Local Government and Communities Committee

Meeting date: Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Official Report 563KB pdf

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Subordinate Legislation

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Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Meetings of Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations) (Coronavirus) (No 2) Regulations 2020 (SSI 2020/284)

Under agenda item 2, the committee will take evidence on the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Meetings of Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations) (Coronavirus) (No 2) Regulations 2020, which is a made affirmative instrument.

I welcome Aileen Campbell, Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government. I also welcome from the Scottish Government Caroline Monk, senior policy officer, and Jamie MacQueen, legal directorate lead for this Scottish statutory instrument.

Following the evidence session, the committee will be invited under item 3 to consider the motion to approve the instrument. I remind everyone that Scottish Government officials can speak under this item but not in the debate that follows.

Before we proceed, there are two corrections to points in the clerk’s paper. Both are at paragraph 10 of the paper. First, we understand that the instrument came into force on 30 December, and not immediately on being laid. Secondly, the Parliament has 40 days—not 28 days—to decide whether to approve the instrument. The instrument is currently in force, but it requires parliamentary approval to remain in force.

I Invite the cabinet secretary to make a short opening statement.

Good morning, colleagues, and happy new year. I welcome this opportunity to join the committee to recommend that the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Meetings of Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations) (Coronavirus) (No 2) Regulations 2020 be approved.

The UK Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 allowed Scottish charitable incorporated organisations—known as SCIOs—and other bodies to hold remote meetings with their members during the relevant period, even when their constitution would not allow that.

The relevant period originally ran from 26 March to 30 September. The act allows Scottish ministers to extend the relevant period for SCIOs by three months at a time, and the Scottish Parliament approved a previous set of regulations that extended the relevant period to 30 December.

SCIOs are legally required to hold certain meetings. However, given the current Covid-19 restrictions, those meetings will not be possible in person. This further set of regulations allows SCIOs to continue to hold remote meetings with their members, even when their constitution would not normally allow that, until 30 March 2021. The regulations are a final extension to the relevant period for SCIOs.

I look forward to taking questions from committee members.

If any member has a question, please notify me of that via the digital channel by typing R in the chat box. I will call anyone who wants to ask a question, in turn, by name. Cabinet secretary, please state clearly whether any official is being brought in to answer any question.

As members do not have any questions, we will now move to item 3, which is formal consideration of motion S5M-23666, in the name of the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government, calling on the committee to recommend approval of this made affirmative instrument.

Motion moved,

That the Local Government and Communities Committee recommends that the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Meetings of Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations) (Coronavirus) (No. 2) Regulations 2020 (SSI 2020/421) be approved.—[Aileen Campbell]

Motion agreed to.

Having agreed to the motion, the committee will report on the instrument in due course. I invite the committee to delegate authority to me, as convener, to approve a draft of the report for publication.

I thank the cabinet secretary and her officials for taking part in the meeting. Members of the panel who are not taking part in the next item can leave the meeting by pressing the red telephone icon. I remind committee members that we remain in public for the next item.

08:51 Meeting suspended.  

08:53 On resuming—