Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee

Meeting date: Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Official Report 428KB pdf

European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018

Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Kyoto Protocol Registry) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2021

Our next item is consideration of a notification from the Scottish Government in relation to consent to a United Kingdom statutory instrument.

Members will be aware that a revised SI protocol has now been agreed between the Scottish Government and the Parliament. The aim of the revised protocol is to enable committees to scrutinise proposals for UK SIs on all devolved matters formerly governed by European Union law. The original SI protocol applied only to scrutiny of consent to SIs that fix deficiencies under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The new SI protocol will continue to apply to those technical changes and to ensure continuity of law, but it will also extend to proposals for SIs that introduce new regulatory or governance regimes, or implement policy choices.

The committee raised some queries with the Scottish Government in advance of the meeting and we have received a response to those. Do any members wish to comment?

As no one is indicating that they want to comment, are members content for the committee to write to the Scottish Government to confirm that it is content for consent to be given for the UK SI referred to in the notification?

Members indicated agreement.

Our next meeting is scheduled for 16 February, when the committee will take evidence on the environmental implications of EU exit. We will also hear from the minister on the draft Single Use Carrier Bags Charge (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021.

As I said, we will reschedule the evidence sessions with the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform and the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, to consider the climate change plan and the Scottish budget, at the earliest opportunity.