Hansard

I thank the Finance and Constitution Committee for taking evidence and for preparing its thorough report. Our committees’ scrutiny work is vital in preparing Parliament for its work in the event of our leaving the EU, and in ensuring that Parliament is equipped to carry out its business. I also thank the committee for its research on the models that operate in Canada, Germany, Norway and Switzerland.

The committee’s report was published a few months ago, in March, and it is fair to say that we are now in a different situation. We have a different Prime Minister, a no-deal exit is being promoted, there is the prospect of a general election, and today the Prime Minister has been found to have acted unlawfully in the proroguing of Parliament. As 31 October gets ever closer, the accountability of Government and the Prime Minister must be enhanced—not avoided.

As I have said in other debates over the past few weeks, we must raise our eyes above the current political situation and attempt to chart a course through the challenges that we expect to face when the UK is no longer a member of the EU.

As a member of the EU, we have followed regulatory processes, in common with all other member states. There is agreement between the Scottish, Welsh and UK Governments on the need for common frameworks, and a definition and set of principles for reserved and devolved areas have been agreed by the JMC (European Union negotiations). That much has been agreed.

There is overlap between common frameworks, the Trade Bill, the withdrawal act and the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill, aII of which have the potential to influence the common frameworks process. The lack of progress on reaching a withdrawal deal means that very little progress has been made on common frameworks, although, as the committee makes clear, common frameworks will be required whether or not there is a deal.

As members have said, there has long been a need for reform of the JMC, and the EU negotiations have stretched the structure’s workings to breaking point. The mechanism is vital for intergovernmental relationships, and will be increasingly important with the advent of common frameworks. I am a member of the interparliamentary forum on Brexit, for which reform of intergovernmental workings is a key theme that we want to be addressed. The devolution settlement has changed and evolved, but the JMC is not living up to the task. We need a more robust and transparent mechanism that has the confidence of the devolved Parliaments.

I understand that if a new arrangement is to work effectively, good terms between Parliaments will be needed, which must be underpinned by a strong and transparent working relationship that encapsulates meaningful consultation and decision making. The agenda for achieving that has been pushed by the progress that has been made in the common framework discussions, which call for a mature approach from Governments.

As part of that mature approach, conflict resolution will be an issue, whether the common frameworks are managed through the current JMC or some other incarnation of it. There will need to be a mechanism that can resolve disputes in a way that is respected by all partners. The RSE suggests that there is a role for an independent secretariat that would develop evidence-based decision-making processes that would facilitate consensus between Parliaments. Surely, that idea is worth consideration.

It is positive that the committee reports that progress on common frameworks so far has been achieved on the basis of negotiation and agreement between Governments. However, we are in the early stages of the work. This Parliament should make it clear that the content of the frameworks must be finalised through agreement, and not simply imposed.

There is common interest in ensuring the functioning of the UK internal market. The committee’s evidence is that clarity is needed on what a “UK internal market” is, and what principles it should embody. The committee’s exploration of the complicated questions of how to accommodate policy divergence, how to manage public procurement policy and how to provide state aid demonstrates how much remains to be resolved.

The combination of legislative and non-legislative common frameworks raises issues to do with parliamentary, stakeholder and public scrutiny. The committee made important points about the need for a collaborative approach to the creation of frameworks, and about Parliament’s ability to scrutinise that work. The Scottish Government has given assurances in that regard, but there remains a tension between the ability to legislate in future frameworks and a commitment to maintain agreed frameworks, which Bruce Crawford described as “constraints”.

The lack of conclusions in all those discussions reflects the political quagmire in which we find ourselves. All attention has been, and continues to be, on the negotiations, and there is not the capacity to look beyond the current circumstances. That is worrying, because the current circumstances are creating stress over the prospect of our crashing out of the EU on 31 October—although the cross-party legislative measures that have been taken to avoid that happening must be adhered to—or leaving with no deal at some future date. In the event of our leaving the EU with no deal, the need for common frameworks would be urgent, because there would be no transition period to provide a cushion. That situation would damage UK business, public services and environmental protections.

There are many challenges ahead. I thank the committee for interrogating the issues.