Meeting of the Parliament 22 January 2026 [Draft]
I would like to indicate my support for the Economy and Fair Work Committee’s stage 1 report, which notes the potential for digital technology to have wide-ranging impacts across society. There are economic benefits and opportunities, but there are also risks for Scotland.
The committee calls on the Scottish Government to maintain a proactive approach, to engage with changes and to adopt approaches that ensure that benefits are maximised and risks are mitigated as technology changes.
The committee recommends that
“the Scottish Government works with stakeholders to ensure Scottish interests are represented on the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce, as well as any other relevant expert group which may be established.”
In addition, the committee
“calls for the Scottish Government to establish a Scottish panel of experts to advise the courts, businesses and the legal sector on emerging digital technology issues in Scotland.”
The committee acknowledges
“that further legislation is inevitable, given the pace of change in the digital world.”
The committee also believes that the
“important issues of definition and application should not be left to subordinate legislation”,
so it does not recommend the inclusion of additional regulation-making powers in the bill. The committee acknowledges the Scottish Government’s stated intention and the bill’s narrow purpose, and it supports that approach to ensure legal recognition of digital assets in Scots law.