European and External Relations Committee, 26 Oct 2004

Meeting date: Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Official Report 251KB pdf

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Pre and Post-council Scrutiny

For item 4, a summary table is available at annex A. I will take points that members wish to raise.

Do issues that arise from the justice and home affairs council that took place yesterday have an effect on the Government's fresh talent initiative and on arrangements that have been put in place to support that? I support the fresh talent initiative very much, but I am concerned about the extent to which it is bedding down in Government departments so that they all take a coherent approach to acting to support the First Minister's objectives. I would be concerned if anything from the justice and home affairs council affected the position.

Has a new date been set for the cancelled agriculture and fisheries council meeting, or will it be December before that happens?

The clerks will find out about that for all members.

There is no rush, but will the clerks obtain more information about the proposal for a decision on the information exchange on, and the risk assessment and control of, new narcotic drugs and new synthetic drugs, which was on the justice and home affairs council's agenda for 25 October? Could we also have more information about industrial policy and structural change, which the competitiveness council discussed on 24 September?

Okay.

Better regulation is referred to in the general affairs and external relations council report. I was late for today's meeting because I attended a Scottish Financial Enterprise lunch at which a UK Treasury official explained regulation issues and obtained responses from the financial services industry. Comments were made time and again about the maleffect of much regulation on that industry in Scotland. I have no doubt that that is replicated in other businesses. It is worth emphasising that we need not only better regulation, but consolidation and less regulation.

I am also interested in the competitiveness council on 24 September, which talked about compliance on internal market regulations. Our briefing states that only the UK and two other countries come anywhere near meeting European Union targets on compliance with the regulations. I would be obliged if the clerks could obtain, on behalf of the committee, details of that, so that we can see where the UK and other EU nations stand on compliance.

Okay. We will certainly obtain that information and issue it to members.

I do not want to enter into a debate with Phil Gallie on better regulation, but there is a slight misunderstanding about the terminology. The whole principle is to have greater transparency and simpler framework legislation so that the flesh can be put on the bones of the framework at regional level. The aim is to improve transparency. It is misleading to talk about regulation in the terms that Phil Gallie uses.

Perhaps "better regulation" was a translation problem.

Thank you for that. There are no other issues on that report. I await the reply on the working time directive from the Minister for Health and Community Care.