Michael Russell MSP and academics questioned on EU (Withdrawal) Bill

11 October 2017

The Scottish Affairs Committee holds a one-off session on the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill where they will be hearing from constitutional experts and Michael Russell MSP, Scottish Government Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland's Place in Europe.

Witnesses

Wednesday 11 October, Committee Room 6, Palace of Westminster

From 1.30pm – Academics and legal experts

Professor Jim Gallagher, Visiting Professor, University of Glasgow
Professor Michael Keating, Director of the Centre on Constitutional Change, and Professor of Politics at the University of Aberdeen
Charles Livingstone, Member of the Law Society of Scotland's Constitutional Law Sub-Committee
Professor Nicola McEwan, Associate Director at the Centre on Constitutional Change, Professor of Politics at the University of Edinburgh, and Research Leader of the ESRC UK in a Changing Europe programme

From 2.30pm – Scottish Government

Michael Russell MSP, Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland's Place in Europe, Scottish Government
David Rogers, Director for Strategy and Constitution, Scottish Government

Purpose of the session

The session examines the process for the repatriation of powers from the EU and the implications for Scotland's devolution settlement. In its current form, the EU (Withdrawal) Bill contains a number of provisions for replicating EU law into UK law, at the point of Brexit, and establishing ministerial powers to 'correct' legislation.

Chair's comments

Ahead of the session, Committee Chair, Pete Wishart MP commented:

"The UK Government has stated that the Bill is designed 'to ensure that the UK exits the EU with maximum certainty, continuity and control', and is a temporary measure to ensure the smooth transition of powers. It has however been criticised by the Scottish Government who have stated they are unable to support the Bill in its current form due to the impact it would have on the devolution settlement and the disparity in powers for Scottish and UK ministers. This evidence session will shed light on how far apart the two sides are and what progress has been made on resolving the impasse."

Further information

Image: Dave Kellam