Chamber and committees

Professor Diamond, do you have any comment on the issue of how to avoid bias in low-response areas?

That is helpful.

Dr Whitten, do you have a perspective on oversight, from having looked at the structure?

I want to follow up the answer that we have just had. From a devolved perspective, what specific issues could arise from changing the status of, and basis for amending, retained EU law that should be taken into account in the future? I am thinking particularly of our job as a committee. We have already heard comments about scrutiny and the challenges in that regard. What areas do you suggest we start focusing on? Scrutiny has been mentioned by a couple of our witnesses, such as Dr West, but I will continue with Professor Lock. What topics should we be focusing on and prioritising?

That is really helpful. My observation is that, if you look at this committee, we do not all have the same politics, but we usually find that it is possible to agree on things that we might not personally agree on, because we have the capacity to at least have those debates.

I thank the witnesses for their evidence. I want to follow up on an issue that is raised in the written evidence and that has come out powerfully today. It is about the need for information to be able to predict and plan, and about communications on changes that are happening, particularly for the agri-food and dairy sectors. What is the solution? There is the Northern Ireland business Brexit working group, but what other communication networks are available? You do not have the Northern Ireland Executive to talk to or to push what needs to happen with the UK Government or the EU. What political structures can you lobby? Transparency is one of our concerns in holding our Government to account. Who do you talk to? How do you make this work, given that it is a changing situation?

It feels like we are at an incredibly tough impasse. We have already debated in this committee how on earth you monitor the alignment process, but we are at least able to sit here and do that. Are there alternative sources that you have to get your voice heard as businesses or consumers, either through individual elected representatives or through cross-UK business networks where you can at least get these concerns on to a level at which they might reach the people making decisions, whether it is the UK Government, civil servants or even UK parliamentarians? It feels like there is a real gap here. We get that the politics are really difficult but, if we were not even able to be here, I do not know how our businesses would be able to begin to get their voices heard, never mind consumer groups and environmental groups. Are there ways that you can at least get your issues raised or be seen?

That is useful. Mr Billington, do you want to come in on that? It is one of the issues that come up in your written evidence.

That is helpful. That is one of the big issues that we need to record and think about.

That is very clear.

We have talked about cross-parliamentary liaison before. For example, we have the parliamentary focus with UK parliamentarians talking to the European Parliament—we are in the room, but we do not have speaking rights. Should committees in different UK Parliaments have such conversations among themselves, given the sheer weight of potential legislation, to share best practice or concerns?

That comes across clearly. It is not often that we get witnesses saying to us that a proposal will be a catastrophe, so thank you for that clarity. Nicole Kleeman, can you make a comment on the quality of films being made in terms of British Academy of Film and Television Arts wins? These films are not just being churned out; we are talking about award-winning, culturally impactful films that employ people—not just actors, but people in the wider system that make those films work. Can you give us a comment on the quality and what there is potentially to lose in that regard?