |votes = 326,232 |votes % = 16.2 |votes net = +0.9 |seats = 11 |seats net = −2 |AMS votes = 230,671 |AMS votes % = 11.3 |AMS votes net = -0.5 |AMS seats = 5 |AMS seats net = +1 |Seats total = '''16''' |Seats net = −1 |Seats % = 12.6 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Scottish Green Party |votes = 2,971 |votes % = 0.2 |votes net = +0.2 |seats = 0 |seats net = - |AMS votes = 82,584 |AMS votes % = 4.0 |AMS votes net = -2.8 |AMS seats = 2 |AMS seats net = −5 |Seats total = '''2''' |Seats net = −5 |Seats % = 1.6 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party |votes = 1,702 |votes % = 0.1 |votes net = +0 |seats = 0 |seats net = - |AMS votes = 38,743 |AMS votes % = 1.9 |AMS votes net = +0.4 |AMS seats = 0 |AMS seats net = −1 |Seats total = 0 |Seats net = −1 |Seats % = 0 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Solidarity (Scotland) |votes = - |votes % = - |votes net = - |seats = - |seats net = - |AMS votes = 31,066 |AMS votes % = 1.5 |AMS votes net = +1.5 |AMS seats = 0 |AMS seats net = 0 |Seats total = 0 |Seats net = 0 |Seats % = 0 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Scottish Christian Party |votes = 4,586 |votes % = 0.2 |votes net = +0.2 |seats = 0 |seats net = 0 |AMS votes = 26,575 |AMS votes % = 1.3 |AMS votes net = +1.3 |AMS seats = 0 |AMS seats net = 0 |Seats total = 0 |Seats net = 0 |Seats % = 0 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = British National Party |votes = - |votes % = - |votes net = - |seats = - |seats net = - |AMS votes = 24,616 |AMS votes % = 1.2 |AMS votes net = +1.1 |AMS seats = 0 |AMS seats net = 0 |Seats total = 0 |Seats net = 0 |Seats % = 0 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Christian Peoples Alliance |votes = - |votes % = - |votes net = - |seats = - |seats net = - |AMS votes = 14,745 |AMS votes % = 0.7 |AMS votes net = +0.7 |AMS seats = 0 |AMS seats net = 0 |Seats total = 0 |Seats net = 0 |Seats % = 0 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Socialist Labour Party (UK) |votes = - |votes % = - |votes net = - |seats = - |seats net = - |AMS votes = 14,244 |AMS votes % = 0.7 |AMS votes net = -0.4 |AMS seats = 0 |AMS seats net = 0 |Seats total = 0 |Seats net = 0 |Seats % = 0 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = Scottish Socialist Party |votes = 525 |votes % = 0.0 |votes net = -6.2 |seats = 0 |seats net = - |AMS votes = 12,731 |AMS votes % = 0.6 |AMS votes net = -6.1 |AMS seats = 0 |AMS seats net = −6 |Seats total = 0 |Seats net = −6 |Seats % = 0 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary Party||party = United Kingdom Independence Party |votes = - |votes % = - |votes net = - |seats = - |seats net = - |AMS votes = 8,197 |AMS votes % = 0.4 |AMS votes net = −0.2 |AMS seats = 0 |AMS seats net = 0 |Seats total = 0 |Seats net = 0 |Seats % = 0 -->{{Template:AMS Election Summary||party = Others |votes = 33,618 |votes % = 1.7 |votes net = -1.2 |seats = 0 |seats net = −2 |AMS votes = 45,116 |AMS votes % = 2.2 |AMS votes net = -0.7 |AMS seats = 1 |AMS seats net = 1 |Seats total = '''1''' |Seats net = −2 |Seats % = 0.8 -->|-|   || Total || 2,016,978 || 100 || +2.5 || 73 ||   || 2,042,089 || 100 || || 56 ||   || 129 ||   || 100.0|}

Overall turnout - 51.8%

Composition following the 2007 election.
█ Scottish National Party (47)
█ Scottish Labour Party (46)
█ Scottish Conservative Party (16)1
█ Scottish Liberal Democrats (16)
█ Scottish Green Party (2)
█ Independent (politician) (1)
1 Was 17, but the Presiding Officer, currently Alex Fergusson (Scottish politician), elected as a Conservative, voluntarily accepts suspension from his or her party.

