Meeting of the Parliament 26 June 2025
I am sure that the packed chamber and the many millions of people who are riveted as they watch at home will be disappointed to know that I will not be taking all of my six minutes—unless I get lots of interventions, of course, which I would welcome.
I will make a brief contribution to the discussion on the legislative consent motion relating to the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill, for which the third reading in the House of Lords was completed on 4 June. As we have heard, the purpose of the bill is to ensure a level playing field for businesses that operate online or on the high street, to ensure the maintenance of high product standards, and to support businesses and promote economic growth—a very worthy and positive set of intentions. The bill relates to public safety, efficiency, effectiveness, environmental impact and other standards, as well as metrology issues, and it applies to tangible products.
As the minister outlined, the Scottish Government initially did not recommend that the Scottish Parliament consent to the bill but has since had a change of heart. The LCM before us proposes that consent be granted.
We have a number of concerns about the bill as it stands. It gives very extensive powers to ministers in the UK Parliament. It is best described as a framework bill, and the full extent of those powers will not be clear until we see the relevant secondary legislation, perhaps some months or years down the track. Therein lies part of our difficulty with it. The secondary legislation that will be produced in the Westminster Parliament will not come to the Scottish Parliament for scrutiny and will not be subject to an LCM process. Scottish ministers have said that any lawmaking in this area by the UK Government will be subject to their consent. However, it will not necessarily come to the Scottish Parliament for consideration or scrutiny.
The bill allows UK ministers to introduce regulations that might align the UK more closely with the EU. Conversely, it also allows UK ministers to further depart from EU rules. Given that the Scottish Government’s stated position is to align more closely with the EU—which, incidentally, we do not necessarily believe is in the interests of Scotland or its economy—it is curious that Scottish ministers seem so relaxed about agreeing to grant legislative consent.