Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee

Meeting date: Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Official Report 455KB pdf

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European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018

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Aquatic Animal Health and Alien Species in Aquaculture (EU Exit) (Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 2019

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Fertilisers and Pesticides (EU Exit) (Scotland) (Miscellaneous Amendments etc) Regulations 2019

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Fisheries (EU Exit) (Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 2019

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Animal Welfare (EU Exit) (Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 2019

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee’s seventh meeting in 2019. I ask members to ensure that their mobile phones are on silent. Jamie Greene sends his apologies for not being able to attend the meeting, and I welcome John Scott as his substitute. John, would you like to declare any interests?

Thank you for making me welcome. I am a farmer, a member of a farming partnership, a member of NFU Scotland and a founder member of the Scottish farmers markets. For my various other interests, I refer colleagues to my entry in the register of members’ interests.

Because we will come on to a statutory instrument that deals with agriculture, I remind members that I am a member of a farming partnership. It is not necessary for other members to make a declaration unless they want to speak on the instruments. Peter Chapman has indicated that he would like to make a declaration.

As most folk know, I, too, am a member of a farming partnership, but I have no intention of speaking on the SIs.

I have a very small registered agricultural holding, from which I derive no income.

Agenda item 1 is the sift of four Brexit-related negative instruments that have been laid under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. As this is the committee’s first consideration of Brexit-related statutory instruments, I will explain the procedure.

For any Brexit-related statutory instrument, under a protocol that has been agreed between the Parliament and the Scottish Government, the lead committee has the opportunity, in advance of the usual policy consideration, to consider whether the parliamentary procedure that the Scottish Government has allocated to the instrument—whether affirmative or negative—is appropriate. The lead committee can agree with the Scottish Government’s view on the procedure or recommend that it be changed. That process is known as the sift.

The Scottish Government has allocated the negative procedure to all four of the instruments before us. Does the committee agree that it is content with the parliamentary procedure that the Scottish Government has allocated to the instruments?

Members indicated agreement.