Meeting of the Parliament 30 April 2024
I will come to some of the things that Mr Cole-Hamilton and I discussed shortly.
As, I hope, the chamber will understand, much of the report’s detail is still being worked through. However, I will provide what assurance I can today.
First, I note the repeated call for a post-legislative review. As a sitting member of the Parliament, I would always expect legislation to be reviewed, which is why I followed general precedent and did not explicitly provide for that. However, I recognise the particular concerns and the difficult balancing that is required in relation to the bill, and I am content to lodge an amendment at stage 2 to provide for a review.
Similarly, I note the concerns about reduction and extension powers, and specifically the recommendation that consultation should be required in the bill. I judged that consultation would occur as standard practice and that it was unnecessary to specify it. However, again in recognition of the issues at play, I will lodge an amendment to put that matter beyond doubt.
There are other recommendations on extension and reduction, as well as on parliamentary scrutiny more generally. Those are complex and important issues, and I am keen to give them the due consideration that they deserve. I will not commit to concrete actions today while that consideration is under way, but I commit to continuing to listen to concerns from members around the chamber and to alleviating as many of them as I can. That is true for the whole report.