Scottish law chiefs and a former cabinet minister have voiced opposition to plans which would permanently enshrine emergency lockdown powers in law.
The Scottish Government wants to extend the capacity to close schools, enforce stay-at-home restrictions and shut down hospitality venues beyond the Covid crisis, without having to seek parliamentary approval.
However, the Law Society of Scotland said in its response that the plans - contained within the Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill - "have the potential to result in very significant restrictions on liberty" without sufficient parliamentary scrutiny.
"This is turn creates a risk of misuse, or of powers being used in error," it said.
"There must be sufficient safeguards to maintain checks and balances on executive powers, and to ensure appropriate parliamentary oversight."
It added that keeping vaccine passports in Scotland risked leaving people subject to more restrictions on their liberty than citizens in the rest of the UK.
Widespread opposition
Former SNP minister Alex Neil, who served in cabinet under Nicola Sturgeon, told The Times that "no government should get such draconian powers other than in very exceptional circumstances and only with explicit parliamentary approval."
Of the 2,905 responses to a government consultation on the plans, only 6.4% were in favour of ministers being able to freely impose lockdown measures.
Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce has described the plans as a "blueprint to go backwards" and instead urged the government to focus on economic recovery and ensuring the NHS has capacity to cope with any future peaks in demand.
Ryan Crighton, AGCC's Policy Director, added: "The only meaningful check on these new powers is that ministers must consider whether restrictions are proportionate. This is a balance the government has consistently failed to get right, most recently with its damaging response to Omicron, which brought our high streets and hospitality businesses to their knees again."
What happens next?
The Bill will be debated by MSPs on Wednesday.
In total, it proposes changes in 30 legislative areas, which were modified by temporary provisions made under Scottish and UK coronavirus legislation.
Labour and the Conservatives are united in opposition to the plans, both warning that Nicola Sturgeon’s government was making an unnecessary “power grab”.