European and External Relations Committee, 16 Jun 2009
Meeting date: Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Official Report
150KB pdf
Correspondence
Agenda item 4 is on ministerial correspondence. We have circulated a few letters from the Minister for Culture, External Affairs and the Constitution in relation to a number of matters. Do colleagues have any points to raise?
I have a couple of points. On page 3 of paper EU/S3/09/10/3, in the letter of 28 May, the second section, which is about proposed Scottish Government activities in Latin America, states:
"we have already committed the majority of the available International Development Fund resources for the period to the end of this Parliament's lifetime."
I admit that I had not quite realised that, although I understand that some of the money is committed for more than one year and is not annual funding. I had not picked that up and I would like to have another wee look at it. It is not necessarily an issue, but it is interesting.
In the same letter, the section on the India plan, which is on page 4 of the paper, states that the plan
"will not be about the Government's international development policy".
I think that that is a change. I do not have a problem with that—indeed, it is right, because the international development approach to India would be too scatter-gun—but it is a change. Those two points are particularly interesting.
If the committee agrees, I am happy to seek further information on the commitment on international development policy. The minister will speak to the committee in September on EU matters but, in the first instance, we should perhaps write to him to follow up the two points that Patricia Ferguson raises.
Do colleagues have any other points?
My only point is on the India plan, in the context of what we heard this morning about the China plan. It might be useful to draw to the minister's attention some of the views that were expressed. If what we heard is accurate—and I have no reason to doubt it—we must have it firmly in our minds as we develop our India plan.
Yes.
I want to raise an issue about the transposition of directives. The minister's letter of 24 March states that, of nine late transpositions, the Government expects to have five in place. The table that we received is dated May 2009, but the letter refers to what the Scottish Government expects to do by late April. I think that the letter is a bit out of date in relation to the table.
The minister's follow-up letter of 2 June states:
"a total of 21 Directives are currently in the process of being transposed".
He states that the Government is working hard, but he does not say how many directives the Government intends to transpose. At one point, he told us that the Government intended to process most of the late transpositions before the parliamentary summer recess. Are colleagues content for the committee to write to the minister to ask for an up-to-date picture, given that he indicated that, by the recess, most of the late transpositions would be processed?
Members indicated agreement.
With those points, are members content to note the correspondence?
Members indicated agreement.