14.09.2020
Holyrood’s Finance and Constitution Committee has launched a call for views on the UK Government’s Internal Market Bill. The Bill was introduced at Westminster on 9 September 2020.
According to its explanatory notes, the purpose of the Bill is to "preserve the UK internal market, providing continued certainty for people and businesses to work and trade freely across the whole of the UK."
All parts of the Bill trigger the need for legislative consent from the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Government has indicated it will not recommend that consent be given.
The Finance & Constitution Committee is therefore seeking views from all interested organisations and individuals to help inform its parliamentary scrutiny of the Bill and of the Scottish Government’s legislative consent memorandum.
The deadline for submissions is 24 September 2020.
Finance & Constitution Committee Convener Bruce Crawford MSP said:
"The creation of a UK internal market and how it operates will impact on a wide range of Scottish organisations, including Scottish businesses – especially food production and agriculture, environmental and consumer organisations, as well as the third and voluntary sector and the wider public.
"It is vital therefore that we hear from people who are going to be affected by this Bill, but we only have until 24 September to do so. This is time critical."
Background
The Committee is scrutinising the UK Internal Market Bill as well as the forthcoming Legislative Consent Memorandum.
In order to inform its scrutiny, the Committee is seeking views, especially in the following areas:
Oral evidence on the Bill will begin later this month.
Media contact
Eric MacLeod