Transport and the Environment Committee, 04 Apr 2000

Meeting date: Tuesday, April 4, 2000

Official Report 129KB pdf

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Subordinate Legislation

We will now take a step back in time and address agenda item 3, which is on subordinate legislation. We have two negative instruments to deal with.

I refer members to the Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (Scotland) Regulations 2000. I refer members also to the Executive and committee covering notes on the regulations. The regulations came into force on 1 April 2000. Under the negative procedure, Parliament has the power to annul the order by resolution within 40 days, excluding the recess. The deadline for parliamentary action on this order is 27 April.

Any MSP may lodge a motion to propose to the lead committee that the order be annulled. We are required to report on the instrument by 24 April. Should annulment be required, under rule 10.4 of standing orders, the Transport and the Environment Committee will have to debate the issue and then report to Parliament with its decision. Before we discuss this document, I draw members' attention to the report of the Subordinate Legislation Committee, which indicates that that committee found some problems with the instrument. Those have been acknowledged by the Executive, and the Executive proposes to lay an amending instrument shortly. We need to bear that in mind during our discussions.

The question is how shortly the amending instrument will be laid. Will that happen within the 40 days?

I do not know, but I expect that it will be laid after that period.

After that period? We are in a hopeless position.

Did you discuss the detail of the matter with the clerk to the Subordinate Legislation Committee?

No. Is Kenny MacAskill coming back? He would be able to advise us.

No, he is away to another meeting.

That is a pity. I trust that, if the Subordinate Legislation Committee had had grave concerns over the time scale, it would have knocked it back in the system.

Can we postpone making a decision on this until next week's meeting? Would a week make much difference?

We will not have a meeting next week, as it is the recess. Lynn advises me that the Subordinate Legislation Committee accepted the advice that was given by the Executive. If it had had any doubts about the matter, it would have advised us of them.

Are you recommending that we accept the instrument on the condition that it is subsequently amended by the Executive, although that might happen outside the 40 days?

Yes. We can qualify our report on that basis.

I hope that it is made clear that that is our understanding of the situation, so that we can call the Executive to account if an amending instrument is not laid.

Yes. Is the committee agreed?

Members indicated agreement.

The second negative instrument is the Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Exemptions for Disabled Persons) (Scotland) Regulations 2000. It is accompanied by Executive and committee covering notes. The same procedure applies as for the preceding document. I draw committee members' attention to the advice of the Subordinate Legislation Committee, which indicates similar problems and a similar potential resolution to those problems. Are there any comments?

No.

If there are problems with the instrument, why is it not withdrawn and redrafted? There is enough bumf flying about without more bumf to amend the bumf. Why could we not get the correct bumf in the first place?

I assume that there is some difficulty in doing that.

The process seems messy.

We now move to agenda item 5, the budget process, which will be taken in private. I thank the public and the official reporters for their attendance at the meeting.

Meeting continued in private until 16:08.