Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee
Meeting date: Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Official Report 610KB pdf
Contents
- Attendance
- Decision on Taking Business in Private
- “The Proposed National Islands Plan”
- European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
Harbour and Highways (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
Item 3 relates to a consent notification on a UK statutory instrument, as detailed on the agenda. The regulations will be laid in the UK Parliament under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Members may wish to note that the date for laying the regulations at Westminster has moved from 28 November, which is set out in the paper that is before us, to 17 February 2020. Does anyone have any comments?
Considering that the date has moved to February 2020, I repeat the view that I expressed last week, in the hope that the Scottish Government will take my point on board. Why are we being sent such instruments when everything may change on 12 December? They might not be necessary.
Although I recognise Mike Rumbles’s point, a general principle in time management is that we should do something when the opportunity first exists, because we will never get that time back, and the time that we might use for it in future might well be needed for something that we do not currently know about. I think that we should deal with such instruments as quickly as we reasonably can, without distorting other things that we need to do.
We had this discussion previously. It would certainly be wrong for anyone to seek to represent our participating in due process as our being supportive of the UK exiting the European Union. I certainly do not support that, but the work is part of our business process and we should proceed with it.
The work is a procedural requirement for the Scottish Parliament.
It appears that the majority of the committee want to move forward. Does the committee agree that we should write to the Scottish Government and confirm that we are content for consent to be given to the UK SI that is referred to in the notification?
Members indicated agreement.
10:48 Meeting continued in private until 11:44.Previous
“The Proposed National Islands Plan”