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Glossary

oath of allegiance	On being returned as members, all MSPs are required either to take the oath of allegiance or make the solemn affirmation before the Clerk at a meeting of the Parliament. The form of the oath is set out in the Promissory Oaths Act 1868, and the corresponding affirmation, which may be taken instead, is set out in the Oaths Act 1978. An MSP may not participate in any other proceedings of the Parliament until he or she has taken the oath or made the solemn affirmation. An MSP that does not do this, normally within a two month period of being returned as an MSP, will cease to be an MSP.
objection	A formal statement lodged by any person or body who considers that their interests would be adversely affected by a private bill (rule 9A.6). The names of all objectors who have lodged admissible objections are listed in the Business Bulletin.
objection period	A period, normally of 60 days from the introduction of a private bill, during which objections to the bill can be lodged.
objector	An individual person, or a body, who lodges an objection to a Private Bill during the objection period.
Office of the Clerk	In practice, this means the offices of the parliamentary staff. Under rule 2.1.3 of the Standing Orders, a sitting day of the Parliament is a day when the Office of the Clerk is open and the Parliament is not in recess or dissolved. The days on which the Office of the Clerk is open are determined by the Parliament, on a motion of the Parliamentary Bureau, and can include days during a period of recess.
Office of the Solicitor to the Advocate Generaal for Scotland	The office that provides legal services in Scotland to UK government departments. It provides legal advice in relation to Scots law and UK legislation applying to Scotland. It represents UK government departments in legal proceedings in the Scottish Courts. More information is available on the Office of the Advocate General for Scotland website.
office-holders in the Scottish Administration	These are defined in section 126(7) of the Scotland Act 1998 as members of the Scottish Executive and junior Scottish Ministers (that is, all Ministers in the Scottish government) and the holders of specified non-ministerial offices. These non-ministerial offices are listed in section 126(8), and include the Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages and the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland. They also include others specified by Orders in Council, principally the Scottish Administration (Offices) Order 1999 (SI 1999/1127).
official print	The archive-quality copy of an Act of the Scottish Parliament signed by the Clerk of the Parliament after royal assent. This is deposited in the National Archives of Scotland.
Official Report (OR)	The Scottish Parliament Official Report is the authoritative report of parliamentary proceedings (including committees and written answers). It is ‘substantially verbatim’, which means, according to the Presiding Officer’s announcement in Business Bulletin 4/1999 (19 May 1999), that 'repetitions and redundancies should be omitted and obvious mistakes should be corrected while maintaining the flavour of the speech.'
oldest committee member	The member of a committee (other than a committee substitute) who is the oldest member of the committee present at a meeting and who has indicated to the clerk that he or she agrees to chair the meeting. The oldest committee member chairs meetings for the purpose of appointing a convener or temporary convener (see also oldest member of the committee).
oldest member	The oldest member elected to the Parliament is given functions by the Standing Orders. In rule 2.4 the ‘oldest qualified member’ (as defined in rule 2.4.7) chairs the first meeting of the Parliament following a general election, solely for the purpose of presiding over the proceedings when members are taking the oath of allegiance or making a solemn affirmation and for the election of the Presiding Officer. The oldest qualified member must take the oath of allegiance or make a solemn affirmation before he or she can chair the meeting. The oldest member may chair other meetings of the Parliament but only if the Presiding Officer and both deputy Presiding Officers are unable to act. Similarly, the first meeting of a newly established committee is chaired by the oldest committee member until a convener is chosen (rule 12.1.6).
oldest member of the committee	A member of a committee who, if he or she considers it necessary that a temporary convener be appointed at any time other than at a meeting, convenes a meeting to choose a temporary convener (see also Oldest Committee Member).
oldest qualified member	See oldest member.
open power	Section 112 of the Scotland Act 1998 states that, if a power to make subordinate legislation under the Act makes no provision for who may exercise it, the power can be exercised either by order in council or by a Minister of the Crown by order. Such a power is referred to as an open power.
Open Question Time	Under the initial standing orders, this was a period of up to 20 minutes each week immediately following Question Time (normally on a Thursday), when open questions to Ministers were taken. This was replaced from the beginning of 2000 by First Minister's Question Time (rules 13.6-7).
opposition	A term derived from Westminster parliamentary practice that is commonly applied to those parties and groups in the Scottish Parliament that are not in the government. The more formal term is ‘non-Executive’ (as in non-Executive business, non-Executive party).
oral question	A parliamentary question lodged for oral answer by a member of the Scottish Executive either at Question Time or First Minister’s Question Time. The rules on lodging and admissibility of oral questions are set out in chapter 13 of the Standing Orders. Questions to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body may also be posed for oral answer during SPCB Question Time.
orders in council	A form of subordinate legislation, generally reserved for the more important national or constitutional matters, made by the sovereign through the Privy Council, rather than directly by a Minister.
ordinary general election	A general election held under section 2 of the Scotland Act 1998 on the first Thursday in May in the fourth year after the previous such election - or on a date proposed by the Presiding Officer up to a month either side of that date.
overnight expenses allowance	Under the members allowances scheme, an allowance up to a specified limit for MSPs who stay overnight away from their main residence for the purpose of carrying out their parliamentary duties.