Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee
Meeting date: Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Official Report 426KB pdf
Contents
- Attendance
- Decision on Taking Business in Private
- Social Security (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
- Instruments subject to Affirmative Procedure
- Instruments subject to Negative Procedure
- Instruments not subject to Parliamentary Procedure
- Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016
- Seat Belts on School Transport (Scotland) Bill: After Stage 2
Instruments subject to Negative Procedure
Agricultural Holdings (Modern Limited Duration Tenancies and Consequential etc Provisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 (SSI 2017/300)
A main purpose of the regulations is to make provision on who a “new entrant” to farming is for the purposes of determining whether a person’s lease of a modern limited duration tenancy under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 can contain a break clause. Paragraphs 2, 3, 5 and 6 of schedule 2 to the regulations all provide that, until the coming into force of section 92 of the 2016 act for all purposes, various specified enactments are to be read as if references to certain phrases that are expressed in quotation marks in each regulation were omitted. Those phrases are “repairing tenancy” and “a repairing tenancy”.
Our legal advisers suggest that the provisions could be more clearly expressed if the precise wording that falls to be omitted or modified in each enactment were quoted, so that the provision as modified reads sensibly. In the case of paragraphs 2, 3, 5 and 6 of schedule 2 to the regulations, the precise wording is not quoted in the provisions. The Scottish Government has acknowledged that it might have been clearer to have drafted the transitory provisions in the manner that has been outlined.
Does the committee agree to draw the regulations to the Parliament’s attention on reporting ground (h), as the meaning of various transitory provisions could be made clearer in a particular respect? That applies to paragraphs 2, 3, 5 and 6 of schedule 2 to the regulations.
Members indicated agreement.
Does the committee agree to call on the Scottish Government to further consider laying an amending instrument to clarify the drafting of the provisions?
Members indicated agreement.
No points have been raised by our legal advisers on the following two instruments.
Functions of Health Boards (Scotland) Amendment Order 2017 (SSI 2017/304)
Civil Legal Aid (Scotland) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2017 (SSI 2017/310)
Is the committee content with the instruments?
Members indicated agreement.