Seeds (Fees) (Scotland) Order 2000 (SSI 2000/1)
The second piece of subordinate legislation that we have before us is the Seeds (Fees) (Scotland) Order 2000, SSI 2000/1. Again, this is a negative procedure, which means that unless a formal motion to annul the order is agreed to, the order comes into effect. No such motion for annulment has been lodged to date, so the purpose of today's discussion is to examine the instrument.
The Subordinate Legislation Committee considered this order this morning and agreed to draw some technical matters to our attention. We cannot draw a conclusion until we see the report later this week. However, because of the time scales for this instrument, it has been suggested that today we should hear about the order from the representatives of SERAD and that later in the week we should take the opportunity to deal with this matter by correspondence among members. Would that be appropriate?
Members indicated agreement.
I therefore ask Brian Cockwell of SERAD and Simon Coopers of the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency to come forward.
I think there may be a fault in my agenda. Is it Coopers or Cooper?
Simon Cooper (Scottish Agricultural Science Agency):
Cooper.
Thank you. We will correct that.
I invite you to speak about this statutory instrument, gentlemen.
Brian Cockwell (Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department):
The Seeds (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2000 introduce statutory provisions for the charging of fees in relation to the training and licensing of field inspectors and seed samplers, and a number of other services provided by the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency.
The regulations prescribe fees in respect of matters arising under various other seed marketing regulations, such as the Cereal Seeds Regulations 1993, the Fodder Seeds Regulations 1993, the Oil and Fibre Plant Seeds Regulations 1993, the Beet Seeds Regulations 1993, the Vegetable Seeds Regulations 1993 and the Seeds (Registration, Licensing and Enforcement) Regulations 1985, all of which have been amended over the years. The first five regulations restrict the marketing of those seeds in Great Britain to the specified categories of seeds that meet prescribed standards. They also require such seeds to be sold in sealed packages, and make tampering with prescribed labels an offence. The last of those regulations—the Seeds (Registration, Licensing and Enforcement) Regulations 1985—includes a provision for the licensing of seed testing stations and of seed samplers and field inspectors.
The various seed regulations flow from the European Council directives governing the marketing of seeds. Those directives contain the requirement that all seeds of the main agricultural species—such as cereals—must, when sold to the public, be officially certified and meet the minimum standards of identity, varietal purity, germination and so on. Those are examples of the prescribed standards that I mentioned earlier.
SERAD is the official certifying authority for Scotland and those functions are carried out on our behalf by the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency. Since our accession to the EC, we have sought to keep to a minimum the cost to the industry of the bureaucracy of this highly regulated system. To achieve that, we have made maximum use of trade personnel, under official supervision, to carry out such tasks as field inspection of growing crops and the sampling of seed lots in the premises of registered seed processors and dealers.
To carry out those tasks, the field inspectors and seed samplers must be licensed by the certifying authority, which, in Scotland, is SERAD. To obtain a licence, Commission decisions 89/540/EC and 98/320/EC require that those individuals be suitably qualified as confirmed by official examinations. Those examinations are conducted on SERAD's behalf by SASA, which provides pre-examination training if required.
Fees are collected by SASA for the training of prospective field inspectors and seed samplers, and for the examinations. At present, those fees are not prescribed in any statutory regulation. Last year, Friends of the Earth prompted a judicial review in England and Wales of the seed marketing regulations. As a result of questions raised in the judicial review proceedings, solicitors to the Scottish Executive advise that we must have statutory power to allow SASA to make charges for the training and examinations of field inspectors and seed samplers. These regulations do that.
We have also made statutory provision for a small number of other services provided by SASA, hitherto charged without sound statutory provision. We have made provision for reduced charges in relation to some services. Other fees—the bulk of the fees—remain unchanged. As is our usual practice, we consulted the industry in October last year and received no substantial comments on the proposed changes.
As the Seeds (Fees) Regulations 1985 have been amended a number of times in recent years, we have followed advice from the office of the solicitor to the Scottish Executive and have taken the opportunity to make consolidated regulations on this occasion.
The Seeds (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2000 revoke and replace the Seeds (Fees) Regulations 1985 in Scotland. They pose no financial burden, as the trade is paying for the services at present, and other charges have remain unchanged. The regulations simply put into statute fees that the industry has been paying for many years and that it would have been expecting to continue to pay.
Thank you very much. Are there any questions on the issues raised by the instrument and its explanatory documents? As there are none, I thank you, gentlemen, for addressing us.
As I explained earlier, we have been told that the Subordinate Legislation Committee will wish to draw a report to our attention. Are members content with this proposal, subject to receiving the report from the Subordinate Legislation Committee? Can we conclude that the committee does not wish to make any recommendation in its report to Parliament?
Members indicated agreement.
We will act on the basis of correspondence made in the light of the report, once we receive it from the Subordinate Legislation Committee. Assuming that it meets with the agreement of members of this committee, we will consider this item to have been dealt with. Members will receive correspondence as soon as the report is available.