MSPs have called for the EU (Withdrawal) Bill to be toughened up on the issue of Westminster taking back laws from Brussels that affect Scotland.
Holyrood’s Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee says the legislation, currently going through line-by-line scrutiny in the House of Commons, should be amended to prevent UK ministers legislating in devolved areas without the consent of the Scottish Government.
They’ve also called for MSPs to have more power when it comes to scrutinising Scottish ministers’ decisions before consent is given.
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However, it looks like the Scottish committee might be too late. A Plaid Cyrmu amendment to the Bill calling for something similar was roundly defeated in the Commons on Tuesday night.
Committee convener Graham Simpson, a Tory MSP, said: “We are strongly of the view that the Bill should be amended so that UK ministers can only legislate in devolved areas with the consent of devolved governments.
“However, there needs to be a process for Holyrood to scrutinise Scottish ministers’ decisions before consent is given. Legislation can be taken through by different routes and we want governments to co-operate when deciding how to handle these decisions and we want legislatures to be able to scrutinise those decisions.”
He added: “It is essential legislatures have an opportunity to apply thorough scrutiny to regulations.”
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