Local Government and Community Empowerment Minister Marco Biagi says we need to deal with what the poll tax behind.

The legislation will ensure that all can come forward to register to vote without fear, drawing a line under poll tax debt.

MSPs vote against the Conservative amendment which would have created a legislative obligation on the Scottish government to monitor and publish the impact of the Community Charge Debt Bill.

13 MSPs backed it and 90 voted against it with two abstentions.

MSPs are voting on the amendment from Tory MSP Gavin Brown, with a five minute suspension.

Labour MSP Jackie Baillie says her party has sympathy with the substance of what Gavin Brown says, but does not think the amendment is necessary.

Local Government Minister Marco Biagi says the amendment is "unnecessary and unhelpful" as it would place a burden on local authorities to provide more information.

Mr Brown says his amendment creates a legislative obligation on the Scottish government to monitor and publish the impact of the legislation.

Scottish Conservative MSP Gavin Brown says councils are worried this legislation could impact on the collection of other taxes.

MSPs are debating the Community Charge Debt (Scotland) Bill , external, which will end the collection of historic poll tax debt in Scotland, for the last time.

The bill would effectively write off £425m of unpaid bills relating to the controversial household tax which was introduced by the 1989 Tory government.

The Scottish Conservatives are against the new law but the Scottish government believes it is the right thing to do.

The proposal to end the debt collection was brought forward last year by former first minister Alex Salmond after several councils said they would use the details of people who registered to vote in September's independence referendum to recover outstanding payments.

Mr Lochhead brings the debate on the National Marine Plan to an end.

Mr Lochhead says we all want to safeguard the marine environment and maintain sustainable development.

Image source, RNLI

The cabinet secretary pays tribute to the work of the RNLI for keeping people safe in our waters.

Rural Affairs and Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead says he accepts there may have to be improvements made to the National Marine Plan.

Labour MSP Sarah Boyack says the marine plan is absolutely crucial, its a framework for decision making and it must be up to date.

It is on these issues the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee found the plan is currently not fit for purpose, says Ms Boyack.

She says it is overly prescriptive in some areas and too vague in others.

Conservative MSP Jamie McGrigor says all of us surely can sign up to the vision of the National Marine Plan, however the challenge is how to achieve the vision while allowing existing sustainable activities to be preserved and advanced.

He calls for government to recognise the significant improvements which are required for the final plan.

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Tavish Scott says he wants to come to the debate from the perspective of the government's food and drink strategy, which he entirely agree with he says.

A starting point for the Marine Plan is does it help these businesses achieve the government's own target to grow our food exports and eat more healthily.

Governments relish plans, consultations, strategies and the rest of it - but plans have to achieve something, he says.

He says the plan needs to be a live working document and not one that gathers dust.

Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee Convener Rob Gibson says the scrutiny of the National Marine Plan by the committee has raised quite lot of criticism.

However he says the criticisms have not been intended to say the plan is not fit for purpose, it is just not fit for purpose yet.

Mr Fergusson says the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee has been "quite hard hitting and critical of the draft plan".

In an error in its original report it said it was the "daft plan rather than the draft plan".

Scottish Conservative MSP Alex Fergusson's amendment says the the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee's concerns must be taken forward.

Ms Beamish's amendment says the government must take cognisance of the recent Rural, Climate Change and Environment Committee report and its concerns.

Scottish government plans to protect the nation's seas are not fit for purpose and could even make the current situation worse, MSPs said last month.

Holyrood's Rural, Climate Change and Environment Committee, external said it was "deeply disappointed" with the national marine plan - which has taken five years to formulate.

It aims to balance the oil and gas and renewable energy industries with the need to protect the environment.

Ministers said they would respond to the concerns "in due course".

Labour MSP Claudia Beamish says the draft plan highlights the potential for the growth in aquaculture industry

Increased Scottish aquaculture would provide thousands of jobs and further Scottish exports.

However Ms Beamish says it is important that the National Marine Plan be published without more delays so that it can added to and built on.