Chamber and committees

Under agenda item 2, the committee will take evidence from the Scottish Government on the latest ministerial statement on Covid-19. I welcome back the Deputy First Minister and Professor Jason Leitch. Thank you for your attendance.

Deputy First Minister, would you like to make any remarks before we move to questions?

Thank you, Deputy First Minister.

Can you outline which provisions have been included in the bill that were not contained in the temporary emergency legislation and explain why they have been included?

On the issue of proportionate measures, can the cabinet secretary explain the meaning of the phrase “proportionate response”? Who makes those decisions, and what are the challenges of doing so?

Finally, do you believe that a wider review should be undertaken to ensure that the Public Health etc (Scotland) Act 2008 remains fit for purpose?

There is a Henry VIII provision in section 94 of the Public Health etc (Scotland) Act 2008, which relates to international travel restrictions. Has that ever been used?

I have a few more questions that I need to ask, Deputy First Minister. Many of the powers in the Public Health etc (Scotland) Act 2008 require an application to be made to the sheriff court in order to be applied. However, the bill does not appear to stipulate a specific process that must be followed when special restrictions and requirements, such as the requirement for a person to submit to medical examination, are applied.

In the absence of a requirement to obtain a sheriff’s order, what will the process be when someone seeks to apply the special restrictions and requirements, and how will the human rights of the individual be adequately safeguarded?

With the removal of masks later this month, a lot of people, especially the clinically vulnerable, are quite anxious, especially as Covid is still prevalent. Guidance was published by the Scottish Government in January regarding the distance aware scheme. How can the Scottish Government raise more awareness of the scheme to protect our most vulnerable people as we remove the requirement for masks?

That concludes our consideration of this agenda item. I thank the Deputy First Minister for attending despite being ill. We wish him a speedy recovery. I also thank all the supporting officials for attending.

The committee’s next meeting will be on 21 April, when we will consider our stage 1 report on the Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill in private.

That concludes the public part of our meeting.

The committee received a submission from Dr Andrew Tickell and Professor Alison Britton, both from Glasgow Caledonian University, who concluded:

“the main provisions of Part 1 of this Bill are generally in keeping with the law already applying in England and Wales”.

However, there was one concern regarding the power to modify or amend the enactment, which I think is known as a Henry VIII power. How do the public health powers in the bill compare with the equivalent powers in England and Wales? Why was it thought necessary to include the Henry VIII provision?

I am not sure whether anybody would like to come in. If they do, perhaps they could raise their hand, because I cannot see the other screen. [Interruption.] That is okay—it would be great if you could write to me, Deputy First Minister.

Why are the current procedural rules that allow for emergency bills to be progressed through the Parliament thought to be inadequate in such circumstances?