Local Government and Communities Committee

Meeting date: Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Official Report 668KB pdf

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Subordinate Legislation

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Caravan Sites Act 1968 (Amendment of Definition of Caravan) (Scotland) Order 2019 (SSI 2019/295)

Under agenda item 3 we will consider a negative instrument, SSI 2019/295. I refer members to paper 3.

The instrument is laid under the negative procedure, which means that its provisions will come into force unless the Parliament agrees to a motion to annul it. No motions to annul have been lodged. The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee considered the instrument at its meeting on 1 October and determined that it did not need to draw the attention of the Parliament to the instrument on any grounds within its remit. Do members have any comment on the instrument?

I am delighted that we are going to allow bigger caravans. I think that the people of Scotland should be very grateful to the Parliament. I look forward to bigger caravans.

I am the convener of the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee, which obviously had a look at the instrument. I was surprised to see that bigger caravans are allowed in England than in Scotland. I also wondered who enforces the regulations. I am not suggesting that we delay the decision—it makes perfect sense that we would allow a maximum size of caravans across the UK—but some questions arose.

I do not see anyone else wanting to speak. We will pick up that particular comment about implementation and enforcement and seek—[Interruption.]

The clerk tells me that the law will be changed such that there will not be enforcement changes, but harmonisation. Does that answer your question, Graham?

It seems to me that if there is a maximum caravan size, then, if somebody has a caravan that is beyond that maximum size, someone has to take action. That is my point.

I think that we should write a letter to seek clarification on that and report back at our next meeting after the recess.

I do not see anyone wanting to speak against the instrument, though, so on that basis I invite the committee to agree that we do not wish to make any recommendations in relation to the instrument, except for that further clarification, which we can seek while letting the instrument go through.

Members indicated agreement.

Thank you, colleagues. That ends the public part of the meeting.

12:07 Meeting continued in private until 12:50.