And that's all from us on Thursday 19 February 2015.

Remember you can catch up on the best of the week at Holryood at BBC Scotland's Democracy Live website.

We'll be back next Tuesday until then have a good night and a good weekend.

MSPs pass the Community Charge Debt Bill at decision time, with 98 MSPs backing it and 15 voting against it.

The motion and amendments from the National Marine Plan are passed unanimously.

Mr Swinney draws the debate to a close and that brings us to decision time.

Mr Swinney says the last remnants of the poll tax will be abolished by this legislation.

The deputy first minister says the difference between the poll tax and the council tax, is that the poll tax is a dead tax whereas the council tax is still operating.

Mr Swinney says the evidence demonstrates where councils stopped collecting the poll tax it has not had a detrimental impact on the collection of the council tax.

Finance Secretary John Swinney says as we take the final steps to abolish the outstanding poll tax debt, we should remark that many, many people paid their poll tax.

Mr Swinneys says many people paid through financial hardship, making genuine sacrifices to ensure public services were funded, and this should be recognised.

He concedes he has received concerns from people about the bill.

Labour MSP Jackie Baillie says there is little dissent, aside from the Conservatives, behind the intent of this legislation.

The question of whether this legislation is needed has been raised several times before, but Ms Baillie says her party supports the bill and understands the need for speed.

Conservative MSP Cameron Buchanan says the government has shown little desire to listen to concerns about the Community Charge Debt Bill.

Mr Buchanan asks how this bill is fair to people who paid the charge.

He also questions whether the legislation will stand up to legal challenge, when people understandably seek compensation.

The Tory MSP says he is "still baffled" by this government's position.

Mr Salmond says democracy is a precious thing, "we should defend it at every available opportunity".

The former first minister says he should have brought forward this legislation years ago to "bury this iniquitous tax for good".

SNP MSP Alex Salmond explains why he called BBC Scotland's Call Kaye programme after hearing Conservative Councillor Jim Gifford, the leader of Aberdeenshire Council, being critical over the Community Charge Debt Bill.

Labour MSP Malcolm Chisholm says this legislation could be viewed as the "put all your energy into collecting council tax bill" which may assuage the Conservative fears.

Mr Chisholm says there has never been a mass campaign about not paying the council tax, as there was with the poll tax.

He says he thinks the Tory fears are unfounded.

Mr Brown says the government is trying to paint this as if it is protecting democracy, that people will feel free to join the electoral register without being chased for tax.

However, if councils want to chase up council tax debts rather than its predecessor the poll tax, then that is ok, says Mr Brown.

Indeed, says the Tory MSP, the finance minister is enthusiastic about using that expanded electoral role to gather council tax debts.

The government's narrative falls, says Mr Brown, as council's can use the electoral register to pursue one tax but not the other.

Conservative MSP Gavin Brown says his party has been against this bill from the very beginning,

The Scottish Conservative party was critical of the announcement, the lack of consultation and the principles of the legislation, says Mr Brown.

Labour Alex Rowley says cuts to local authority budgets are biting into public services.

There is not a proper mechanism for funding local government finance, he says.

Labour MSP Alex Rowley says Labour supported the passage of the Community Charge Debt Bill as "speedily as possible".

Mr Rowley says it is "right to draw a line under the poll tax".

He highlights the misery caused to communities up and down Scotland because of the poll tax - it was a "bad tax, a wrong tax and it needed to go".

Mr Biagi says many councils gave up pursuing historic poll tax debt years ago.

This government believes people should pay tax for which their liable under the laws of the land, says the minister.

He says he will expect councils to pursue debts in a way which is sympathetic to debtors needs and circumstances.

The Finance Committee, external received 10 submissions (seven from local authorities) to its call for evidence.

Issues raised include:

• Overall support for the bill was mixed among local authorities

• Some stated that they should be able to continue collecting all debts due to them,

• Others were content that community charge collection should now cease

• Local authorities and others warned that the bill could potentially provide a precedent for non-payment of other taxes, particularly council tax.

The Community Charge, or Poll Tax as it became known, was introduced in Scotland on 1 April 1989, one year before introduction in England and Wales, to replace the system of rates.

The charge was a flat-rate, per capita charge on every adult (with some discounts and exemptions) at a rate set by local authorities.

It was replaced by the current council tax system in 1993.

The Scottish government has agreed to provide a financial settlement (totalling £869,000) to compensate local authorities, based on the amount of debt which they estimate should have been recovered from existing recovery arrangements.

The minister says the legislation is "simple, straightforward and unambiguous" and is one of the shortest bills to come before the parliament.

Mr Biagi says the democratic engagement in the independence referendum was "second to none".

The minister says the response of some councils, after the increase in people on the electoral register, was worrying.