At its meeting on 19 November 2019, the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee considered the delegated powers provisions in the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) Bill ("the Bill") at Stage 1.ⁱThe Bill as introduced is available here.

The Committee submits this report to the lead Committee for the Bill (the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee) under Rule 9.6.2 of the Standing Orders.

The Scottish Government has provided the Parliament with a memorandum on the delegated powers provisions in the Bill.ⁱThe Delegated Powers Memorandum is available here.

This Government Bill was introduced by the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, Roseanna Cunningham MSP, on 30 September 2019. The lead committee is the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee.

The Bill amends the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 (“2006 Act”), several pieces of wildlife legislation, and the Animal Health Act 1981 for the purposes of further protecting health and welfare in connection with animals and wildlife in Scotland.

The Committee considered each of the delegated powers in the Bill. The Committee determined that it did not need to draw the attention of the Parliament to the delegated powers in the following provisions:

• Section 2 - inserting new section 46A into the 2006 Act (fixed penalty notices for certain offences relating to animal welfare)

• Section 3 - inserting section 19(4C) into the 2006 Act (power to modify the meaning of ‘relevant officer’ for the purposes of new section 19(4A) and (4B))

• Section 4 – inserting new section 76A into the Animal Health Act 1981 (fixed penalty notices for certain offences relating to animal health)

• Section 11 – inserting new section 32L into the 2006 Act (modification of powers over animals)

• Section 14 – Commencement