This item of business is consideration of the Scottish Government’s response to the committee’s stage 1 report on the bill. Members will have seen the briefing paper and the response from the Scottish Government. Do members have any comments or are we content to note the response and, if necessary, consider the bill again after stage 2?
This is a fairly good example of a lead committee perhaps not being fully aware of this committee’s concerns. My understanding of the issue is restricted to what I have read in the lead committee’s report. Although the lead committee refers to this committee’s observations, I am not convinced that it fully understands the implications of what we were saying. I welcome the Government’s response to our recommendations; the fact that it will come back with some idea of a provisional affirmative procedure is to be welcomed. I raise that in the context of discussions about how we can work more effectively with lead committees.
It is probably worth noting that our concerns were mentioned a couple of times during the stage 1 debate. The matter has not passed the Parliament by.
Are we content to leave it at that for the moment?
I endorse what other members said. It is important to acknowledge that the Government has taken account of what we said. We welcome that and we look forward to considering what it brings forward in due course.
Indeed. We are content.