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UK Internal Markets

Letter from Convener to Subject Committee Conveners, 10 September 2021

Dear Convener,

The Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee has the lead role in scrutinising the impact of the UK leaving the EU on how devolution works.  In particular, how the UK internal market will impact on devolved policy areas. 

It will be subject committees though which will have the responsibility for scrutinising the impact of the new constitutional arrangements on policy and legislation within your respective remits.  For example, in relation to the use of the “keeping pace” power, common frameworks, the Trade and Co-Operation Agreement and other international agreements and the UK Internal Market Act.

As noted by the Finance and Constitution Committee’s legacy expert panel, taken together these additional demands “amount to a substantial increase in the role and complexity of parliamentary scrutiny. The burden will fall primarily on the subject committees.”

The attached guidance (Annexe A) on scrutiny of the impact of the UK internal market on devolved policy areas is intended to support the subject committees in carrying out this work.

I have also written to the Chair of the Conveners’ Group requesting an early discussion with Conveners on the issues raised in the guidance with a view to delivering a consistent and joined up approach to scrutiny in these areas.

We aim to make all of the information we publish fully accessible. However, when documents are provided by external organisations this is not always possible. If you need the document provided in an alternative format please contact the Clerk to the Committee. Further information is available on our accessibility statement.

Accessibility

We aim to make sure all correspondence is published as a fully accessible pdf. However, when correspondence documents are sent to us by an external organisation this is not always possible. If you need this correspondence provided in an alternative format, please contact the clerk of the committee. Further information can be found in our accessibility statement.