MSPs to look at role of parliament and governance in Scotland

The Scottish Parliament’s Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee is to hold hearings to examine how devolved structures and conventions are working in the post-EU landscape.

The evidence sessions will look at:

• Legislative consent (sometimes known as the ‘Sewel Convention’);
• Implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Co-Operation Agreement (TCA);
• Intergovernmental relations;
• Retained EU law; and
• Implementation of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol

The effects of the UK leaving the EU, including UK and GB-wide arrangements put in place to replace EU systems (such as Common Frameworks and the UK Internal Market Act), as well as disagreements between the UK and Scottish Governments over issues including legislative consent, have all impacted on how the Scottish Parliament and Government work. These changes will be examined in detail by the Committee.

These hearings follow on from inquiries by the Committee into the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 and the UK Internal Market Act (UKIMA), as well as the Committee’s role in the first meeting of the UK-wide Interparliamentary Forum.

The Committee previously concluded that UKIMA has created a tension in the devolution settlement, with more emphasis on open trade than regulatory autonomy, when compared to the EU Single Market.

It also identified a risk that the emphasis on managing regulatory divergence at an inter-governmental level may lead to less transparency and Ministerial accountability, and a tension in the balance of relations between the Executive and the Legislature.

Speaking ahead of today’s first roundtable looking at the issue of legislative consent, Committee Convener, Clare Adamson MSP, said: “Leaving the EU has meant a significant change in the UK’s constitutional arrangements. Of course, this has implications for Scotland and its Parliament.

“Though many of these changes are very technical, they can have important implications. We have already put on record our concerns around a number of potential risks including less regulatory autonomy for devolved Parliaments, reduced democratic oversight, and a less consultative policy making process.

“As MSPs, we now want to examine what other changes mean for devolution.”

So far, the following roundtables are scheduled for the following dates:

Thursday 19 May: Legislative Consent after Brexit

Thursday 26 May: Implementation of the Trade and Co-Operation Agreement

Thursday 9 June: Intergovernmental relations