Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 22 December 2020
I associate myself with the comments of Mark Ruskell and Anas Sarwar on their regret surrounding the bill. It is not a bill that many of us wanted to see. The damaging legacy of Brexit is now becoming a firm reality. As well as the damage that it will cause to our economy and our communities, leaving the EU means that there are legislative gaps that need to be plugged. As I said earlier during the consideration of amendments, the bill provides the Scottish ministers with significant powers to keep pace with EU law.
As someone who worked in the EU institutions for many years, I am well aware of the volume of legislation and policy that they produce. I recognise, too, the need to avoid worrying ourselves about processing legislation and policy that has no relevance in Scotland, but it is important that we keep pace with the relevant and progressive elements when it comes to environmental standards and protections.
However, the power to keep pace should not mean that ministers have a monopoly of control. When the bill was first presented, it lacked proper safeguards on transparency and accountability, and the Parliament risked being left as a bystander in a process that is of fundamental importance to those we are elected to serve. That was a concern of the committees that scrutinised the bill, and it was very much shared by Scottish Liberal Democrats. However, I believe that we have been able to address that concern through cross-party collaboration and collaboration between the Parliament and the Government. I again put on record my gratitude to various members across the parties, but in particular to the cabinet secretary, for the approach that they have taken to this important bill.
As well as greater transparency and accountability in the way that the keeping pace powers are exercised, I am pleased that the bill sets out more specifically and comprehensively our shared commitment to the highest environmental standards, underpinned by a core purpose. That should allow greater public confidence that, even outside the structures of the EU, those protections and standards will be maintained. After all, Parliament has agreed that there is a climate and nature emergency, and in the midst of such an emergency there can be no let-up in our protection of the environment or our pursuit of the highest environmental standards.
I reiterate that Scottish Liberal Democrats are determined to do everything possible to limit the damaging legacy of Brexit, not least in the area of environmental policy. I pay tribute to Scottish Environment LINK and the other organisations that have worked hard to put into the bill a green backbone that incorporates key environmental principles, greater clarity on its purpose and stronger duties on public bodies.
As one might expect, the bill has undergone significant surgery through the scrutiny process, which underlines why it is right that we are enhancing parliamentary oversight in the area for the future. At the start of the process, I was highly sceptical of what the Scottish Government was proposing. Through the work of the committees and this Parliament, supported by the evidence of very many witnesses and in collaboration with the Scottish Government, I am confident that we now have a bill that is worthy of support. It is not a bill that Scottish Liberal Democrats wished to see, but it is one that we will be happy to support at decision time this evening.