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Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 15 August 2025
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Displaying 875 contributions

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Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Framework Legislation and Henry VIII Powers

Meeting date: 7 January 2025

Daniel Johnson

Following on from some of the things that have just been said, I think that Dr Tickell, in particular, made the interesting point that the justification that is often given for this approach is the pace of change and, critically, the length of time that it takes to get legislation through the Parliament. As a parliamentarian, certainly in the Scottish Parliament, I would gently question that premise. That might be the case if we were dealing with stage 3s every day, or even every week, but ultimately, without using emergency procedures, a short bill can be passed in three or four months. It is not unheard of for a bill to be introduced in September and passed by Christmas time, depending on the length of it. Would witnesses agree with that insight?

I have no experience at Westminster, I am also interested to hear from panel members about whether the world is very different there. The ability have electronic voting here makes it easier to vote, for example. The more fundamental point is: should we be asking the Government to reconceive how it thinks about legislation? Should it be making shorter bills that are more focused? It might find that those are easier to get through. Essentially, the Government is seeking to avoid Parliament, but without necessarily having justification for doing so. Do you agree with those insights?

Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Framework Legislation and Henry VIII Powers

Meeting date: 7 January 2025

Daniel Johnson

The point that Dr Fox raised about the loss of the green paper to white paper procedure is important. Is the excuse that there is not the time valid in Westminster, or is that rationale just convenient for the party of government? Dr Govan, you are nodding.

Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Framework Legislation and Henry VIII Powers

Meeting date: 7 January 2025

Daniel Johnson

Dr Grez Hidalgo, was your proposal roughly along the same lines? Are there any other elements that you want to highlight?

Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Framework Legislation and Henry VIII Powers

Meeting date: 7 January 2025

Daniel Johnson

That is also true of primary legislation. That is the argument that we constantly get from the Government when we lodge amendments to legislation. It says, “You don’t realise what you have done.” However, I take the broader point.

Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Framework Legislation and Henry VIII Powers

Meeting date: 7 January 2025

Daniel Johnson

That is noted.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

City Region and Regional Growth Deals

Meeting date: 11 December 2024

Daniel Johnson

Unless Anne Murray or Malcolm Benny wants to raise anything, I will leave it there.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

City Region and Regional Growth Deals

Meeting date: 11 December 2024

Daniel Johnson

The person from broadcasting is looking somewhat twitchy. I think that you might have a mobile device near the microphone that is causing a bit of buzz. That is much better—thank you. [Interruption.] Oh no—it is still there. Maybe it is me.

You said that the primary focus is on the business case requirements. Is the issue the fact that there is a significant number of requirements, or is it their inflexibility? Are the requirements relatively well articulated, or is it a more informal process of querying? Is the process burdensome but clear, or is it a burden because it is not clear? That is really what I am asking.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

City Region and Regional Growth Deals

Meeting date: 11 December 2024

Daniel Johnson

I ask David McDowall and Rick O’Farrell whether there is anything that they want to add. I will not repeat the whole question.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

City Region and Regional Growth Deals

Meeting date: 11 December 2024

Daniel Johnson

I also welcome our witnesses. Just to give you fair warning, given that there are a lot of us on the committee and a lot of you on the panel, whoever flinches first is who I will direct my question to, so I will be watching very intently how you react.

In broad terms, we are interested in how city region deals work in the broader policy context, how they have been constructed, how they are overseen and what effect they have. Given that you represent some of the more recent deals, I begin by asking you all to what degree you have benefited from the experience of the previous growth deals, and how that informed the way that your deal was constructed and put together. Anne Murray, you were nodding, so I am afraid I come to you first.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

City Region and Regional Growth Deals

Meeting date: 11 December 2024

Daniel Johnson

I am quite interested in that. You mentioned benefits realisation and the PMO, which relate to the organisation of and mechanisms for the growth deals themselves. Is that primarily where the benefits were focused? I am also interested in how projects were identified and put together and how they fit together overall. Were the methodologies and processes for identifying projects shared?