Chamber and committees

I actually have a couple of final questions, the first of which is for Professor Nolan. You touched on the idea that what the Turing scheme is missing is inward mobility and an exchange programme with students, which I think of as the other side of the same coin. Will you comment on what you would like to see in the future and explain why it is so important that there is a two-way street and an opportunity to exchange in both directions, for students, lecturers and other researchers?

That concludes consideration of this agenda item. I thank the cabinet secretary and remind him that we are not expecting him at the committee next week, which I am sure he will be relieved about. I thank him and his officials for their evidence.

The committee will now consider its work programme in private.

Mr Hampson, I think that you wanted to respond to my first question about how many local authorities are involved in the schools exchange programme.

So all the local authorities engage in that work.

Thank you—that is helpful. We move to questions from Sarah Boyack.

I am conscious of time, so it would be helpful if we could have succinct questions and answers from now on.

No one else seems to have a question, cabinet secretary, but I would like to ask you a final one. Our role as a parliamentary committee is to scrutinise the Scottish Government’s policies and decision making, but are we moving to a situation where, with executive decision making at Scottish Government and, in particular, UK Parliament level, our opportunity to scrutinise policy decisions could be lost?

Good morning, and a very warm welcome to the third meeting in 2022 of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee. We have received apologies from Mr Ruskell.

Under agenda item 1, the committee will take evidence from the Scottish Government on the evidence that we heard during the committee’s United Kingdom internal market inquiry. We welcome to the meeting the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, Angus Robertson; Donald Cameron, deputy director, constitution and UK relations division; and Euan Page, head of UK frameworks.

I invite the cabinet secretary to make an opening statement.

I move now to Ms Boyack. If members have any more questions, they should put an R in the chat function, please.

Thank you, cabinet secretary. The committee has no further questions. I should also point out that we will actually be seeing you again next week, so that will be your sixth time in front of us. I thank you and your officials, Mr Cameron and Mr Page, for attending.

Before I close the meeting, I should say that, when I spoke on behalf of the committee in yesterday’s parliamentary debate on committee budget scrutiny, I omitted to thank the members of the committee, my deputy convener Donald Cameron and, indeed, our clerks for their support in the budget scrutiny process. I do so now, and my thanks are on the record.