Parliamentary Standards Bill

I am pleased to be able to contribute, although time is running out. I want to speak to amendment 100, which was tabled by me and by my colleagues in the Scottish National party. I welcome the inclusion of criminal sanctions for Members of Parliament who break the rules, and I thank the Justice Secretary for including not just the three United Kingdom parties but all parties in the House in the preparatory meetings. The Justice Secretary rightly said that the offences included in the Bill had emerged from earlier legislation applying to local government, the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and the Northern Ireland Assembly, and drew our attention to offences involving the Register and involving advocacy. However, he failed to mention that an additional criminal sanction is included in the Scotland Act 1998, which, as far as I am aware, was not opposed by any members of the Conservative, Labour or Liberal Democrat parties during the passage of that Bill. It relates to the issue of declarations of interest. That is the gold standard. The Justice Secretary said that what was good for the goose was good for the gander, and I entirely agree with him. If we are seeking to emulate the gold standard, I believe that we also need to include a criminal sanction for people who do not fulfil the requirement for a declaration of interest.