Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee

Meeting date: Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Official Report 652KB pdf

European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018

Fertilisers and Ammonium Nitrate Material (Amendment) (EU Exit) (No 2) Regulations 2020

Official Controls (Temporary Measures) (Covid-19) (Amendment) Regulations 2021

Item 2 is consent notifications in relation to two UK statutory instruments. The instruments are being laid in the UK Parliament in relation to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Some issues are brought to the committee’s attention in our papers.

In relation to the Official Controls (Temporary Measures) (Covid-19) (Amendment) Regulations 2021, the Scottish Parliament is being given only three working days to consider the notification. The reason given by the Scottish Government for the urgency is that it received a draft of the instrument from the UK Government only in recent days and that the UK Government intends to lay the instrument on 21 January 2021.

The instrument is being made in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, to allow certain relaxations of the rules, referred to as “easements”, to continue until 1 July 2021. The easements would otherwise have expired on 1 February 2021. Other than providing that context, the Scottish Government has not explained why it is not possible to give the Scottish Parliament more time to consider the matter.

I see that there are no comments. Therefore, does the committee agree to write to the Scottish Government to confirm that it is content for consent to be given in relation to the UK statutory instruments referred to in the notification?

I do not see any dissent—I see nods of agreement, so that is agreed.

Seed, Plant Propagating Material and Forest Reproductive Material (EU Exit) (Scotland) (Amendment etc) Regulations 2020 (SSI 2020/445)

Item 3 is the sift of one Brexit-related Scottish statutory instrument. The Government has allocated the negative procedure to the SSI. Is the committee agreed that it is content with the parliamentary procedure that the Scottish Government has allocated to the instrument?

Again, I am seeing nods rather than shakes of the head, so that is agreed.