Chamber and committees

Is the suggestion that we could have the Henry VIII powers or that the Scottish ministers should adopt Henry VIII powers in certain circumstances?

Thank you. I would also like to thank the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee for the work that it has done on this that has supported our questions this morning.

That brings the evidence session on this LCM to a close and I briefly suspend the meeting to allow for a change of witnesses.

Sorry.

Is this a common concern? Are there other areas where the UK Government is making direct investments or payments into Scotland where there are concerns around Barnett consequentials? I am thinking of levelling up money, green ports and other projects that are happening.

I have a question that is linked to Ms Hyslop’s. The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee has written to the UK Government, and one of its questions is about clause 1 of this bill, which is expected to be repealed once the Procurement Bill comes into force. Can you say more about how the two bills interact? We are spending all this time trying to looking at the changes in this bill, but what bits of it are going to be repealed? Am I correct in thinking that it is the Procurement Bill that will remain and that it is likely that aspects of this bill will be repealed?

Our next item of business is an evidence session as part of the committee’s pre-budget scrutiny work. The purpose of this session is to inform our scrutiny with the aim of influencing the budget before spending priorities for the next financial year are set. Members will be aware that there will be a budget statement the first week back after October recess. The focus of today’s session is the cost crisis and its impact on the tourism and hospitality industries.

I welcome Marc Crothall, who is the chief executive officer of Scottish Tourism Alliance; Bryan Simpson, who is industrial organiser at Unite hospitality; and Leon Thompson, who is executive director of UKHospitality Scotland.

A similar panel was before us in advance of last year’s budget and the main call that we had at that time was for investment in stage 2 of the tourism recovery fund. The committee supported that call and the Government was sympathetic to it. That seems like a distant memory as we face a cost of living crisis and a rise in business costs. The sector is under pressure. Are we facing a bleaker situation as we go into this winter than we did coming out of the Covid pandemic? I will come to Marc Crothall first.

As members have no other questions, we move to agenda item 3, which is formal consideration of the motion to approve the draft order. I invite the minister to speak to and move motion S6M-05863.

Motion moved,

That the Economy and Fair Work Committee recommends that the Companies Act 2006 (Scottish public sector companies to be audited by the Auditor General for Scotland) (No. 2) Order 2022 [draft] be approved.—[Ivan McKee]

Motion agreed to.

Agenda item 4 is consideration of the legislative consent memorandum for the UK Infrastructure Bank Bill, which is a United Kingdom Government bill. It was introduced in the House of Lords on 11 May 2022 and it seeks to change the law on devolved matters.

I again welcome Ivan McKee, Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise. The minister has been joined by Geoff Owenson, senior policy officer at the Scottish Government, whom I also welcome. I invite the minister to make a brief statement on the Scottish Government’s position. We will then move on to questions from members.

Thank you, minister. You said that the Government wrote to the UK Government on 9 June looking for some assurances and you indicated that there are some on-going discussions. On the proposal for a memorandum of understanding between the UK Infrastructure Bank and the Scottish National Investment Bank, do you think that there is an understanding of the need for that? You mentioned a mechanism “such as a memorandum of understanding”. Are any other solutions being looked at in relation to the relationship between the two banks?

We may get progress there. I understand that there has been a suggestion or request from the Scottish Government that an individual with relevant knowledge of Scotland’s policy and project landscape be included on the board of the investment panels in order to give that level of knowledge and expertise at the centre of decision making. Has there been a positive response to that?