Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee 02 October 2018
The agenda for the day:
Decision on Taking Business in Private, Instruments subject to Affirmative Procedure, Instruments subject to Negative Procedure, Instrument not subject to Parliamentary Procedure.
Decision on Taking Business in Private
Decision on Taking Business in Private
I welcome everyone to the 29th meeting in 2018 of the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee.
Under agenda item 1, it is proposed that the committee takes in private items 5 to 9, which involve consideration of delegated powers provisions in bills and in legislative consent memorandums relating to United Kingdom bills. Does the committee agree to take those items in private?
Members indicated agreement.
Instruments subject to Affirmative Procedure
Instruments subject to Affirmative Procedure
First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Social Security Chamber and Upper Tribunal for Scotland (Composition) Regulations 2018 [Draft]
The regulations provide for the composition of the social security chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland when dealing with appeals under certain provisions of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018.
The committee may wish to draw the regulations to the attention of the Parliament on reporting ground (e), as there appears to be a doubt about whether regulation 5 is intra vires. Specifically, there is a doubt about whether regulation 5 complies with section 40 of the Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014, which sets out the rules relating to whether members of the Upper Tribunal should be ordinary, legal or judicial members.
Does the committee wish to draw the regulations to the attention of the Parliament on reporting ground (e)?
Members indicated agreement.
Does the committee consider that the provisions should be corrected to remove doubt about their compliance with section 40 of the 2014 act, by means of the Scottish Government withdrawing and relaying the draft regulations?
Members indicated agreement.
No points have been raised on the following instruments.
Instruments subject to Negative Procedure
Instruments subject to Negative Procedure
First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Social Security Chamber (Procedure) Regulations 2018 (SSI 2018/273)
The regulations establish a new chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland to consider appeals in relation to social security cases in the Scottish system. There are a couple of reporting grounds on which the committee may wish to draw the regulations to the attention of the Parliament. It may wish to do so on reporting ground (h), on the basis that the meaning of rule 9(3)(a) in the schedule could be clearer; and on the general reporting ground, in respect of drafting errors in rule 22(4)(g) and rules 35(5) and (7) in the schedule. The Scottish Government has indicated that it will correct those errors by amending regulations.
Does the committee wish to draw the regulations to the attention of the Parliament on reporting ground (h) and on the general reporting ground?
Members indicated agreement.
Instrument not subject to Parliamentary Procedure
Instrument not subject to Parliamentary Procedure