Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd June 2011 Commons Chamber

[David Mundell]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I can inform the hon. Member for Newton Abbot (Anne Marie Morris) that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland was in Brussels last week, where he made the very points that she has just made.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

9. What recent discussions he has had with the Advocate-General on devolution issues.

[David Mundell]

I refer my hon. Friend to my previous answer.

[Miss McIntosh]

As ever, I am grateful to my hon. Friend. Has the Advocate-General yet received an update on the progress made by the expert group set up by the Scottish Government, which is examining the role of the United Kingdom Supreme Court?

[David Mundell]

The Advocate-General wrote to the chair of the Scottish Government expert group, Lord McCluskey, offering a meeting, but has now received a response from the group’s secretariat saying that, owing to their timetable, members of the group have not had time in the first instance to receive submissions or hear evidence. What appears to have happened is that an expert group is set up by the First Minister one week, meets the following week—with no evidence taken in any week—and reports the week after.