I would indeed. The RACCE committee has considered the memorandum of understanding, which is not a legal document but a means of working between the Treasury—or the United Kingdom Government—and the Scottish ministers. It throws up many questions that we need to bottom out. It appears to us that there has not been a lot of discussion on the issues—or the detail—until very recently.
The number of points that we made in the RACCE committee’s letter to you, convener, raises the question how we in this committee should suggest that this process goes forward. We need to find a way to ensure that the Scottish Government understands that the Parliament needs to know a good deal more about the process and its involvement in it. Although the scheme as laid out will come into effect on the transfer date, our Parliament will be dealing with aspects of the Scotland Bill, if it is passed, after the Scottish election in May and we must have an early ability to have an influence over the scheme.
The process proposed by my committee would have to be taken forward by a successor committee—or committees—in order that the Scottish Parliament has input to and can question the Scottish and UK Governments. It is essential that we are able to do that, given that many of the scheme’s details are as yet unclear.