EUROPEAN AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE Tuesday 9 September 2003 (Afternoon) Session 2 £5.00 Parliamentary copyright. Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body 2003. Applications for reproduction should be made in writing to the Licensing Division, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, St Clements House, 2-16 Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BQ Fax 01603 723000, which is administering the copyright on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. Produced and published in Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body by The Stationery Office Ltd. Her Majesty’s Stationery Office is independent of and separate from the company now trading as The Stationery Office Ltd, which is responsible for printing and publishing Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body publications. CONTENTS Tuesday 9 September 2003 Col. INTERESTS .............................................................................................................................................47 EUROPEAN UNION AGENDA (SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE PRIORITIES) .....................................................................48 SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE EXTERNAL RELATIONS STRATEGY ..............................................................................67 PROMOTING SCOTLAND WORLDWIDE INQUIRY .............................................................................................75 REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUNDING ...........................................................................................................80 CONVENER’S REPORT ..............................................................................................................................86 SIFT ......................................................................................................................................................94 EUROPEAN AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE 3rd Meeting 2003, Session 2 CONVENER *Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP) DEPU TY CONVENER *Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab) COMMI TTEE MEMBERS *Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West) Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP) *Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con) *Mr John Home Robertson (East Lothian) (Lab) *Gordon Jac kson (Glasgow Govan) (Lab) *Mr Alasdair Morrison (Western Isles) (Lab) *Mr Keith Raffan (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD) COMMI TTEE SUBSTITU TES Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP) *attended THE FOLLOWING GAVE EVIDENCE: Mr Andy Kerr (Minister for Finance and Public Services) Alastair Wilson (Scottish Executive Finance and Central Services Department) CLERK TO THE COMMITTE E Stephen Imrie ASSISTANT CLERKS Nick Haw thorne Dav id Simpson LOC ATION Committee Room 1 47 9 SEPTEMBER 2003 48 Scottish Parliament European Union Agenda European and External Relations (Scottish Executive Priorities) Committee 14:05 Tuesday 9 September 2003 The Convener: Under agenda item 2, we will (Afternoon) hear from Andy Kerr, the minister with responsibility for Europe and external relations. I extend a warm welcome to him. It is his first [THE CONVENER opened the meeting at 14:04] appearance before the European and External Relations Committee and before any of the Parliament’s committees in his new ministerial Interests role. The Convener (Richard Lochhead): I kick off I thank the minister for the paper that was by welcoming everyone to our third meeting in the delivered to the committee on the Executive’s second session, which is our first meeting since priorities for the Italian presidency. The paper will the recess. I have received no apologies for also be sent to the other parliamentary today’s meeting. committees. The minister will give us a presentation of around 20 to 25 minutes. As As this is Keith Raffan’s first meeting, I ask him members can see, it is a high-tech PowerPoint whether he has any relevant interests to declare. presentation. I hope that everyone can see the Mr Keith Raffan (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD): screen. Like any good teacher, the minister has given us a copy of his slides and members have a None, convener. printout of them, which they can look at if they do The Convener: The member has no interests to not have a perfect view of the screen. declare. After the minister’s presentation, we have an hour for questions. I want to combine items 2 and 3, so I suggest that, after the presentation, we have half an hour of questions on Europe, European Union legislation and the Executive’s priorities for the presidency, after which we will move on to a second block of questions for another half an hour on the wider external relations strategy. If members are happy with that, we will proceed on that basis. Without further ado, I hand over to Andy Kerr, who will give us his presentation. The Minister for Finance and Public Services (Mr Andy Kerr): Thank you, convener. It is at moments like this that I recall the pleasant position conveners are in, looking down the table towards the ministers. However, today I have the enviable opportunity of presenting to the committee the Executive’s strategy at this critical moment in time, and I am pleased to be here. I hope to build up a warm and constructive relationship with committee members to ensure that we best represent Scotland’s needs. I know that I am one in a continuing pattern of ministers who have been before the committee. I have adopted the PowerPoint route, which is my wont. I hope that it will make the presentation more interesting and that it will allow conversation and dialogue afterwards. It is good to see the slight change in emphasis in how the committee works and the fact that more of 49 9 SEPTEMBER 2003 50 the Parliament’s committees, such as those with programme and the Executive’s priorities therein. responsibility for health, justice, environment and We have delivered information on that to enterprise, will take up European issues at source members. in order to deal with matters European. That is Recently, we also set up an ad hoc ministerial healthy and is to be welcomed. group on European strategy to consider the co- As the convener said, he has allocated the ordination of policy, how we can influence the UK questions in such a way as to allow the committee Government’s position on EU issues that affect us time to discuss issues of European interest as well and how we will deal with forthcoming European as the wider external relations portfolio. I hope that legislation. The group also considers the wider there is lots of time for questions and answers. I reform agenda within Europe and our working introduce Alastair Wilson and Tim Simons, who relationships with other parts of the EU. We want are with me today to assist. One of the aspects of to ensure that, as a Cabinet and an Executive, our the Parliament that I like is the fact that officials focus is correct and that we are working on the get to clarify matters on occasion. I will invite them key issues and intervening at the appropriate time to do so as and when appropriate to ensure that to ensure that our interests are best represented. such clarification happens. Slide 6 lays out our departmental structure for The areas to be covered are those that external relations policy. All departments that have members see on the second slide: how the EU business—for example, the Environment and Executive engages with Europe; how we engage Rural Affairs Department—deal with EU policy in with the United Kingdom to ensure that we are their area. The Finance and Central Services represented properly on EU issues; our priorities Department has three EU policy divisions: external around the Italian presidency; and the relations, promotion of Scotland, and the Scottish intergovernmental conference, which is clearly Executive EU office. In total, 51 members of staff critical. I am sure that members will raise other are involved, of which 13 are external relations matters in questions. I will also cover other areas staff, 26 are promotion of Scotland staff and 12 of our work that I think are important to the are from the EU office. committee. After robust discussion, we arrived at a clear The next set of slides shows the committee who statement of our external relations objectives and everybody is, which is important. I certainly hope we want to ensure that we pursue them effectively. to have a long and fruitful relationship not only with We want to engage with and influence external the committee but with the portfolio. Tavish Scott relations matters as effectively as we can. Slide 7 and I are responsible for the specific portfolio shows our objectives, which are: promoting responsibilities, although the First Minister and the Scotland’s devolved policy interests; building links; Deputy First Minister retain a high-level strategic promoting Scotland abroad; and working closely interest and play their own roles within the external with the UK Government to ensure that we have a relations work that we do. Fortunately—or strong, effective influence on European matters. unfortunately—both Jack McConnell and the Working through the ad hoc ministerial committee, Deputy First Minister have held the external we want to ensure that we attach specific, relations brief and have been here before, so they measurable, achievable, realistic and time- will be able to keep a close eye on me. Patricia related—SMART—criteria to the objectives so that Ferguson has responsibility within the Executive we can report to the committee how effectively our for ensuring that we carry out our responsibilities policies have been pursued and delivered for and duties with regard to transposition.