Subordinate Legislation Committee, 03 Apr 2001

Meeting date: Tuesday, April 3, 2001

Official Report 84KB pdf

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National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2001 (SSI 2001/67)

Our first item of business is the consideration of Executive responses. The committee raised many points on the regulations, particularly on the issue of consolidation. The Executive has said that it regrets that it has not yet been able to consolidate the principal regulations, and that it will do so as soon as is reasonably possible. We should therefore draw the attention of the lead committee and the Parliament to the need for consolidation of the regulations.

We are beginning to understand that the system is under a fair amount of pressure. I am sure that it is not a matter of people being careless about, or not paying attention to, the need for consolidation. When we draw the matter to the lead committee's attention, perhaps we should also suggest that it asks those in the department responsible to clarify the phrase "as soon as is reasonably possible". That sounds rather open-ended to me. We are asking the health department either to rewrite or to consolidate all the instruments that we receive from it. I do not know whether the pressure of work in that department is reasonable or unreasonable; however, the lead committee should find out what is meant by a reasonable time, and the priorities concerning the consolidation of the regulations.

The committee has agreed that it wants to speak to the Executive about the principle and practice of consolidation.

So we do not need to tell the lead committee anything.

It is only fair to tell the lead committee about the points arising from the regulations. However, we must explore issues such as the pressure on the system with the Executive.

As this is the 22nd set of amendments to the principal regulations, people are bound to find it difficult to follow the other amendments that have been made. As a result, it is only fair to ask the department when it intends consolidating the regulations.

We can do that.

The committee also raised a point concerning the definition of the National Health Service (Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges) (Scotland) Regulations 1988. As those regulations are referred to only once in the principal regulations in the terms defined, namely in the amendments effected by the current regulations, and are otherwise referred to in full, we asked why that provision was considered necessary.

The Executive agreed that it would not have been appropriate to include a definition where the term was referred to just once in the regulations; however, the Executive notes that there are three references to the term, in regulations 8(10)(b), 8(14)(b)(ii) and 8(14)(c)(i) of the principal regulations. Although it is doubtful whether that constitutes defective drafting, such difficulties make clear the need for quick consolidation, otherwise the whole thing becomes a jigsaw. That reinforces the points made by Margo MacDonald and Bristow Muldoon.

The third point that we raised on the regulations concerned a missing footnote, which the Executive has recognised. Although we have pointed out that defective drafting to the lead committee, it does not affect the substance of the instrument very much.

The fourth point focused on how the new paragraphs in regulation 8 of the principal regulations interact with regulation 8(6) as amended. We should draw the attention of the Parliament and the lead committee to the department's explanation.

The fifth point raised an issue of defective drafting, to which we should draw the attention of the lead committee. The sixth point is also a matter of defective drafting, as the regulations would allow people who are dead to make applications. Do members have any comments about that?

It has been corrected.

Indeed. We will draw the lead committee's attention to that fact.

The seventh point centres on another whole twist and turn in the instrument which creates confusion with regulation 4(2) and new regulations 8(7), 8(12) and 8(13) to 8(15). There is real difficulty understanding what is going on. We should consider drawing the lead committee's attention to the fact that the meaning of the provision remains obscure. We are making a big play about the importance of the consolidation and clarification of these regulations, not just for the committee, but for the public.

The regulations should be accessible, and they are anything but.

The instrument also breaches the 21-day rule. As members of the public who are affected should have some forewarning of such regulations, breaching that rule is not a good idea. I am sure that the Executive does not do that lightly. The committee has already stressed the need to make regulations in good time. We worry that the Executive might be waiting for the UK Government to make the regulations for England so that Scotland can follow in behind. Although that might not affect the substance of the instrument, it makes the timetable for scrutiny tighter for the Scottish Parliament. We should point out to the Executive that we are not terribly happy with the situation.