Justice Committee

Meeting date: Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Official Report 447KB pdf

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Subordinate Legislation

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Scottish Administration (Offices) Order 2012 (SI 2012/3073)

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Restriction of Liberty Order etc (Scotland) Regulations 2013 (SSI 2013/6)

Item 3 is consideration of two instruments that are subject to the negative procedure. Information on both is provided in the accompanying papers.

All members will pleased to note that neither instrument has been drawn to the Parliament’s attention by the Subordinate Legislation Committee on the ground either of flawed drafting or of any other matter. They seem to be perfect.

Members have no comments: is the committee content to make no recommendations on either instrument?

Members indicated agreement.

I just want to refer to the letter dated 4 February from the Scottish Police Authority. First of all, I regret the absence of a timely response from the SPA to the committee’s request for access to the “codicil” and it was only through the additional work of the committee clerks—for which I am grateful, as it was generated by my request yesterday—that we received the response late yesterday afternoon. I want it to be noted that I have rising concerns about relationships with regard to police reform and regret that, because of the committee’s agenda-driven process, we are not allowed to debate the matter further.

I want to stop you there, because I think it important to make it clear that every item that the committee is going to discuss is publicly announced on an agenda. The point is not specific to the item that you have raised.

I should also say that the letter that you refer to is on the committee’s website and that I hope we will discuss it after the recess. The only reason why I cannot allow a substantive discussion of the issue is because it is not on the agenda.

Can I—

No. That is the point that I am making.

Can I—

No. I am sorry, Graeme, but that is the end of the discussion on the matter.

I just want to make one point of clarification. The issue could only have been raised—

I am sorry but—

—with the committee after tea time last night.

I beg your pardon—

We only received the letter last night.

I beg your pardon, but the issue is not on the agenda. I am not suppressing anything—you can say what you like about this issue outside—but the fact is that it is not on the committee’s agenda. Whatever comes up, if it is not on the agenda, we cannot discuss it. I am not discussing the matter any further.

The next meeting is on—

May I make a suggestion for a standing agenda item for the next few months, convener?

We have already put in train the proposal for a sub-committee to hold the SPA and the chief constable for Scotland to account, and should let the matter take its course. I trust that the Parliamentary Bureau will agree to it; if so, it will be a matter for that sub-committee to deal with either at the three-monthly meetings that we have suggested it hold, or at some ad hoc meeting that it might agree on. The point that I am making is that we cannot have a substantive discussion about things that are not on the agenda.

But convener—

No—I am sorry but I am not going into this any more. The issue is not on the agenda and the letter is now in the public domain for members to comment on. The sub-committee and you as individuals will deal with the matter, but it cannot be discussed by the committee as it is not on the agenda.

On a point of order, convener—

There are no points of order in committees.

The next meeting is after recess on Tuesday 19 February. These matters can be put on the agenda for that meeting. We will also have an informal briefing from Scottish Government witnesses on the Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Bill and will consider our approach to scrutinising it. I thank members very much.

Meeting closed at 11:57.