Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 22 December 2020
Mr Lockhart has covered very well the issues that my amendments try to cover. It is wrong to think that everybody out there who is doing business and living their lives is watching every move that is made in this Parliament. Scottish statutory instruments are passed on a daily basis when the Parliament sits, and sometimes even members do not really know what they are voting for. If we are to pass a bill that retains EU law, it is absolutely imperative that we have safeguards that enable people to understand what is being passed by the Parliament. Changes should not slip through without businesses and people who will be affected by them being aware that they are happening.
Therefore, my amendment 10 seeks to require the Government to lay before Parliament an explanation of what is to happen. It also provides for consultation rights, so that people who would be affected by the laws in question would have a chance to feed in and say how they would be affected, as well as what we as a Parliament should be concerned about and should be thinking about. I think that that is only reasonable, and it is an appropriate level of scrutiny.
In my amendment 9, I have not been too officious in relation to the number of days. I have allowed some flexibility with the 40 days. Where it fits in—it is tied to amendment 10—is that it would require the super-affirmative procedure to be used when a new policy was being introduced and there was no current equivalent in EU retained law. I think that that is really important from a scrutiny point of view. We will not be doing right by the people of Scotland or businesses in Scotland if we do not ensure that that happens.