Chamber and committees

UK subordinate legislation - The Official Controls (Extension of Transitional Periods) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2021

Letter to the Convener from Mairi Gougeon, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, on 15 December 2021

Dear Finlay

EU exit legislation - protocol with Scottish Parliament policy area: Animal health, plant health, food and feed

• Defra/OFC/07: The Official Controls (Extension of Transitional Periods) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2021

I refer to my letter of 6 December 2021 with reference to the above Statutory Instrument. With that letter I included a Type 1 notification setting out the details of the SI which the UK Government at the time intended to make, and why I was satisfied, at that time, that Scottish devolved matters were to be included in this SI.

The principal aim of the instrument – as originally framed – was to protect biosecurity and support trade by ensuring that within Great Britain, and between Great Britain and ’relevant third countries’ (as set out in Annex 6 to the Official Controls Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2017/625), effective official border controls continue to operate following the end of the Transition Period.

However, it is with regret that since the terms of the original notification were submitted, the UK Government has subsequently decided - without any engagement with Scottish Ministers whatsoever – to make a number of significant changes to border policy due to come into force from the 1 January 2022. The UK Government intends to use “The Official Controls (Extension of Transitional Periods) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2021” to implement this change and intends to lay this SI on 15 December. Since this fundamentally changes the terms of this instrument, the Scottish Government will now no longer consent to the Secretary of State legislating in relation to Scotland for these changes and I am formally indicating to the Committee that the notification that was submitted on 6 December is now withdrawn. The Scottish Government intends to carefully consider these changes and will bring forward a Scottish statutory instrument to give effect, in relation to Scotland from 1 January 2022, to those changes which we consider to be appropriate.

I am copying this letter to the Convener of the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee.

Yours sincerely,

Mairi Gougeon