Justice Committee

Meeting date: Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Official Report 568KB pdf

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Subordinate Legislation

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Personal Licence (Training) (Scotland) Regulations 2013 (SSI 2013/261)

Without further ado, we move on to subordinate legislation. The Personal Licence (Training) (Scotland) Regulations 2013 prescribe the training requirement for personal licence holders and how evidence of compliance with the training requirements is to be demonstrated and submitted by the licence holder. The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee has drawn the Parliament’s attention to the regulations on two grounds.

First, the form and meaning of the regulations could be clearer, in that regulation 2(2)(a) and (b) duplicates the terms of section 87(1)(a) and (b) of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005. The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee concluded that such an unnecessary inclusion is of possible detriment to the clarity of the regulations in the context of their interaction with the parent statute.

Secondly, regulation 2(2), which prescribes the training requirement to be met by personal licence holders, appears to have been made by an unusual or unexpected use of the enabling powers. The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee concluded that the regulations do not explain to users of the legislation how, on a practical level, they can comply with the training requirement.

Do members have any comments? Are we content to endorse the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee’s views and make no recommendation in relation to the regulations?

Members indicated agreement.

I am happy to agree to adopt the regulations, but with a note about drafting issues, although that might be more pertinent to the next two instruments that we will consider.

Yes; that also relates to what Lord Gill said in his evidence about the pressures on the statute draftspersons. If legislation is churned out, that puts pressure on those who draft it.

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Act of Sederunt (Rules of the Court of Session Amendment No 5) (Miscellaneous) 2013 (SSI 2013/238)

The instrument makes a number of amendments to the Court of Session rules. The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee has drawn the Parliament’s attention to the instrument on the grounds that there appears to be doubt whether it is intra vires, and that there is a minor drafting error. The Lord President’s private office has undertaken to rectify those matters promptly by laying an amending instrument.

Do members have any comments on the instrument? Are we content to note the instrument and endorse the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee’s concerns?

Members indicated agreement.

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Scottish Civil Justice Council and Criminal Legal Assistance Act 2013 (Commencement No 2) Order 2013 (SSI 2013/262)

The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee agreed to draw the order to the attention of Parliament on the ground that it is defective as it brings into force section 20 of the Scottish Civil Justice Council and Criminal Legal Assistance Act 2013 when that was not the policy intention. The Scottish Government has brought forward another Scottish statutory instrument—SSI 2013/271—to correct the defect before it comes into force.

Do members have any comments? Are we agreed to note the order?

Members indicated agreement.

Again, I am content to note the order with the comment that this is Scottish statutory instrument 262 and there are more than 300 instruments per year; the Scottish Government must put sufficient resources into the drafting of instruments so that it gets it right first time. If it does not do that, it is spending valuable time and resources on correcting mistakes.

That is on the record now, so we do not need to write to the Government about it.

12:28 Meeting continued in private until 13:03.