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Chamber and committees

Subordinate Legislation Committee

Meeting date: Tuesday, March 6, 2012


Contents


Instruments Subject to Affirmative Procedure


Patient Rights (Treatment Time Guarantee) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 [Draft]

The Convener (Nigel Don)

I welcome members to the sixth meeting in 2012 of the Subordinate Legislation Committee and ask them to turn off their mobile phones.

Under agenda item 1, we begin with the draft treatment time guarantee regulations. Regulations 5 and 6 set out the circumstances in which a health board may reset the calculation of waiting time to zero. The regulations do not make clear the Scottish Government’s intention that that should not have any effect where the health board is already in breach of the treatment time guarantee. Does the committee therefore agree to draw the regulations to the Parliament’s attention under reporting ground (h), because they could be clearer?

Members indicated agreement.

The Convener

In regulation 1(2), reference should have been made to the definition of “ophthalmic medical practitioner” in the National Health Service (General Ophthalmic Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (SSI 2006/135). Instead, reference is made to the definition of “medical practitioner” in those regulations, but there is no such definition. Does the committee therefore agree to draw the regulations to the Parliament’s attention under the general reporting ground, because they contain a drafting error in the definition of “ophthalmic medical practitioner”?

Members indicated agreement.

John Scott (Ayr) (Con)

I see that the Government has undertaken to correct that error at the next appropriate opportunity. Since the error is not what the Government intended and has the potential to lead to confusion—I am not saying that it will—I suggest that it be corrected sooner rather than later, instead of at the next opportunity.

Thank you. Your point is noted, John, and is on the record. I am sure that we all agree that such things are best corrected sooner rather than later, if they are to be corrected at all.


Local Government Finance (Scotland) Amendment Order 2012 [Draft]



The committee agreed that no points arose on the instrument.