– we don’t have any other choice
Secret NHS meetings show contempt for Scotland, says Freeman
vulnerable and not enough is being done to ensure postbrexit environmental protections.
Prof Gemmell’s report, for the conservation groups, said: “What we stand to lose is serious and must be addressed and that serious reform of our governance arrangements is necessary with or without the UK’S EU withdrawal and its consequences for Scotland.”
Mr Gemmell, a professor of environmental policy, regulation and governance at the University of Glasgow, suggested creating a post of commissioner for the environment, as well as a dedicated court.
The report states: “For the functions being lost to Scotland by the UK’S withdrawal from the EU and the resultant gaps in oversight, application of powers of the Commission and the Court of Justice of the European Union and expert knowledge exchange dimensions of the EU institutions and fellow member states, it is clear and ought to be publicly stated and agreed that existing arrangements at the Scottish and UK level are inadequate.”
The UK Government has published a wide-ranging Environment Bill for England. It pledges to set targets to cut plastic pollution, improve air and water quality, and creates an Office for Environmental Protection.
But environmental groups are concerned that, with 80 per cent of environmental protections stemming from EU laws, ministers in Scotland have not yet made similar moves.
Deborah Long, LINK’S chief officer, said: “We rely on EU laws to enforce the strong environmental protections we have in place in Scotland and these are at risk from Brexit.
“Despite the chaos of politics today, we must ensure we can tackle today’s climate emergency and nature crisis through effective laws.
“We urge the Scottish Government to embed the protections our environment needs into Scottish law now and in the event of whatever may happen with Brexit.”
Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said: “The Scottish Government is committed to maintaining or exceeding EU environmental standards despite the uncertainty posed by Brexit and has acted to ensure our environmental laws and regulatory systems are robust.” Scotland’s health secretary Jeane Freeman has slammed the UK Government for holding “secret meetings” with US pharmaceutical companies in preparation for a trade deal after Brexit.
Channel 4 documentary Dispatches, which is broadcast tonight, is set to reveal information about a series of meetings held between “senior civil servants and representatives of US pharmaceutical firms” where it claims the price the NHS pays for its drugs was discussed.
NHS staff and health campaigners have raised fears the US government and its pharmaceutical industry want the NHS to pay more for their drugs, which are already far more expensive in the US.
Currently, the UK can block American drugs not deemed “value for money” and allow cheaper alternatives to be prescribed, which saves the NHS hundreds of millions of pounds a year. However, the system could be under threat under a transatlantic trade deal.
According to the programme, there have been six official meetings between British trade negotiators and their US counterparts to discuss a future trade deal.
“Precise details of what has been discussed has been kept strictly confidential, but a Whitehall source has told us that drug pricing has been on the table in all six meetings,” it said.
The source also allegedly said that US drugs firms have been given direct access to British trade officials.
Reacting to the revelations, Ms Freeman said: “Secret indeed. Meetings that the Scottish Government have not been informed of – far less had any influence over and which directly affect our NHS in Scotland. The Tory UK government is not only displaying contempt for Scotland, our government and our Parliament, but now our NHS. Time to get them out.”
She added: “The only way we can be sure to stop this and protect our NHS from Tory trade deals with Donald Trump or Brexit damage is to get Boris Johnson out of office and win Scotland’s independence.”