BORIS Johnson's government has refused to give evidence to the Scottish Parliament on its UK Internal Market Bill.
His administration says it regrets that Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Alok Sharma will not be able to appear before Holyrood’s Finance and Constitution Committee on account of the “tight legislative timeline” for the Bill that is currently going through Westminster.
The decision has been attacked by the committee's convener Bruce Crawford.
“The UK Internal Market Bill will affect many people’s lives and livelihoods in Scotland. It will also have a profound impact on the devolution settlement and on the powers of the Scottish Parliament.
“The UK Government already recognises and accepts that all aspects of this Bill require the legislative consent of the Scottish Parliament," he said.
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“I am genuinely dismayed, therefore, that the Secretary of State for Business will not make time to give evidence to our committee, as we consider whether or not to recommend that consent be given to this UK Bill.
“Our report to the Scottish Parliament will not have the benefit of direct evidence from the UK Government and that is a matter of regret, as is the discourtesy that colleagues will infer from the UK Government’s response.”
Crawford added: “Under my convenership, this committee has always set out to engage constructively with the UK Government. Indeed, we will hear from Mr Hands on the Trade Bill next week.
“It is implausible why a UK minister is available for the relatively limited impact on devolution of that Bill, while not being available for the Internal Market Bill which has a potentially huge impact on the people of Scotland.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called "the bill an abomination", arguing that as well as breaking the EU-UK withdrawal agreement, it takes powers away from Holyrood undermining devolution.
It passed it's second reading in the Commons on Monday and is currently progressing through the parliamentary stages.
Several Conservative MPs rebelled saying they could not support legislation which broke the law, though all Scottish Tory MPs supported the bill.
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