Hansard

Convener, you have already explained our position on this, and I think that the petitioner, too, must understand that, in reality, very little can be achieved under the circumstances. I therefore think that we have no other course but to close the petition. For a start, the Scottish Parliament cannot pass legislation to remove the legal requirement to seek consent. Moreover, as the correspondence from the Scottish Government points out, there is an issue of confidentiality with regard to the royal household, and “to maintain the ability to have free and frank discussions” that confidentiality needs to be “recognised and respected”. According to the Scottish Government, too, “the detail of ... cases where laws have been adapted at the request of the Monarchy” cannot be provided, because the “Scottish Government does not record” that sort of thing. We acknowledge the petition, but unfortunately, for the reasons that I have set out, I do not think that we can do anything but close it.