The Election of May 2007, resulted in the Scottish National Party (SNP) winning 47 seats, an increase of 20 seats from the Scottish Parliament election, 2003. The Scottish Labour Party gained 46 seats, a reduction of 4 seats from 2003. The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party and Scottish Liberal Democrats gained 17 and 16 seats respectively, a reduction of 1 each. In terms of the minor parties, the Scottish Green Party was returned with 2 seats, a reduction of 5 from the 2003 election and Margo MacDonald, the independent List MSP for the Lothians (Scottish Parliament electoral region), also retained her seat.

Parties which were represented in the Members of the 2nd Scottish Parliament, such as the Scottish Socialist Party, Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party and Solidarity (Scotland) lost their seats, as did the independents Campbell Martin and Jean Turner.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6622335.stm |title=Timeline: Scottish elections 2007 |publisher=BBC |date=2007-05-04 |accessdate=2007-07-24--> The Independent MSPs, Brian Monteith and Dennis Canavan, both retired prior to the election.

The Conservatives were returned with 17 seats after the election, but the Conservative MSP Alex Fergusson (Scottish politician), member for the constituency of Galloway and Upper Nithsdale (Scottish Parliament constituency), was voted in as Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament on May 14, 2007. Given the strict political impartiality required for the role, the Presiding Officer accepts voluntary suspension from his or her party for the duration of their period in office. This led to the Conservative representation in Parliament being reduced to 16 members.

As a result of the proportional representation system used to elect Members, no one party gained an overall majority of seats in the Parliament. The SNP emerged as the largest party in the Parliament, one seat ahead of Labour, but were unable to negotiate a coalition deal with any other of the parties and consequently govern as a minority government, with support from the 2 members of the Scottish Green Party.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/11_05_07_agreement.pdf |title=Scottish National Party and Scottish Green Party Co-operation agreement |publisher=BBC |date=2007-05-11 |accessdate=2007-07-24--> The leader of the SNP, Alex Salmond was elected First Minister of Scotland, i

The Scottish Parliament - Homepage
Official site with information on MSP's, history, buildings and current business.

The Scottish Parliament - Homepage
Decade of devolution to be marked: The Parliament is to mark 10 years of devolution with a special programme of engagement activities - one of which will involve every child born ...

The Scottish Parliament e-Petitions: About e-Petitions
Do you want to support or comment on a petition online? e-Petitioner allows you to support a petition by adding your name and address online.

The Scottish Parliament - Holyrood Shop
The shop is located in the Main Hall of the Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood, Edinburgh and sells an extensive range of unique and traditional gifts including glass ...

Scottish Youth Parliament
contact us Scottish Youth Parliament Rosebery House 9 Haymarket Terrace Edinburgh EH12 5EZ Tel: +44 (0)131 313 2488 Fax: +44 (0)131 313 6800

The Scottish Parliament e-Petitions: List e-Petitions
To view a petition click on a subject below. You may also search for petitions using the keyword search.

Scottish Parliament - Scottish News and Articles -
Scottish Parliament - Scottish News and Articles - Scottish Parliament, scottish news ... The controversial new Scottish parliament is one of Britain's best-loved buildings ...

The Scottish Parliament: holyrood.tv
Chamber Live An Seòmar beò: Committees Live Comataidhean beò: Film Archive Tasglann Fiolm: Holyrood Highlights Àrd-phuingean Taigh an Ròid : Events in the Parliament

Scottish Parliament Building: Photos
Scottish Parliament Building, Scottish Parliament, Scotland, Holyrood, Architecture Scotland, Holyrood Building, Edinburgh, Enric Miralles

UK Parliament - Scottish Affairs Committee
Scottish Affairs Committee. Welcome to the homepage of the Scottish Affairs Committee. The Scottish Affairs Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the ...

 

Scottish Parliament



 
Copyright © 2008 Hintcenter.com - All rights reserved.
Home | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
All Trademarks belong to their repective owners. Many aspects of this page are used under
commercial commons license from Yahoo!