Meeting of the Parliament 20 March 2024
As we have heard, the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill intends to prevent public bodies, including local councils, national health service boards and devolved Administrations from making decisions about procurement and investment that are based on political considerations. The bill is currently in the House of Lords and is continuing in its parliamentary progress at Westminster.
The fundamental point is that matters of foreign policy and trade are reserved to Westminster. Therefore, it is not a matter for councils or public bodies to run an alternative foreign or trade policy. Indeed, many local councils might not be well enough equipped to consider all the relevant factors when arriving at such decisions in cases where issues might well be complex or heavily disputed.
Westminster and its committees with responsibility for foreign and trade policy are the correct avenue for such matters to be properly considered and debated. Foreign affairs are not under the remit of the Scottish Parliament. I would hope that the Labour Party would share our view on that.