– in the Scottish Parliament at on 17 May 2023.
Pam Duncan-Glancy
Labour
3. To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering replacing any retained European Union law. (S6O-02230)
Angus Robertson
Scottish National Party
The United Kingdom Government’s Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill is still reckless legislation, despite the sensible change that removes the automatic sunset of retained European Union law at the end of this year.
Vital protections remain at risk, and UK ministers can still act in devolved areas without a requirement for consent from Scottish ministers or from this Parliament. That is unacceptable, and that is why we continue to call for the bill to be withdrawn. We do not have plans to use powers in the bill to alter existing policy, but we continue to assess that as part of our on-going work, including to prevent Laws from being lost.
Pam Duncan-Glancy
Labour
The Cabinet secretary said in his statement on 9 May that the loss of Erasmus was a loss of opportunity for young people, and we know that it also is a loss to the economy. Although young people in England and Wales are accessing the replacement Turing and Taith schemes, young people in Scotland are still waiting, despite the Scottish National Party having committed in its 2021 manifesto to replace Erasmus. Does the cabinet secretary accept that this is yet another broken promise from the SNP to Scotland’s young people?
Angus Robertson
Scottish National Party
I am sure that the Presiding Officer would not wish me to answer questions—
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Cabinet secretary, I am sorry to interrupt. I appreciate that the question seems to be a bit wide, but if there is anything else that you wish to add, perhaps as regards matters within your ministerial responsibility, you can do so.
Angus Robertson
Scottish National Party
The question that was put relates to retained EU law, and neither the Erasmus scheme nor the Turing scheme fall within the ambit of retained EU law. We will continue to work with partners, including members of the House of Lords, to do everything that we can to mitigate the threat of disaster that the retained EU law bill still poses. We do not know what will be the final outcome of that legislative process.
On the wider question that Pam Duncan-Glancy has asked, I am always happy to answer questions at the appropriate stage about how we can maximise educational co-operation between Scotland and the European Union.
Laws are the rules by which a country is governed. Britain has a long history of law making and the laws of this country can be divided into three types:- 1) Statute Laws are the laws that have been made by Parliament. 2) Case Law is law that has been established from cases tried in the courts - the laws arise from test cases. The result of the test case creates a precedent on which future cases are judged. 3) Common Law is a part of English Law, which has not come from Parliament. It consists of rules of law which have developed from customs or judgements made in courts over hundreds of years. For example until 1861 Parliament had never passed a law saying that murder was an offence. From the earliest times courts had judged that murder was a crime so there was no need to make a law.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
The house of Lords is the upper chamber of the Houses of Parliament. It is filled with Lords (I.E. Lords, Dukes, Baron/esses, Earls, Marquis/esses, Viscounts, Count/esses, etc.) The Lords consider proposals from the EU or from the commons. They can then reject a bill, accept it, or make amendments. If a bill is rejected, the commons can send it back to the lords for re-discussion. The Lords cannot stop a bill for longer than one parliamentary session. If a bill is accepted, it is forwarded to the Queen, who will then sign it and make it law. If a bill is amended, the amended bill is sent back to the House of Commons for discussion.
The Lords are not elected; they are appointed. Lords can take a "whip", that is to say, they can choose a party to represent. Currently, most Peers are Conservative.
