Transport and the Environment Committee, 05 Sep 2001
Meeting date: Wednesday, September 5, 2001
Official Report
194KB pdf
Subordinate Legislation
Under agenda item 2 we have five negative instruments to consider, and lots of papers, which I am sure members have enjoyed reading in recent months.
First, we have the Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 2001 (SSI 2001/207) and the Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2001 (SSI 2001/238), which amend the former instrument. As members will be aware, the Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 2001 (SSI 2001/207) were laid on 5 June and, rightly, we have been designated the lead committee to consider them. An Executive cover note and a regulatory impact assessment accompany the regulations. Under the standard negative procedure, we have the power to annul the regulations by resolution within 40 days of their being laid, excluding recess. The time limit for parliamentary action is 13 September. No motion for annulment has been lodged.
SSI 2001/238 amends SSI 2001/207 in response to points that were raised by the Subordinate Legislation Committee, and was laid on 19 June. Relevant extracts of the Subordinate Legislation Committee's report are contained in the covering note. We are required to report to Parliament on both instruments. Do members have any comments? If not, are members content with this committee's report?
Members indicated agreement.
The next item is the Existing Facilities in Quality Partnership Schemes (Scotland) Regulations 2001 (SSI 2001/218), which were laid on 8 June and came into force on 1 July. Once again, we are the lead committee. An Executive note and a committee covering note accompany the regulations. No motion to annul the regulations has been lodged. The Subordinate Legislation Committee drew the attention of the Parliament to the regulations, and we are required to report by 10 September. Do members have any comments? If not, are members content with the conclusion that we have nothing to report?
Members indicated agreement.
The Public Service Vehicles (Registration of Local Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2001 (SSI 2001/219) were laid on 8 June and came into force on 1 July. We are the lead committee for consideration of the regulations. An Executive note accompanies the regulations, as does a committee covering note. The committee is required to report on the regulations by 10 September. No motions to annul have been lodged.
Members will see from the covering note that the Executive has lodged the Public Service Vehicles (Registration of Local Services) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2001 (SSI 2001/251) to correct an error in SSI 2001/219. A copy of the amending regulations has been circulated for information. The amending regulations will be considered in due course, but we are not considering them formally today because they have not yet been considered by the Subordinate Legislation Committee. However, we are required to consider SSI 2001/219 in the normal manner, pending the Subordinate Legislation Committee's consideration of and report to Parliament on SSI 2001/251. Do members have any comments? If we are content, do members agree that we have nothing to report to Parliament?
Members indicated agreement.
The next item is the Air Quality Limit Values (Scotland) Regulations 2001 (SSI 2001/224), which were laid on 11 June and came into force on 19 July. The usual documents accompany the regulations. The standard procedure for dealing with negative instruments applies. The committee is required to report on the regulations by 14 September. No motion to annul has been lodged. The Subordinate Legislation Committee drew the attention of the Parliament and the lead committee to the unsatisfactory drafting of the regulations, and to the Executive's response. Do members have a view? If not, does the committee agree that we have nothing to report?
Members indicated agreement.
That has mystified almost everybody on the public benches, but after a long recess such things have to be dealt with. Nonetheless, if there are any questions about the process, I will be happy to answer them after the meeting.