Seòmar agus comataidhean

Thank you—that is useful.

Good morning everyone, and welcome to the first meeting in 2022 of the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee, which is taking place fully online. We have apologies today from our convener, Stuart McMillan. I welcome Jenni Minto in his place.

As we are meeting online, it will be more challenging for members to indicate agreement to the items being discussed. We have had a bit of a talk about this, so please raise your hand if you are not content with the question being put or if you wish to speak about an instrument.

The first item of business is a declaration of interests. In accordance with section 3 of the “Code of Conduct for Members of the Scottish Parliament”, I invite Jenni Minto MSP to declare any interests relevant to the remit of the committee.

Thank you. I invite members to ask questions. We begin with Graham Simpson.

Deputy First Minister, is that all right with you?

Deputy First Minister, if you want to bring any of your officials in at any point, you are at liberty to do so.

Thank you. Sir Jonathan, do you have anything to add?

I believe that we have to take the matter further. I would like the Criminal Justice Committee to be informed of the evidence that has been put in front of us in relation to the failure to bring the instrument into force properly.

I am concerned to read about psychoactive substances arriving, via different formats, for prisoners from outside. However, prisoners have human rights, and I do not believe that all their communications from loved ones outside should be treated in the manner that has been suggested. The matter requires further investigation.

I take on board the points from the SCCJR. At the same time, I think that we need to be able to see, following proper investigation through the Scottish Government, the actual circumstances. I do not think that we have been given that opportunity, so that needs to be looked at.

Do you believe that the systems that we have in place, and scrutiny by committees such as this one and the COVID-19 Recovery Committee, are sufficient? Could committees potentially be afforded an opportunity to progress their scrutiny in a fuller parliamentary debate? That would circumvent, to some degree, executive domination with regard to such powers.

Thank you to both our guests. I will not take you back over everything that you have said, you will be pleased to hear. However, when Morag Ross QC spoke to us recently, she emphasised the importance of parliamentary democracy and the rule of law, and she said that there is a perceived increase in executive power.

Do you have any observations, not specifically about the impact of Covid, but about whether there is a more general shift away from legislative power towards executive power, and if so, why that might be the case?

In general terms, Covid notwithstanding, do you think that, among Governments in the UK, there has been a shift away from legislation being passed through parliamentary debate and the committee system towards executive power? Perhaps Professor Tierney could take that one first.

Thanks very much to both witnesses.