Chamber and committees

Yes.

I do not know the answer to that. Officials will keep me right, but you will understand that I would not comment on any live investigations, if there were any.

The political opposition is as I clearly laid out in my statement. Maintaining peace in Northern Ireland is of paramount importance to everyone. I refer Jamie Greene to the views of all political parties in Northern Ireland, which, of course, take precedence over my views in this instance.

We all appreciate the intent, but the issue is about how things operate in practice.

I point Mr Findlay to the fact that the Scottish Government has some very specific concerns in relation to how devolution operates in Scotland, the powers of the Lord Advocate and the ability of people who are resident in Scotland and who have been impacted by the troubles to access justice via the Scottish courts when the powers of the commission close off opportunities to seek redress, either civilly or criminally. Those are concerns for us here, in Scotland.

We are not a lone voice in expressing concerns—I point the member to the concerns that have been raised across political parties in Northern Ireland with respect to the bill.

As the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs, I trust our court system and our system of prosecution. While we will continue to seek to engage the UK Government on further amendments, as you would expect us to do, the bottom line is that the UK Government can proceed with the bill. Mr Greene will be aware of my dissatisfaction with that type of arrangement, but that is the reality that we are in. I suppose that I would dispute the premise of aspects of his question.

Okay—that is fine.

Convener, I am not gonnae breenge into Northern Irish affairs. With respect to—

Yes, but it is a UK Government bill, so it is my job to point out where it has implications for our devolved responsibilities in Scotland. Issues in and around immunity, so far as they impact on Scotland, would be for the Lord Advocate. Access to justice issues would be a matter for our courts.

I am cognisant of the fact that all political parties in Northern Ireland have raised concerns about the bill, but it is my duty to be clear to the Parliament about my objections in terms of the matters in and around the LCM and the fact that the bill continues to cut across the powers of the Lord Advocate. That is a cornerstone—it is not a technical matter but a fundamental cornerstone—of how our criminal justice system works and of how deaths are investigated in Scotland. As members would expect, the Scottish Government has strong views on the ability of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to not even inform, never mind not consult, us if he steps into devolved areas. These are more than technical matters; they are fundamental.

I would have to seek advice on that. There has certainly been correspondence between the two Governments and between the Lord Advocate and the UK Government.

On an alignment of views, as I said in my opening remarks, we welcome the movement that has been made by the UK Government to reduce the impact on the Lord Advocate’s discretion and powers. Nonetheless, the commission still has the ability to grant immunity, which fundamentally cuts across the Lord Advocate’s powers.

To be blunt, we have the highest possible level of expectations on binding arbitration. That was one of the issues that the federation raised and I think that I have addressed that.

I have addressed with the committee the issue of who, where and when is appropriate for regulations vis-à-vis constitutions.

In the correspondence, an issue was raised with, I think, paragraphs 37(a) and 37(b), in relation to the ability to bring in non-members of the board. I assume that that is about having different experts to give advice or input. That happens currently and would be a matter for the PNBS in its normal day-to-day process—there is no need to set it out in the constitution.

It is my view that we have addressed those points. I am happy to continue doing so with the committee, but the nature of the regulations and the fact that they cannot be amended are rooted in the 2016 act.

I will check whether my officials want to add anything.