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Standards committee convener Claire Haughey will now give a brief statement on the findings of a report pertaining to the complaint against independent MSP Mark McDonald.

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Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur begins by thanking Michael Matheson and Annabelle Ewing, the former justice sectary and legal affairs minister respectively.

Mr McArthur welcomes Humza Yousaf to the role of cabinet secretary for justice and says he looks forward to working with him.

He says the Scottish Liberal Democrats support this Bill as it is a very welcome attempt to modernise prescription.

The Lib Dem MSP argues the principle underlying the Bill seem sound.

Councils were owed £89m in unpaid council tax for 2016-17, according to Scottish government statistics, external.

Just short of 97% of council tax for the year had been collected by 31 March 2017.

In-year collection rates have improved over the last decade, with collection standing at 93.8% in 2006-07.

Dundee City Council had the worst collection rate at 93.4%, while Orkney Islands Council had the best at 98%.

Labour MSP Daniel Johnson says prescription is a valuable tool in civil law.

On the exception to the five-year prescription rule for council tax, Mr Johnson highlights cases on constituents where local authorities have come done on people "like a pile of bricks" after years of them thinking they were paying the right amount.

We should not let policy be led by the inability of councils to pursue their debts, Mr Johnson states.

The argument that the Bill simply retains the status quo is not a justification, he insists.

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The Prescription (Scotland) Bill seeks to amend the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973..

According to a SPICe briefing on the Bill, external: "We have prescription in Scots law to encourage people to enforce their rights promptly, before it becomes too difficult for the person or organisation defending the claim to gather the appropriate evidence.

"We also have prescription to offer people and organisations some certainty, so they can plan for their lives and resources after a certain point knowing they will not get sued."

However, the briefing also explains the the current law can cause harsh results on individual cases.

In the Bill, "the range of legal obligations covered by five year prescription would be extended," explains SPICe.

"The Bill would also help those defending court actions. Specifically, the ticking of the clock on the twenty year period would no longer be able to be interrupted, for example, by starting a court action".

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Tory MSP Alison Harris says prescription encourages people to enforce their rights swiftly before it becomes too difficult.

Ms Harris points out the Bill implements the Scottish Law Commission's recommendations on prescription.

The legislation will mean that there is certain time frame to do something or it will be time barred.

She states the committee calls for further consideration of the exception to council tax and business rates.

Ms Harris says the Bill as drafted generally meets the policy aims.

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Tory MSP Graham Simpson raises the case of Morrison v ICL.

The owners of a plastics factory which exploded in Glasgow killing nine people blocked a compensation claim by a neighbouring firm damaged in the blast.

ICL Plastics Ltd opposed the claim by decorators merchant David T Morrison on the grounds it was lodged outside the statutory five-year limit.

ICL appealed to the Supreme Court in London after judges at the Court of Session upheld Morrison's case.

Supreme Court judges ruled in ICL's favour by a majority of three to two.

The explosion at ICL Plastics building on 11 May 2004 killed nine people and resulted in 33 people being injured.

Extensive damage was caused to neighbouring properties, including a shop owned by Morrison.

Mr Simpson believes the Bill will address the issues raised by this case.

Read more here.

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The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee backed the general principles of the Prescription (Scotland) Bill earlier this month.

But it also urged the Scottish government to provide "further rationale" for excepting council tax and business rates from the five-year time limit.

Questions were raised over whether putting council tax and business rates under the 20 year period was appropriate and an agreement was not reached by the MSPs on this.

The committee has written to Scotland's 32 local authorities is advance of stage 2 to ask how many times they have used the 20 year prescription to seek payment of debts.

Read the report in full. , external

Law Reform Committee convener Graham Simpson says the Bill might not be easy to get one's teeth into but it does matter to many of our constituents.

He simplifies the definition of prescription by explaining it is the available time in which someone can make a claim on a loss.

The committee accepted that evidence can deteriorate over time, Mr Simpson tells the chamber.

The convener thanks other committees for feeding into the scrutiny of the Bill.

We were concerned that the Scottish Law Commission did not consult widely enough and the committee has urged it to engage more going forward, he adds.

Mr Simpson says this Bill will hopefully ensure justice is not completely denied due to the passage of time.

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Solicitor General Alison di Rollo says the Bill adds to the definition of relevant claim.

Ms di Rollo thanks the committee for its support of the general principles of the Prescription Bill

She says the Scottish government believes this Bill strikes a fair balance over all.

Prescription establishes a time limit for a person bringing a claim to court.

It is perhaps more well-known as a statute of limitation - prescription is the law which applies in Scotland.

It the window of time is missed, the ability to pursue the claim is lost.

Solicitor General Alison di Rollo explains the Bill extends the five-year prescription period to cover all debt obligations and therefore simplifies the law.

There are exceptions to this rule, such as council tax and DWP over-payments, she adds.

An usual feature of Scots law is the both five and twenty year prescriptions start from the same date and the Bill will make the twenty-year prescription begin from the loss, Ms di Rollo tells the chamber.

The Bill simply maintains the exceptions that exist under Scots law and it does not change the approach to council tax because they are vital to local authorities, she adds.

MSPs will now debate the Prescription (Scotland) Bill for the first time.

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Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton raises the issue of emergency accommodation for migrants who are homeless and are without funds.

Mr Cole-Hamilton says that generic provision for migrants fleeing domestic abuse is not good enough and he calls for a bespoke solution for them.

Mr Stewart replies that the no recourse to public funds policy of the UK government is unacceptable and they should be removed.

He details discussions with COSLA to see what can be done in this regard and he expects them to report back soon.

Green MSP Andy Wightman notes tenants can be evicted should landlords wish to sell the property and he asks whether tenants should be given greater security of housing.

Mr Stewart says the Scottish government has given tenants in the private sector more security in recent years.

He offers to meet with the member to discuss potential further options.

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The number of homeless households in hostels in Scotland has increased by 43% since 2010, research indicates.

The study, commissioned by Social Bite, found almost 3,000 households are facing such temporary arrangements.

Backers of the study said living in hostels can leave people "marginalised and stigmatised".

Housing minister Kevin Stewart said the Scottish government has pledged to "transform" temporary accommodation.

The research was carried out at Heriot-Watt University for the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group (HARSAG).

Read more.