The bill which the UK Government claim will deliver more than 100 new powers to Holyrood is merely disguising a "power-grab", a leading MSP has said.
Mike Russel, Constitution Secretary for the Scottish Government said the internal trade bill, which has been opened for consultation today, will not deliver anywhere near the 111 new powers Westminster claim it will.
He said the move was an "outrageous attempt to disguise a power grab that will strip power from the Scottish Parliament and put the Scottish people, environment and economy at risk."
In a statement, he said: "This is one of the most significant threats to devolution yet, even eclipsing previous UK Government attempts in this area.
“The 70 so-called ‘new powers’ are in areas that are already devolved, and they include matters such as food safety, animal and plant health and environmental standards, all of which are at the core of devolution."
While the plans for the consultaion on an internal markets white paper were briefed to the media yesterday, SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford told the House of Commons last night that no such briefing had been given to Scottish MPs.
He was speaking during an opposition day debate lead by the SNP on the future of the UK-EU relationship.
The Conservatives say that under the new proposals, Holyrood will receive 111 new powers which had previously been in the hands of the European Union.
The legislation includes a “mutual recognition” regime which would see goods move freely within the United Kingdom.
Even if Scotland or Wales upheld different standards for goods or services, they would still have to accept them from England.
SNP MPs argue this could mean Scottish supermarkets would have to stock food products such as chlorinated chicken, even if it were considered inferior by the Scottish Government.
Mr Russell continued: “While ‘mutual recognition’ of standards and ‘regime across all areas of non-discrimination’ may sound innocent, what they disguise is a mechanism that will enable the UK Government to impose lower standards on Scotland – for example in food safety and environmental protections – as it seeks to achieve trade deals with countries outside the EU.
"The system would require regulatory standards in one part of the UK to be automatically accepted in the others, regardless of whether those standards are lower than those the Scottish Parliament might find acceptable.
"Our world class reputation for high quality food and drink would suffer from these proposals as the UK Government embarks on a race to the bottom – to the huge detriment of people and businesses across Scotland.”
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