Item 3 is on implementation of EC/EU legislation. We have received a response from the Executive in reply to the concerns that we expressed in an earlier report. We now have information about the state of play on the implementation of European legislation in Scotland.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating. It is interesting that there are some pretty direct responses from the Executive saying that there appear to have been mistakes throughout. That just illustrates the under-resourcing in the Scottish Executive and the Scotland Office of monitoring and understanding the implementation of directives post-devolution. When the responses come back to the committee and the clerk and legal advisers get their hands on them, they do not usually hold up to much scrutiny. That shows that the Executive is perhaps struggling to cope with monitoring the situation. It was an honest response to say that mistakes have been made, but there are too many mistakes, and that must be pointed out.
I welcome the fact that the Executive gave an honest response to the points that we raised. I think that that justifies the approach that the committee has taken this year of entering into detailed scrutiny. As well as pointing out some matters that the Executive needs to consider, the committee has done a good job of developing a power of scrutiny in relation to those items.
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