Business at the Scottish Parliament is to resume with further tributes to the late Queen. Holyrood sittings were suspended after the death of the monarch, and party leaders attended her funeral on Monday. A special session on Tuesday will allow backbench MSPs to share their thoughts and reflections. Proceedings are expected to return to normal later in the week, with the government working on measures to tackle the cost of living crisis.
A new MSP is also due to be sworn in and will become the first member to formally swear allegiance to King Charles. The parliamentary business will start to return to normal following the period of national mourning, with flags to be raised back to full mast on Tuesday morning.
The session will begin with new MSP Roz McCall being sworn in, offering an oath or affirmation to be “loyal or whatever” to King Charles. The former Perth councillor is taking over as a Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife following the resignation of Dean Lockhart. Mr Lockhart had been an MSP since 2016 and was convener of Holyrood’s net zero committees, but abruptly resigned his seat to take up a role in business.
A debate will be held to let backbench MSPs pay tribute to the late Queen, whose death at Balmoral Castle prompted days of ceremony in Scotland – and Edinburgh in particular. Party leaders have already addressed their tributes to King Charles during a royal visit to the parliament, which sits just across the road from the Palace of Holyroodhouse. They also attended Monday’s state funeral in London, which First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said was “one of the most momentous events in recent history”. Prior to the Queen’s death, Ms Sturgeon had announced plans for emergency legislation to introduce a rent freeze and evictions ban. Officials have continued to work on the plans while parliament was shut down for the period of national mourning.
The UK government had also just announced fresh measures to tackle the cost of living concerns, with new Prime Minister Liz Truss having promised to limit increases in energy bills just hours before the Queen’s death. Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is due to update MPs on Friday on proposals to cut taxes, as promised by Ms Truss during her Conservative leadership campaign.
The Scottish government plans to draw up an emergency budget revision within two weeks of Mr Kwarteng’s announcement, which UK ministers have referred to as a “fiscal event”. Deputy First Minister John Swinney has already detailed more than £500m of cuts and savings, warning of the impact of inflation on government budgets as well as those of households and businesses.
