Subordinate Legislation
Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Compulsory Supervision Orders etc: Further Provision) Regulations 2013 (SSI 2013/149)
Good morning and welcome to the 18th meeting in 2013 of the Education and Culture Committee. I remind all present that all electronic devices should be switched off at all times. I welcome Mary Scanlon, who is substituting for Liz Smith. Good morning, Mary; it is good to see you here again.
The first item on the agenda is consideration of three Scottish statutory instruments that are subject to the negative procedure. The first instrument is SSI 2013/149. As members have no comments on the regulations, does the committee agree to make no recommendation on them to the Parliament?
Members indicated agreement.
Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Modification of Subordinate Legislation) Order 2013 (SSI 2013/147)
The next instrument is SSI 2013/147. As members have no comments on the order, does the committee agree to make no recommendation on it to the Parliament?
Members indicated agreement.
Regulation of Care (Social Service Workers) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2013 (SSI 2013/141)
The final instrument is SSI 2013/141. As members have no comments on the order, does the committee agree to make no recommendation on it to the Parliament?
Members indicated agreement.
I will suspend the meeting briefly.
10:03
Meeting suspended.
10:05
On resuming—
Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Implementation of Secure Accommodation Authorisation) (Scotland) Regulations 2013 [Draft]
Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Movement Restriction Conditions) Regulations 2013 [Draft]
Secure Accommodation (Scotland) Regulations 2013 [Draft]
Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Modification of Primary Legislation) Order 2013 [Draft]
Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 (Modification of Regulated Work with Children) (Children’s Hearings) Order 2013 [Draft]
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exclusions and Exceptions) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2013 [Draft]
The next item is evidence on six related affirmative instruments. It provides an opportunity for members to ask questions of the minister and her officials or to seek clarification of any points on the instruments. The committee will then separately be invited to consider the motions to approve the instruments under agenda item 3, at which point officials are not allowed to participate.
I welcome to the committee Aileen Campbell, the Minister for Children and Young People; Tom McNamara, team leader, children’s hearings team; Daniel Kleinberg, youth justice team leader; John McCutcheon, youth justice policy officer; Liz Blair, senior principal legal officer; and Graham McGlashan, principal legal officer. Our witnesses are all from the Scottish Government.
I invite the minister to make a brief opening statement about all the instruments.
Thank you, convener. I will begin with the regulations concerning secure accommodation and movement restriction conditions.
The draft Secure Accommodation (Scotland) Regulations 2013 are concerned with the use of secure accommodation. In particular, they specify the circumstances in which children may be placed in secure accommodation and the procedure to be followed if a relevant order or warrant does not include a secure accommodation authorisation. The regulations also make provision in relation to the detention in secure accommodation of children who are subject to orders made by sheriffs under section 44 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.
The draft Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Implementation of Secure Accommodation Authorisation) (Scotland) Regulations 2013 make provision in relation to the decision-making process for the implementation of secure accommodation authorisations.
The draft Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Movement Restriction Conditions) Regulations 2013 make provision in relation to the arrangements for monitoring compliance with a movement restriction condition included in a compulsory supervision order or interim compulsory supervision order.
The draft Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exclusions and Exceptions) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2013 is of a technical nature and makes two amendments to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exclusions and Exceptions) (Scotland) Order 2013.
The committee also has before it a draft order that will modify the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007. The draft order lists the positions and roles created by the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 that will become subject to the protection of vulnerable groups scheme.
The final instrument is the draft Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Modification of Primary Legislation) Order 2013, which amends primary legislation in two main ways. The order contains provisions that make consequential amendments to various pieces of primary legislation that are related to, or have some form of cross-reference to, children’s hearings. Those amendments are made in consequence of the change from the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 to the 2011 act. The order also amends the 2011 act itself, making ancillary provision to give full effect to the act’s provisions.
Having provided a brief summary of some of the very technical regulations that we are discussing today, I am happy to take questions.
Thank you, minister. Do members wish to ask any technical questions or raise points of clarification?
There are no questions from members, but I will ask one question on the draft Secure Accommodation (Scotland) Regulations 2013. The Subordinate Legislation Committee made a point about the vires of the regulations. Can the minister explain the Government’s response to the Subordinate Legislation Committee’s point?
We believe that the regulations are compliant with what we intend to do. Liz, do you want to comment further?
Liz Blair (Scottish Government)
The Subordinate Legislation Committee’s point concerned the commencement of certain provisions. In referring the instrument to the Education and Culture Committee, the Subordinate Legislation Committee said that, if the Government were to commence those provisions and if that were properly done, the point that it raised would in effect fall away.
We have now made a commencement order commencing the provision that the Subordinate Legislation Committee was concerned about. The commencement order was laid before the Scottish Parliament on Friday and it will come into force before the draft regulations are made. The point therefore falls away.
So the commencement order has now been laid and the amendment to section 75 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 will come into effect.
That is right.
Okay. That answers that question.
We move to item 3. Having received a briefing on the instruments, we must now consider formally the motions to approve them. We will do that separately for each instrument.
First, I invite the minister to move motion S4M-06807 on the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Implementation of Secure Accommodation Authorisation) (Scotland) Regulations 2013.
Motion moved,
That the Education and Culture Committee recommends that the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Implementation of Secure Accommodation Authorisation) (Scotland) Regulations 2013 [draft] be approved.—[Aileen Campbell.]
Motion agreed to.
I invite the minister to move motion S4M-06806 on the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Movement Restriction Conditions) Regulations 2013.
Motion moved,
That the Education and Culture Committee recommends that the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Movement Restriction Conditions) Regulations 2013 [draft] be approved.—[Aileen Campbell.]
Motion agreed to.
I invite the minister to move motion S4M-06809 on the Secure Accommodation (Scotland) Regulations 2013.
Motion moved,
That the Education and Culture Committee recommends that the Secure Accommodation (Scotland) Regulations 2013 [draft] be approved.—[Aileen Campbell.]
Motion agreed to.
I invite the minister to move motion S4M-06810 on the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Modification of Primary Legislation) Order 2013.
Motion moved,
That the Education and Culture Committee recommends that the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Modification of Primary Legislation) Order 2013 [draft] be approved.—[Aileen Campbell.]
Motion agreed to.
I invite the minister to move motion S4M-06808 on the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 (Modification of Regulated Work with Children) (Children’s Hearings) Order 2013.
Motion moved,
That the Education and Culture Committee recommends that the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 (Modification of Regulated Work with Children) (Children’s Hearings) Order 2013 [draft] be approved.—[Aileen Campbell.]
Motion agreed to.
Finally, I invite the minister to move motion S4M-06811 on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exclusions and Exceptions) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2013.
Motion moved,
That the Education and Culture Committee recommends that the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exclusions and Exceptions) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2013 [draft] be approved.—[Aileen Campbell.]
Motion agreed to.
The committee’s report to the Parliament on the instruments will confirm the outcome of the debate. I thank the minister and her officials for attending this morning’s committee meeting.
10:12
Meeting suspended.
10:13
On resuming—