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Legal Affairs Minister Annabelle Ewing says the government has concluded that section 10, subsection one is not needed in the Bill

Ms Ewing says the government is also considering the arbitration provisions in the bill.

She says if there is a better way of implementing the Scottish Law Commission's report the government will do so.

Ms Ewing says some witnesses found the draft to be wordy, while others were content.

The Contract (Third Party Rights) (Scotland) Bill (the Bill) proposes changing the law in Scotland which allows the parties to a contract to create rights for third parties.

The aim is to make the law clearer and more usable.

The Bill implements the recommendations made by the Scottish Law Commission in its 2016 Report “Review of Contract – Report on Third Party Rights”, external.

Ms Ewing says the current uncertainty is unsatisfactory and that the law on rights in Scotland is out of date.

The legal affairs minister says the bill will not result in change overnight but should mean a significant improvement to what we have now.

She says everyone deserves a legal framework that works and that this bill will deliver that.

Ms Ewing says she will bring forward an amendment to the bill at stage two.

• It appears clear to the Committee that codifying the law of third party rights has been generally welcomed by stakeholders.
• The Committee accepts that consensus exists around the Bill.
• The Committee recognises that the Bill may not be used widely in the short-term, but is hopeful that the flexibility and certainty that the Bill offers will lead to greater use in the near future.
• Given that the aim of the Bill is to provide certainty, the Committee welcomes the Scottish Government’s commitment to reflect further on the suggestions made to the Committee about the clarity of the drafting of some provisions.
• The Committee welcomes the recognition that the Scottish Government has given to the evidence provided to the Committee so far and its willingness to reflect on the suggestions made to the Committee.
• The Committee recommends to the Parliament that the general principles of the Bill be agreed to.

Ms Ewing says the bill will ensure that Scots law provides the tools practitioners need.

The minister says the current common law doctrine is inflexible.

She says the committee welcomes its abolition.

The legal affairs minister says the absence of confidence in the law means that English law is sometimes used instead of Scots law.

Legal Affairs Minister Annabelle Ewing says the bill addresses some fundamental difficulties as it stands.

Ms Ewing says the ability to create third party rights are important.

She says the current law is "plagued with difficulty".

"We need a legal system which is fit for purpose," she says.

The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee published its report on the Contract (Third Party Rights) (Scotland) Bill on 12 May 2017., external

1. The Contract (Third Party Rights) (Scotland) Bill is a Scottish Law Commission Bill. The Bill reforms the common law on third party rights and replaces it with a statutory version.
2. The Bill has been introduced with a view to providing greater certainty and flexibility in this area of law. The Committee found that as result of the current uncertainty around the current common law on third party rights, legal practitioners and their clients are using workarounds such as collateral warranties or English law.
3. It appears clear to the Committee that codifying the law of third party rights is welcomed by stakeholders.
4. While there is universal support for the Bill, the evidence the Committee received suggested that there would not be an immediate uptake of the Bill. The Committee recognises that the Bill may not be widely used in the short-term, but is hopeful that the flexibility and certainty that the Bill offers will lead to greater use in the future.
5. A number of suggestions were made to the Committee in evidence advocating changes to the drafting of the Bill to improve its clarity. It is critical that this legislation is clear and usable and the Committee therefore welcomes the Scottish Government's commitment to review these suggestions.
6. The Committee welcomes this legislation and recommends that the general principles of the Bill be agreed to.

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Legal Affairs Minister Annabelle Ewing says the Contract (Third Party Rights) Bill is the result of some solid work by the Scottish Law Commission and she thanks them for their efforts.

Ms Ewing says she is pleased to note that the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee backs the general principles of the bill.

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MSPs will debate the Contract (Third Party Rights)(Scotland) Bill, external from 2.30pm, before being asked to back the general principles at decision time, which is at 4.30pm tonight.

The bill aims to reform the current rule of contract law which creates an "enforceable right" in favour of a third party and replace it with a "statutory version".

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The sport minister says the memories are strong for every football fan.

Ms Campbell says her wee boy is daft on football and he will be talking about when St Johnstone wone the cup 50 years ago for some time.

She recognises and celebrates the remarkable achievement of the Lisbon Lions.

Manchester United's Europa League triumph has brought "a little happiness at a difficult time", said former England captain David Beckham.

The Red Devils beat Ajax in Wednesday's final in Stockholm, two days after the Manchester Arena bombing which killed 22 people and injured 64.

"Tonight was more important than sport," ex-United player Beckham said.

The 42-year-old added it was "a big night for United but an even bigger night for the city and our country".

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Sport Minister Aileen Campbell says the tragic events of the Manchester attack put life, politics and football into perspective.

Ms Campbell highlights Manchester United's achievement in winning the Europa League, and adds her congratulations to them.

Ms Campbell says "Celtic played total football before it was even coined as a phrase".

She says Celtic have been "phenomenal" this season and that this is "difficult to say" as she is a St Johnstone fan.

Ms Campbell says that this debate and its contributions shows that football is a sport that is for more than just men.

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SNP MSP Gail Ross says all of the Lisbon Lions were born within 10 miles of Celtic Park, bar one.

Ms Ross says Celtic won every competition they entered in 1967.

She says she has scored a goal at Celtic Park.... but confesses there was no-one else on the pitch.

Labour MSP Pauline MacNeill says she noticed on a programme that then manager, Jock Stein, took his players to the house of someone he knew in Portugal the night before the match and that the players had to climb the wall to get it.

Ms McNeill says she can't see players climbing over walls the night a match these days for fear of injury.

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SNP MSP George Adam says "football fans, what are we like," adding that he is a proud "Paisley buddy" who supports the local team St Mirren.

Mr Adam says "what a year 1967 was for Scottish football" adding that Celtic won the European Cup, Rangers got to the Cup Winners Cup and Kilmarnock got to the semi-final of the Fairs Cup.

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Tory MSP Annie Wells says she is not old enough to remember the game, she feels like she kicked every ball on the journey, as her dad told her about it again and again.

Ms Wells says Lisbon Lions Stevie Chalmers used to come and pick up her dad and his brother, who were orphaned young, and take them to the games.

She thanks Stevie Chalmers for that.

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SNP MSP Christine Grahame says some will be wondering what she is doing in a debate about football saying she knows nothing about it.

Ms Grahame says she had a date on the night of the match with her future husband.

She says she ended up engrossed in the match as she was waiting to go out and, come the equaliser, she was "going nowhere".

Ms Grahame says she arrived late for the date but so did her boyfriend because he was also adamant to see the end of the match.

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Labour MSP James Kelly says he was three and a half years old and the final was the first memory of his life.

Mr Kelly says his Grandfather was in Lisbon for the game having won a newspaper competition he did not know he had been entered in.

The Labour MSP says his father had enetered his grandfather in a caption competition with the phrase: "Clean Sweep Soots the Celts".