Meeting of the Parliament 09 January 2024
Thank you, Presiding Officer. I wish you and every member across the chamber a very happy new year.
I join the convener of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee, Clare Adamson, in thanking the clerks to the committee for their diligent work on drafting the important report that we are discussing today on devolution post-EU. I was not a member of the committee during the stakeholder witness sessions of the inquiry, but I thank all those who gave evidence on the subject last year and commend all committee members who have been involved in producing what is a consensual report.
This year, we will mark 25 years since the creation of the Scottish Parliament, following the Scotland Act 1998, which was introduced by the previous Labour Government. Devolution has, of course, evolved over that time, with this place gaining two significant sets of additional powers, over taxation and welfare, which have made the Parliament one of the most powerful devolved institutions in the world. However, as has been said, when the Parliament was created, the United Kingdom was a member of the European Union and no one envisaged that changing.
Implementing EU law was a legal requirement and there was, as the committee notes,
“considerable clarity, consistency and consensus in how the regulatory environment was managed within the UK prior to EU-exit.”
Our withdrawal from the EU has therefore undoubtedly created the most challenging and complex period for devolution since 1999.