Hansard

I speak as convener of the Finance and Public Administration Committee, which has a long-standing interest in the UK Government’s levelling up fund and the UK shared prosperity fund. Of particular interest is how effectively those funds will be spent in Scotland, the outcomes that they will achieve, and their impact on Scottish Government policy and spending plans.

Notwithstanding the Deputy First Minister’s comments, I will focus on amendments made to part 1 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill. That part of the bill establishes a new statutory requirement for UK Government ministers to set and review levelling up missions and report on progress. The amendments provide for UK ministers to “have regard to” any role of the devolved legislatures and to consult devolved authorities in relation to reviewing the levelling up missions and any changes to mission progress methodology, metrics or target dates.

As a result, the committee sought confirmation that the Scottish Government will work with Parliament to agree a formal and meaningful role by which Parliament and relevant committees can be consulted on any proposals to change the missions or revise the methodology, metrics or target dates of the levelling up missions. We welcome the Deputy First Minister’s confirmation that she is happy to work with the committee on a process

“When there is a clearer proposal from the UK Government on how it intends to carry out the duties set out in Part 1 of the Bill”.

We also welcome the Deputy First Minister’s commitment that the Scottish ministers will continue to operate on the basis of informing Parliament of significant policy developments and sharing relevant information, where appropriate.

The Scottish Government was consulted on the amendments to part 1 that relate in part to the Parliament, but it is disappointing that the Scottish Parliament and the committee were not consulted. We would welcome a Scottish Government commitment that that will not be the case going forward, and we seek clarity from the Deputy First Minister that, in relation to the UK Government’s annual report on progress in delivering the 12 missions, the Scottish Government will work with the committee to ensure that it is made available in Parliament for scrutiny.

The 12 missions for the levelling up fund matter, as they will serve as a policy anchor across the UK Government, including in relation to funding to be spent in devolved areas. However, as the former finance cabinet secretary explained in 2021, it is extremely difficult for the Scottish ministers to determine how best to use capital funding when UK ministers make decisions about capital spend that the Scottish Government is not sighted on. We have written to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to ask how UK ministers intend to comply with the duty in the bill to report on how they have had regard to any Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government role.

The committee looks forward to working with the Scottish Government to develop a transparent process that supports parliamentary scrutiny.