§ Lord Hogg of Cumbernauldasked Her Majesty's Government:
When the bilateral concordat between the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Scottish Executive will come into force. [HL4688]
§ Baroness HaymanWe are pleased to say that letters for formalising the bilateral concordat between this Department and the Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department (SERAD) were exchanged on 255WA 3 November. The concordat, which is in the form of an agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Scottish Executive, establishes for all matters relating to the Scottish Parliament's responsibilities for agriculture, fisheries and food an agreed framework for co-operation between the administrations.
The bilateral concordat will be complemented by a series of subject-specific concordats. The first of these, covering fisheries, has been agreed.
256WAWe look forward to continuing the close and constructive relationship that our department has developed with SEARD following the introduction of devolution on 1 July.
The texts of the bilateral concordat and the subject-specific fisheries concordat have been placed in the Library of the House and are available on the Internet at www.maff.gov.uk/aboutmaf/devolve/devolve.htm. The Scottish Executive is placing copies in the library of the Scottish Parliament.